Tigers Ready for Conference Series with No. 14 Pirates

Friday, May 12

Greenville, N.C.

5 P.M.

University of Memphis

East Carolina

Photo by: Brock Busick

Tigers Ready for Conference Series with No. 14 Pirates

May 11, 2023 | Baseball

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis baseball team is ready for a trip to Greenville, N.C., for an American Athletic Conference series with No. 14 East Carolina at Clark-LeClair Stadium. Games for the weekend are scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday night, 3 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday.

Memphis (26-22, 8-10) traveled to Starkville, Miss., for a mid-week matchup with Mississippi State on Tuesday night and jumped out to a hot start before lightning cancelled the game. Logan Kohler homered in the first inning to give Memphis a 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs scored a run of their own to tie the game in the bottom of the first. The Tigers responded by putting runners on the corners with back-to-back singles by Austin Baskin and Kohler to start the third just before the lightning arrived.

The Tigers are coming off a three-game sweep of American Athletic Conference foe South Florida in Memphis last weekend and have won a season-best five-straight games. The Tigers matched last season's win total (26) with the win over USF on Sunday.

The Tigers won a tightly contested game 4-2, last Friday night before rallying for four runs in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday to walk off winners, 7-6. Memphis completed the sweep with a 13-hit offensive output in an 8-6 win on Sunday to mark the first conference sweep for Memphis since May 4-5, 2013, against Marshall when both schools were members of Conference USA.

"To get the sweep was huge for us," head coach Kerrick Jackson said. "Now every win in the conference counts, specifically when you're working towards getting a good seed in the conference tournament. I'm proud of our guys for what they did this weekend. We played hard all three games."

The Pirates (35-14, 12-6) enter the matchup winners of four-straight games after sweeping the Bearcats in Cincinnati last weekend and winning a 13-inning game at Old Dominion on Tuesday night. Offensively, ECU is led by Justin Wilcoxen (.331 BA, 7 HR, 33 RBI) and Jacob Starling (.309 BA, 8 HR, 36 RBI, 12 SB). Additionally, East Carolina's pitching staff boasts a 3.97 ERA (No. 19 in NCAA).

The Pirates lead the all-time series with the Tigers, 43-19. Memphis last defeated ECU in the first round of the 2021 AAC Tournament. The Pirates swept the Tigers last season.

Utility player Austin Baskin was named AAC Player of the Week on Monday for his performances throughout last week. He batted 9-for-15 (.600) with two doubles, a home run, seven RBI, six runs scored and three walks (.667 OBP) for the week. He went 4-for-4 with a home run, a double, two RBI and three runs scored in Sunday's sweep-clinching win over the Bulls.

Lefty closer Dalton Kendrick's 12 saves are tied for the NCAA lead, Brayland Skinner's six triples rank seventh in the country and lead the conference. Dalton Fowler's 96 strikeouts rank No. 7 in the NCAA and leads the American. Additionally, sophomore outfielder Cameron Benson has reached base safely in 17-straight games – the longest streak by a Tiger this season.

Half-season ticket packages for Tiger home games are available at GoTigersGo.com, and single-game tickets are available here.

How to follow the Tigers: For complete information on Memphis Tiger Baseball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.