Tigers Win Final Home Game of Season Over Central Arkansas

Tuesday, May 13

Memphis, Tenn.

4:05 P.M.

University of Memphis

22-30

Central Arkansas

19-30

Central Arkansas

Memphis

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Tigers Win Final Home Game of Season Over Central Arkansas

May 13, 2025 | Baseball

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis baseball team wrapped up a 34-game home season with an 11-8 victory over Central Arkansas on Tuesday night at FedExPark Avron Fogelman Field. Memphis used 15 hits and a five-run fifth inning to power its way to its 17^th home win of the campaign.

The Tigers improved to 22-30 (8-16 AAC) on the season with one regular season series remaining at Wichita State (17-34, 8-16 AAC) later this week, who Memphis currently sits in a tie with for the final conference tournament seed.

"That's the way you want to finish off the year at home," head coach Matt Riser said. "The way we responded in the fourth inning with five runs after they went up was good to see, [Chase] Nixon with the big home run. We found some free 90s and ran the bases well. We have to keep doing those things this weekend at Wichita and find ways to keep moving the baseball."

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Lefty Isaac Lucas made his first start on the mound since April 19 and served as the opener for the Tigers, working a three up, three down first inning with a strikeout on just 13 pitches.
• The Tigers scored the game's first run in the bottom of the first on a perfectly executed two-out first and third double steal play where Seth Cox stole second and Cade Greer came in to swipe home.
• RHP Connor Pittman entered in relief of Lucas and used just nine pitches to work another one, two, three inning for the Tigers.
• In the bottom of the third, freshman Michael Politte delivered a two-out RBI single back up the middle to score Chase Nixon and give Memphis a 2-0 lead.
• After three perfect innings by the Tiger pitching staff, the Bears broke through with four runs in the top of the fourth to take a temporary 4-2 lead.
• Memphis answered with a five-run bottom of the fourth inning, started by a one-out Creek Robertson walk and a single by Greer. A throwing error on a filed pickoff attempt to third base allowed Robertson to score and Greer to advance to third before Justin Fogel delivered an RBI double to left-center field. Nixon drove in Fogel after UCA made a move to the bullpen before freshman Jack Pitts came to the plate and lasered a two-out, two-run shot over the right-field wall to complete the big inning and give the Tigers a 7-4 lead.
• A bases-loaded walk by UCA's Zeb Allen and a sacrifice fly by Nathan Negre plated two runs for the Bears in the top of the fifth to draw them back within a run.
• Back-to-back singles by Greer and Fogel to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning forced another move to the bullpen for the Bears before Nixon made his way to the plate. Nixon greeted right-hander Jackson Schwank with a three-run blast to right field to extend the Memphis lead to 10-6.
• The Bears answered once again with two runs in the top of the seventh on a two-run single by Allen to give him three RBI for the game.
• The Tigers added a run in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI ground out by Greer.
• Senior right-hander Kylan Stepter came on in a save opportunity for the Tigers and picked up his second of the season with a scoreless ninth.

NOTABLES
• Memphis' 15 hits made it 31 hits over the past two games after racking up a season-high 16 vs. Tulane in a 15-6 win on Sunday.
• Fogel's four-hit game marked his second of the season (vs. Arkansas State, April 22) and his second-straight game with three-plus hits. He ended the day 4-for-5 with a double, a pair of runs scored and his 23^rd RBI of the season.
• Nixon went 3-for-4 and mashed his eighth home run and 22^nd extra-base hit of the season, ending the day with four RBI and three runs scored. It extended his team lead of games with three or more hits (5) and gave him 13 total multi-hit games this season.
• Greer went 2-for-3 with a pair of walks, a stolen base, an RBI and scored three times from the lead-off spot.
• Politte ended the game 2-for-4 with an RBI and a walk, extending his on-base streak to 15 games – the longest by any Tiger this season. He also swiped a pair of bags.
• Pitts mashed his fourth home run of the season (16 games, 43 at-bats) and finished 1-for-5 with a pair of RBI.
• Seth Cox, Jonah Sutton and Daniel Perez each logged a hit. Perez scored a run and stole a base.
• The Tigers went five-for-five on stolen-base attempts, stealing five-plus bags for the second time this season (vs. Alabama A&M (7), Feb. 25).
• Eight of the nine Tigers in the lineup recorded a hit.
• Pittman earned the win to improve to 2-1 on the season after throwing three innings and allowing four runs (three earned). He struck out three, allowed four hits and walked one.
• Stepter's save marked his second of the season and his first since Feb. 22 vs. Valparaiso.

UP NEXT
• The Tigers hit the road for an important three-game series with American Athletic Conference Tournament implications at Wichita State (17-34, 8-16 AAC) later this week, Thursday through Saturday.

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.