Tigers Set to Host Mississippi State at FedExPark

Tuesday, April 23

Memphis, Tenn.

6 P.M.

University of Memphis

Mississippi State

Jacob Compton HR at Charlotte, April 20, 2024 by Brock Busick

Photo by: Brock Busick

Apr 22, 2024 | Baseball

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis baseball team is back in action Tuesday night at 6 p.m. when they welcome Southeastern Conference foe Mississippi State to FedExPark Avron Fogelman Field for the second matchup of the season. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Jeff Brightwell and Greg Gaston on the call.

The Tigers (18-22, 6-9 AAC) will look to bounce back after a weekend series at Charlotte where they were swept, losing three games by a combined four runs, including both games of a Saturday doubleheader by one run apiece.

FedExPark Avron Fogelman Field will play host to the 51^st all-time meetings between the Tigers and Bulldogs. Mississippi State (26-14, 10-8 SEC) took game one of the season series in Starkville, 17-9, back on March 19 and leads the all-time series, 37-13. The Tigers last defeated the Bulldogs at AutoZone Park in Memphis on April 18, 2018.

Mississippi State is coming off a 4-0 week that saw it defeat Alcorn State 11-0 in a midweek game before sweeping Auburn in Starkville over the weekend. The Bulldogs have been in and out of D1 Baseball's Top-25 rankings and peaked at No. 22 before dropping out of the rankings a week ago. In the RPI, the Bulldogs are No. 45.

The Memphis offense is averaging 6.93 runs per game to rank fourth in The American (277). The Tigers' 55 long balls lead the AAC and rank 65^th in the nation while their 81 doubles rank 61^st in the NCAA and fourth in the league.

The Tigers' 69 stolen bases rank second in the conference and 36^th nationally while their 213 walks drawn rank 43^rd in the NCAA to lead The American. Defensively, Memphis has turned the 15^th-most double plays in the country (37).

Junior outfielder Pierre Seals is slashing a team-best .324/.581/.429 on the season with 14 stolen bases to lead the club and rank fourth in the AAC. His 86 total bases lead the team, and his nine home runs are second-most on the quad. Seals was named to the AAC's Weekly Honor Roll on April 15 after leading the league in hitting (.583 AVG.) with a pair of home runs against UTSA (April 11-13).

Jacob Compton, the 2022 American RBI leader, leads the squad and ranks third in the AAC with 40 RBI to go with 11 big flies which are tied for second-most in the league. Over the weekend at Charlotte, the left-handed slugger hit .417 with a pair of home runs and seven RBI. In game one of Saturday's doubleheader, he homered twice and drove in five Tigers, including a two-run blast to give Memphis the lead in the eighth inning of an eventual 12-11 loss.

Bahamian second baseman Daunte Stuart ranks second on the team with a .314 batting average and is tied for the AAC lead with South Florida's Jackson Mayo with 15 doubles. Stuart's 39 runs scored lead the club.

Closer Brayden Sanders has recorded seven saves – good for 11^th-most in the country and the conference lead. In 20.2 innings, the hard-throwing junior holds a 3.05 ERA with 30 punch outs.

RHP David Warren was named AAC Pitcher of the Week on April 2 after his career outing vs. Florida Atlantic on March 28. He went 7.1 innings and notched a career-high 10 strikeouts to help Memphis to its second conference win of the season against Florida Atlantic. He came back and threw a career-high 8.0 innings April 5 at Rice (3 R, 7 H, 3 K, 1 BB) to help the Tigers win a 15-inning thriller. On the year, Warren is 4-2 (2-1 AAC) with a 4.33 ERA over 60.1 innings of work with 41 strikeouts (tied for the team lead). The staff veteran has gone five-plus innings in all but two of his starts this season, and seven-plus innings in four of his 10 starts.

The Tigers will roll out LHP Logan Rushing (9.92 ERA, 0-2) for his 13^th appearance and third start of the season. The Bulldogs will counter with lefty Pico Kohn (3.00 ERA, 1-0).

Offensively, Mississippi State is led by the dangerous Dakota Jordan (.378 AVG, 15 HR, 51 RBI), David Mershon (.333 AVG, 2 HR, 28 RBI, 18 SB) and Connor Hujsak (.331 AVG, 7 HR, 35 RBI).

Limited student tickets are still available, but tickets to the general public have sold out. No walk-up tickets will be available at FedExPark Avron Fogelman Field. As always, kids ages 12 and under get in free to all Tiger home games.

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