Tigers Win Marathon over Rice in 15 Innings

Friday, April 5

Houston, Texas

6:30 P.M.

University of Memphis

15-18, 0

Rice

9-21, 0

Memphis

RICE

Photo by: Brock Busick

Apr 06, 2024 | Baseball

Box Score

HOUSTON, Texas – The University of Memphis baseball team won a 15-inning marathon in game one of a three-game American Athletic Conference series at Rice on Friday night, defeating the Owls 4-3 at Reckling Park in the Space City.

The Tigers improved to 15-17 overall (3-4 AAC) with the win as the Owls dropped to 9-21 overall (1-6 AAC). The game lasted four hours and twenty-three minutes while 15 innings marked the longest game by innings for Memphis since 2015 – tied for the fifth-longest in program history.

"I was really proud of Dave [Warren] – Mr. Consistent on Friday nights," head coach Matt Riser said. "To be able to pitch into the ninth was huge and then the bullpen was phenomenal. What JT [Durham] did for us was fantastic. The only way we won that game was if JT did what he did, throwing up zeroes."

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Rice opened the game with a run in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single by Nathan Becker to go up 1-0.
• The Tigers pulled off a first-and-third double steal in the top of the second inning when Pierre Seals took second and Daunte Stuart stole home on the play to tie the game.
• An RBI single by Treyton Rank in the bottom of the second gave the Owls a 2-1 lead.
• The Tigers responded with a run in the top of the third on an RBI groundout by Austin Baskin, allowing Will Marcy to score and tie the game at two apiece.
• The game remained tied until the top of the eighth inning when Baskin drove in Marcy again – this time on a sacrifice-fly – to give the Tigers a 3-2 advantage.
• A leadoff double by the Owls in the bottom of the ninth put them in business and Tobias Motley came through with a sac-fly to tie the game at 3-3. Memphis closer Brayden Sanders kept the Owls at bay from there and sent the game to extra innings.
• The Tigers and Owls played five scoreless extra frames before Marcy delivered an RBI double in the top of the 15^th, just inside the third-base bag to score Alex Fernandes from second base and give Memphis a 4-3 lead.
• Reliever JT Durham pitched 4.1 innings of scoreless relief including the first out of the 15^th before shortstop Jake Curtis came on to record the final two outs and notch his second save of the season.

NOTABLES
• Starter David Warren recorded a career-high innings pitched (8.0) for the second-straight start. He allowed three runs on seven hits while punching out three and walking one. He did not factor into the decision.
• Marcy went 3-for-7 in the win with an RBI double and a pair of runs scored to raise his season average to .306.
• Daunte Stuart went 2-for-5 with a pair of stolen bases and walks and scored a run.
• Baskin drove in a pair of runs and went 1-for-4 with a sac-fly.
• Sanders threw two scoreless innings and punched out three. Curtis earned the save.
• Durham tossed 4.1 scoreless innings and struck out three Owls.
• The game marked the fourth extra-inning game of the season for the Tigers and was the longest game by time this season (4:23).

UP NEXT
• The Tigers are back at Reckling Park tomorrow at 2 p.m. with a chance to clinch the series.

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.