University of Memphis Athletics
Wednesday, May 20
Clearwater, Fla.
4 p.m.
University of Memphis
23-32
13
vs
9
Charlotte
28-28
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 17 | 2 |
| Memphis | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 13 | 11 | 3 |
Tigers Power Past Charlotte 13-9 to Open American Conference Tournament
May 20, 2026 | Baseball
CLEARWATER, Fla. – The University of Memphis (23-32) baseball team defeated Charlotte (28-28), 13-9, Wednesday evening at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla., in the opening round of the American Conference Tournament.
The Tigers erupted for five runs in the opening inning and never looked back, building an 11-run lead before holding off a late Charlotte rally to advance. Memphis tallied 11 hits and drew eight walks on the evening, while Will Howell delivered 6.1 innings to earn his sixth win of the season.
Michael Gupton led the offense with a pair of home runs and two RBIs, while Freddy Rodriguez turned in a four-hit night and Trae Cassidy drove in two runs and scored three times. Tyler Harrington added two hits and an RBI, while Javon Hernandez contributed a hit, RBI and two walks.
Howell (6-6) earned the victory after allowing four runs, three earned, across 6.1 innings with four strikeouts. Charlotte starter Eddie Copper (4-5) took the loss after Memphis sent nine batters to the plate in the first inning.
Memphis now moves into the double-elimination portion of the tournament and will face No. 4 UAB tomorrow with the game scheduled to start 47 minutes following the Rice and Wichita State matchup.
HOW IT HAPPENED
NOTABLES
SCORING SUMMARY
Bottom 1:
James Smith IV hit by pitch, Freddy Rodriguez scored.
Shane Cox grounded out, Javon Hernandez scored.
Trae Cassidy singled, Brady McAbee and James Smith IV scored.
Tyler Harrington singled, Trae Cassidy scored on a fielding error.
Memphis 5, Charlotte 0
Top 2:
Dawson Bryce singled, Dylan Koontz scored.
Memphis 5, Charlotte 1
Bottom 3:
Tyler Harrington doubled, Shane Cox scored.
Webb Watson grounded out, Trae Cassidy scored.
Memphis 7, Charlotte 1
Bottom 5:
Michael Gupton homered.
Webb Watson reached on a fielding error, Trae Cassidy and Tyler Harrington scored.
Freddy Rodriguez doubled, Webb Watson scored.
Javon Hernandez singled, Freddy Rodriguez scored.
Memphis 12, Charlotte 1
Top 7:
Todd Hudson singled, Spencer Nolan scored.
Alec DeMartino doubled, Robert Nedry scored.
Dylan Koontz grounded out, Todd Hudson scored.
Cody Gunderson singled, Alec DeMartino scored.
Memphis 12, Charlotte 5
Top 8:
Alec DeMartino homered, Spencer Nolan and Robert Nedry scored.
Memphis 12, Charlotte 8
Bottom 8:
Michael Gupton homered.
Memphis 13, Charlotte 8
Top 9:
Spencer Nolan reached on a fielding error, Adrian Jimenez scored.
Memphis 13, Charlotte 9
UP NEXT
Memphis will face No. 4 seed UAB tomorrow at BayCare Park. The game is scheduled to start 47 minutes after the first game of the day, which starts at 12 p.m. central time.
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.
The Tigers erupted for five runs in the opening inning and never looked back, building an 11-run lead before holding off a late Charlotte rally to advance. Memphis tallied 11 hits and drew eight walks on the evening, while Will Howell delivered 6.1 innings to earn his sixth win of the season.
Michael Gupton led the offense with a pair of home runs and two RBIs, while Freddy Rodriguez turned in a four-hit night and Trae Cassidy drove in two runs and scored three times. Tyler Harrington added two hits and an RBI, while Javon Hernandez contributed a hit, RBI and two walks.
Howell (6-6) earned the victory after allowing four runs, three earned, across 6.1 innings with four strikeouts. Charlotte starter Eddie Copper (4-5) took the loss after Memphis sent nine batters to the plate in the first inning.
Memphis now moves into the double-elimination portion of the tournament and will face No. 4 UAB tomorrow with the game scheduled to start 47 minutes following the Rice and Wichita State matchup.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Memphis wasted no time in the first inning, plating five runs. James Smith IV was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring home the game's first run before Shane Cox grounded out for another RBI. Trae Cassidy followed with a two-run single, and Tyler Harrington later reached on a hit that brought home another run as the Tigers jumped ahead 5-0.
- Charlotte got one back in the second inning on an RBI single from Dawson Bryce, but Memphis answered in the third. Harrington doubled home a run before Webb Watson added a sacrifice RBI to extend the lead to 7-1.
- The Tigers blew the game open in the fifth inning. Michael Gupton led off with a solo homer before Watson reached on an error that allowed two runs to score. Freddy Rodriguez later doubled in a run and Javon Hernandez followed with an RBI single as Memphis pushed the advantage to 12-1.
- Charlotte mounted a comeback in the seventh with four runs, highlighted by RBI hits from Todd Hudson, Alec DeMartino and Cody Gunderson to trim the deficit.
- The 49ers added three more runs in the eighth on a DeMartino three-run homer, but Gupton answered immediately with his second home run of the game in the bottom half. Charlotte added one run in the ninth, but Memphis held on to secure the 13-9 victory.
NOTABLES
- The Tigers scored 13 runs on 11 hits in the game, the most runs a Memphis team has scored in an American Conference Tournament game since scoring 15 against Cincinnati in 2017.
- Eight different players recorded at least one RBI for Memphis.
- Freddy Rodriguez, Javon Hernandez and Brady McAbee all stole bases for the Tigers, bringing the team's season total to 127 steals, which ranks in the top 25 nationally and first in the conference.
- The 127 steals are the second-most in a single season in school history.
- Rodriguez extended the Memphis single-season stolen base record to 44.
- The 44 steals rank first in the conference and second in the nation.
- Hernandez stole his 25th base of the year, third most in the conference.
- McAbee tallied his first stolen base of the season.
- Third baseman Freddy Rodriguez tortured the 49ers all game, going 4-for-4 with two runs scored, an RBI, a walk and a stolen base.
- Rodriguez now has 63 hits and 18 multi-hit games on the year, leading the team in both categories.
- He also recorded his eighth and ninth doubles this season.
- Rodriguez recorded the first four-hit game of his career and became the third Tiger this season to tally four hits in a single contest.
- Center fielder Michael Gupton showed off his power with two home runs in the game.
- Gupton blasted solo shots in both the fifth and eighth innings, bringing his season total to 15, second most in the American.
- Now ranks second on the team in hits with 60 thus far.
- First baseman Tyler Harrington posted a 2-for-4 performance including an RBI double in the third.
- Harrington now totals 50 hits on the season as well as six doubles and 15 multi-hit games.
- Catcher Trae Cassidy provided some clutch at-bats for Memphis, finishing the day 1-for-3 with three runs scored, two RBI and two walks.
- His two-RBI single in the first inning set the tone early and gave the Tigers a 4-0 lead.
- Cassidy notched his ninth multi-RBI game of the season.
- Second baseman Shane Cox picked up a double and an RBI in Wednesday's contest.
- Cox leads the team with 13 doubles now and added his 32nd RBI of the year on a groundout in the first.
- Right fielder James Smith IV brought in the first Memphis run of the game after getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the first inning.
- Shortstop Javon Hernandez went 1-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI and two walks.
- Hernandez recorded his RBI on a single in the fifth inning.
- Left fielder Webb Watson was the eighth different Tiger to tally an RBI after notching his 15th RBI of the season on a groundout in the third inning.
SCORING SUMMARY
Bottom 1:
James Smith IV hit by pitch, Freddy Rodriguez scored.
Shane Cox grounded out, Javon Hernandez scored.
Trae Cassidy singled, Brady McAbee and James Smith IV scored.
Tyler Harrington singled, Trae Cassidy scored on a fielding error.
Memphis 5, Charlotte 0
Top 2:
Dawson Bryce singled, Dylan Koontz scored.
Memphis 5, Charlotte 1
Bottom 3:
Tyler Harrington doubled, Shane Cox scored.
Webb Watson grounded out, Trae Cassidy scored.
Memphis 7, Charlotte 1
Bottom 5:
Michael Gupton homered.
Webb Watson reached on a fielding error, Trae Cassidy and Tyler Harrington scored.
Freddy Rodriguez doubled, Webb Watson scored.
Javon Hernandez singled, Freddy Rodriguez scored.
Memphis 12, Charlotte 1
Top 7:
Todd Hudson singled, Spencer Nolan scored.
Alec DeMartino doubled, Robert Nedry scored.
Dylan Koontz grounded out, Todd Hudson scored.
Cody Gunderson singled, Alec DeMartino scored.
Memphis 12, Charlotte 5
Top 8:
Alec DeMartino homered, Spencer Nolan and Robert Nedry scored.
Memphis 12, Charlotte 8
Bottom 8:
Michael Gupton homered.
Memphis 13, Charlotte 8
Top 9:
Spencer Nolan reached on a fielding error, Adrian Jimenez scored.
Memphis 13, Charlotte 9
UP NEXT
Memphis will face No. 4 seed UAB tomorrow at BayCare Park. The game is scheduled to start 47 minutes after the first game of the day, which starts at 12 p.m. central time.
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: Howell, Will (6-6)
L: Eddie Copper (4-5)
Batting:
2B: Alec DeMartino 1 ; Adrian Jimenez 1
HR: Alec DeMartino 1
RBI: Todd Hudson 1 ; Alec DeMartino 4 ; Dylan Koontz 1 ; Cody Gunderson 1 ; Dawson Bryce 1 ; Spencer Nolan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Robert Nedry 2 ; Todd Hudson 1 ; Alec DeMartino 2 ; Dylan Koontz 1 ; Adrian Jimenez 1 ; Spencer Nolan 2
CS: Todd Hudson 1
Batting:
2B: Rodriguez, Freddy 2 ; Cox, Shane 1 ; Harrington, Tyler 1
HR: Gupton, Michael 2
RBI: Rodriguez, Freddy 1 ; Hernandez, Javon 1 ; Smith IV, James 1 ; Cox, Shane 1 ; Gupton, Michael 2 ; Cassidy, Trae 2 ; Harrington, Tyler 1 ; Watson, Webb 1
SH: Watson, Webb 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rodriguez, Freddy 2 ; Hernandez, Javon 1 ; McAbee, Brady 1 ; Smith IV, James 1 ; Cox, Shane 1 ; Gupton, Michael 2 ; Cassidy, Trae 3 ; Harrington, Tyler 1 ; Watson, Webb 1
SB: Rodriguez, Freddy 1 ; Hernandez, Javon 1 ; McAbee, Brady 1
HBP: Smith IV, James 2
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
4
RBI
1
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF
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RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF/RHP
/ Baseball
OF
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