University of Memphis Athletics
Tuesday, April 14
Memphis, Tenn.
6:05 p.m.
University of Memphis
12-23
11
vs
3
Mississippi Valley State
11-22
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi Valley State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| Memphis | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | X | 11 | 13 | 0 |
Rodriguez’s Steal of Home Highlights 11-3 Win Over MVSU
Apr 14, 2026 | Baseball
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis (12-23, 4-8 American) baseball team used a fast start and consistent offense to defeat Mississippi Valley State (11-22, 7-8 SWAC), 11-3, on Tuesday night at FedExPark Avron Fogelman Field.
Memphis plated runs in five different innings and tallied 11 runs on 13 hits, while holding Mississippi Valley State to just three runs on seven hits.
Nolan McCracken (1-0) earned the win in relief, while Eric Torrero (0-2) took the loss for the Delta Devils. Isaac Lucas secured the save.
Memphis will begin an eight-game road trip starting this weekend in Houston, Texas where the Tigers will face the Owls in another important conference series. The games are scheduled for 6:35 on Friday, 2:05 on Saturday and 1:05 on Sunday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
NOTABLES
SCORING SUMMARY
Bottom 1:
Tyler Harrington hit a sacrifice fly, Freddy Rodriguez scored.
Jack Pitts homered, Javon Hernandez scored.
Memphis 3, Mississippi Valley State 0
Bottom 3:
Freddy Rodriguez stole home.
Michael Gupton singled, Javon Hernandez scored.
Memphis 5, Mississippi Valley State 0
Top 4:
Jace Jones singled, Tom Early scored.
Memphis 5, Mississippi Valley State 1
Bottom 4:
Marcus Smith hit a sacrifice fly, Jack Little scored.
Memphis 6, Mississippi Valley State 1
Bottom 5:
Michael Gupton homered, Shane Cox scored.
Memphis 8, Mississippi Valley State 1
Top 6:
Christopher Soeder singled, Kendall Brookins scored.
Jaxon Haynes singled, Tom Early scored.
Memphis 8, Mississippi Valley State 3
Bottom 8:
Javon Hernandez singled, Marcus Smith and Seth Giamportone scored.
Javon Hernandez scored on a wild pitch.
Memphis 11, Mississippi Valley State 3
UP NEXT
Memphis will head to Houston, Texas to begin a three-game series against the Rice Owls starting Friday. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
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.
Memphis plated runs in five different innings and tallied 11 runs on 13 hits, while holding Mississippi Valley State to just three runs on seven hits.
Nolan McCracken (1-0) earned the win in relief, while Eric Torrero (0-2) took the loss for the Delta Devils. Isaac Lucas secured the save.
Memphis will begin an eight-game road trip starting this weekend in Houston, Texas where the Tigers will face the Owls in another important conference series. The games are scheduled for 6:35 on Friday, 2:05 on Saturday and 1:05 on Sunday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Memphis struck early in the first inning, as Tyler Harrington drove in a run with a sacrifice fly before Jack Pitts launched a two-run home run to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
- After a scoreless second, Memphis added to its lead in the third. Freddy Rodriguez stole home and Michael Gupton followed with an RBI single to extend the advantage to 5-0.
- Mississippi Valley State got on the board in the fourth with an RBI single to make it 5-1.
- The Tigers answered in the bottom half, as Jack Little tripled and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Marcus Smith to push the lead to 6-1.
- Memphis added two more in the fifth on Gupton's two-run home run to left, stretching the margin to 8-1.
- The Delta Devils chipped away with two runs in the sixth, cutting the deficit to 8-3.
- Memphis put the game away in the eighth with three insurance runs, highlighted by a two-RBI single from Javon Hernandez, who later scored on a wild pitch.
NOTABLES
- Freddy Rodriguez, Michael Gupton, Javon Hernandez and Shane Cox stole bases for the Tigers, bringing the team's season total to 87 steals, which ranks in the top 30 nationally and first in the conference.
- Rodriguez increased his season total to 29 after adding two on Tuesday.
- He ranks first in the conference and top five in the nation.
- Rodriguez is 11 bags away from breaking Memphis' all-time single-season stolen base record (39).
- Gupton stole his 10th base of the season, while only being thrown out once.
- Hernandez stole two bases for Memphis, adding to his impressive 18-for-18 record.
- Cox added a stolen base, bringing him to eight on the year.
- Rodriguez increased his season total to 29 after adding two on Tuesday.
- Center fielder Michael Gupton carried his momentum from Sunday into Tuesday's game, finishing 3-for-4 at the dish with a home run and 3 RBI.
- Gupton has now homered in back-to-back games, hitting his 10th long ball of the season, good for top five in the American.
- He also recorded his 10th multi-hit game and third game this season with three or more hits.
- Gupton's team totals now stand at 41 hits (most), .311 AVG (highest), 10 home runs (most) and 34 RBI (most).
- The Memphis pitching staff dominated the Delta Devils Tuesday night.
- Starter Logan Rushing opened the game pitching three scoreless innings while only allowing one hit and striking out a career-high five batters.
- Nolan McCracken earned the win for the Tigers, allowing one run over two innings while adding two strikeouts of his own.
- Isaac Lucas finished the game and earned the save for Memphis, posting three scoreless frames and punching out eight of the ten batters he faced.
- His eight strike outs tied a career high.
- Shortstop Javon Hernandez logged his third straight game with multiple hits, going 4-for-5.
- Two of Hernandez's four hits were bunt singles.
- Hernandez is the second Memphis batter this season to record four hits in a game, with the previous being Michael Gupton on March 15 against Eastern Illinois.
- His four hits are the most in his Tiger career.
- Notched his eighth multi-hit game this season and added his 10th and 11th RBI.
- Designated hitter Jack Pitts launched a two-run home run in the first inning.
- Pitts has seven hits this season, with three of them being homers.
- Third baseman Freddy Rodriguez went 2-for-4 at the plate, logging his 11th multi-hit game so far.
- Right fielder Marcus Smith had his first multi-hit game of the season, finishing 2-for-3 with an RBI via a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning.
- Left fielder Jack Little led off the fourth inning with a triple.
- Little recorded just the fifth triple of the season for the Tigers.
SCORING SUMMARY
Bottom 1:
Tyler Harrington hit a sacrifice fly, Freddy Rodriguez scored.
Jack Pitts homered, Javon Hernandez scored.
Memphis 3, Mississippi Valley State 0
Bottom 3:
Freddy Rodriguez stole home.
Michael Gupton singled, Javon Hernandez scored.
Memphis 5, Mississippi Valley State 0
Top 4:
Jace Jones singled, Tom Early scored.
Memphis 5, Mississippi Valley State 1
Bottom 4:
Marcus Smith hit a sacrifice fly, Jack Little scored.
Memphis 6, Mississippi Valley State 1
Bottom 5:
Michael Gupton homered, Shane Cox scored.
Memphis 8, Mississippi Valley State 1
Top 6:
Christopher Soeder singled, Kendall Brookins scored.
Jaxon Haynes singled, Tom Early scored.
Memphis 8, Mississippi Valley State 3
Bottom 8:
Javon Hernandez singled, Marcus Smith and Seth Giamportone scored.
Javon Hernandez scored on a wild pitch.
Memphis 11, Mississippi Valley State 3
UP NEXT
Memphis will head to Houston, Texas to begin a three-game series against the Rice Owls starting Friday. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
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.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: McCracken, Nolan (1-0)
L: Torrero, Eric (0-2)
S: Lucas, Isaac (1)
Batting:
RBI: Haynes, Jaxon 1 ; Jones, Jace 1 ; Soeder, Christopher 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Early, Tom 2 ; Brookins, Kendall 1
Batting:
2B: Smith, Marcus 1
3B: Little, Jack 1
HR: Gupton, Michael 1 ; Pitts, Jack 1
RBI: Gupton, Michael 3 ; Pitts, Jack 2 ; Hernandez, Javon 2 ; Smith, Marcus 1 ; Harrington, Tyler 1
SH: Rodriguez, Freddy 1
SF: Smith, Marcus 1 ; Harrington, Tyler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gupton, Michael 1 ; Cox, Shane 1 ; Pitts, Jack 1 ; Hernandez, Javon 3 ; Rodriguez, Freddy 2 ; Smith, Marcus 1 ; Giamportone, Seth 1 ; Little, Jack 1
SB: Gupton, Michael 1 ; Cox, Shane 1 ; Hernandez, Javon 2 ; Rodriguez, Freddy 2
HBP: Pitts, Jack 1 ; Giamportone, Seth 2
PO: Gupton, Michael 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
3
H
4
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
3
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ BaseballOF
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INF
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INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
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/ Baseball
LHP/OF
/ BaseballOF
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