Tigers Falter in Opening Day of Best on the Bayou Tournament

Friday, February 28

Monroe, La.

11 AM

University of Memphis

9-8

Tarleton State

12-5

TARLETON

MEMPHIS

Photo by: Steven Spehar

Tigers Falter in Opening Day of Best on the Bayou Tournament

Feb 28, 2025 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

MONROE, La. – In the first day of the Best of the Bayou Tournament, Memphis softball fell to Tarleton State in the opening game by a score of 4-2. The Tigers then suffered an 8-0 mercy rule loss to Southeast Missouri in their second game of the day.

"Offensively, we have to get our bunts down and step up in RBI situations," said head coach Trena Prater. "I thought Jericho Tate and Lyrical Bennett did a good job with feeding our defense ground balls and fly balls. The defense has to have our pitchers' backs and make routine plays. We will continue to grow and bounce back tomorrow."

GAME ONE: Memphis 2, Tarleton State 4

HOW IT HAPPENED

Tarleton State recorded the first two runs of the game, both coming on solo home runs.
- Jaelynn Duke's home run came in the second.
- Tristyn Trull's home run came in the third inning.
Trull later recorded her second and third RBIs of the game, bringing home two runs on a single in the fourth inning.
A throwing error on a sixth-inning single by Neely Taylor allowed Zoe Adebayo to score for Memphis' first run of the game.
- Adebayo had reached on a double to lead off the inning.
The Tigers attempted to mount a comeback in the seventh inning, as Zoe Adebayo hit a hard line drive that just barely went over the top of the wall to bring the deficit down to two runs.
Shelby Schultz threw 4.1 scoreless innings in the circle for Tarleton State, earning the win.
- Sadie Back entered in relief for the final five outs, earning the save despite giving up a home run.
Rylee Dugar and Jericho Tate finished with 3.2 and 3.1 innings pitched, respectively.
- Dugar was tagged with the loss, bringing her record to 4-4.
- Tate only allowed two hits while striking out three in her 3.1 innings of work.

NOTABLES

Zoe Adebayo's home run was her fourth of the season. This matches her previous season high of four in 2024.
- That mark was also last season's team high, in which Adebayo was tied with McKaylee Polk.
Three Tigers (McKaylee Polk, Zoe Adebayo, Neely Taylor) recorded multi-hit performances.
- It was Adebayo's sixth multi-hit game of the season, second on the team to Kennedy Semien.
Neely Taylor has yet to miss a start this season, having started in all 17 games at this point (five starts in left field, 12 starts in right field).
Faith Brown made her first career start at first base.

GAME TWO: Memphis 0, SEMO 8 (5 inn.)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Redhawks were off to a quick start, plating three runs in the first inning. Brooklyn Saysoff, Gracie Luna and Sydney Melton all recorded RBIs on consecutive at-bats.
Memphis' lone hit of the game came in the second inning when Zoe Adebayo hit a leadoff double. Lyrical Bennett walked in the following at-bat, but both runners were stranded to end the inning.
SEMO plated four runs in the fifth inning to bring its lead closer to the mercy rule mark.
- Tatum Gerwitz recorded an RBI single to begin the scoring.
- Two batters later, Brooklyn Sarsoff reached on a fielding error that resulted in a run scoring.
- Gerwitz later scored on a pickoff attempt that sailed above the infielder's head.
- An RBI single by Sydney Melton produced the inning's final run.
The game ended on an RBI single off the bat of Gracie Luna, bringing the score to 8-0 and enacting the mercy rule in the bottom of the fifth inning.
For the Redhawks, Delaney Kell pitched a complete game, only allowing one hit over five innings.
- Kell did not record a single strikeout, with the 15 outs coming in the form of 11 flyouts and four groundouts.

NOTABLES

For the first time this season, Kennedy Semien has gone consecutive games without recording a hit.
Four Tigers (Kennedy Semien, Neely Taylor, Zoe Adebayo, Taniyah Brown) end the month of February with an OPS above 1.000.
Neely Taylor continues to be the definition of an "everyday player" in making her 18th start in as many games played.
- Zoe Adebayo and Kennedy Semien have played in all 18 games, but have missed one start each.
This loss now results in the longest losing streak of the season for Memphis at four games in a row.
Memphis sits at 9-9 despite outscoring opponents in six of seven innings (outscored 4-5 in the fifth inning).
Memphis is now winless in five neutral site games.

UP NEXT
Memphis continues the Best of the Bayou Tournament tomorrow with a second game against Tarleton State at 10 a.m. before facing the host ULM Warhawks at 3 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For complete information on Memphis Tigers Softball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram , and Facebook.