Tigers Host Murray State on Tuesday Afternoon

Tuesday, March 29

Memphis, Tenn.

4 p.m.

University of Memphis

Murray State

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Mar 28, 2016 | Softball

Memphis looks to improve on its home record

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis Tigers host Murray State in the team's only game during the week, with the next contest after coming on April 5. The game has been moved up a day to Tuesday (March 29) due to the impending rain coming on Wednesday, as Memphis leads the all-time series between the two teams 5-2.

GAME INFORMATION
Memphis (18-17, 2-1 AAC) vs. Murray State (11-17)
When: Tuesday, March 29 // 4 p.m.
Location: Memphis, Tennessee
Stadium: Tigers Softball Complex
Webstream: Memphis Tiger Network
Live Stats: Memphis Stat Broadcast
Game Notes: Memphis

QUICK HITTERS

• With the series win over UConn, Memphis has now won its last three American Athletic Conference series. The team closed the 2015 season with 2-1 series wins over USF and Houston.
• Memphis has its five leading batters hitting over .300 this year, and have seven players with double-digit RBI totals.
• Three players: Hannah Harrell (19), Kyle Trosclair (16), and Jessie Lamb (11) have double-digit stolen base totals this season.

HOME COOKING

• The game on Tuesday marks the end of the team's eight-game homestand, and the Tigers are 5-2 in that stretch.
• After the game on Tuesday, Memphis has nine remaining home contests, the next on April 12 in a doubleheader against Arkansas Pine Bluff, starting a five-game homestand.
• In all, Memphis is 8-2 at home with 10 games remaining in the season.

Rk.	Year	Record	Pct.
1.	2007	19-7	.731
2.	2010	15-11	.577
3.	2014	14-9	.609
4.	2012	14-10	.583
5.	2011	13-6	.684
6.	2006	12-7	.632
7.	2008	11-7	.611
8.	2009	11-8	.579
9.	2013	9-12	.429
10.	2016	8-2	.800
11.	2015	8-9	.471

SCOUTING THE RACERS

• Murray State comes into the game with an 11-17 record, and have lost sevven of its last nine games, with wins over Morehead State and Southeast Missouri State.
• In the team's last game, a 3-2 loss at Morehead State, the Racers got a 3-for-4 effort from second baseman Shelbey Miller, while catcher Jocelynn Rodgers was 2-for-3.
• Amber Van Duyse struck out two batters in 4.2 innings against Morehead State, giving up seven hits and three earned runs.
• The Racers are led on the season by Leah Kesel, who bats .476 over 21 at-bats, while Jessica Twaddle is batting .356 with a team-high 14 RBI's and 14 stolen bases and Miller a .312 average with seven doubles and 12 RBI's.
• Pitcher Mason Robinson has an even 8-8 record and a 2.29 ERA over 97.2 innings of work, striking out 52 batters and allowing opposing hitters to hit .221 against her.

SHUTOUT FREE

Against UConn on March 25, the Memphis Tigers were kept off of the scoreboard for the first time this season. The 36 games before being shut out is the longest stretch to open a season without being shut out in program history.

Rk.	Game	Year	Streak snapped by:	Date
1.	37	2016	UConn	March 25
2.	17	2011	North Dakota State	Feb. 26
3.	14	2015	Ole Miss	March 3
4.	10	2007	Florida State	Feb. 17
5.	10	2009	Iowa	Feb. 20
6.	9	2006	Buffalo	Feb. 25
7.	5	2010	IPFW	Feb. 19
8.	3	2008	USF	Feb. 8
9.	3	2013	Texas	Feb. 9
10.	3	2014	Troy	Feb. 8
11.	1	2012	Alabama	Feb. 10

YOUNG GUNS

Memphis, which does not have a senior on its 2016 roster, is led by a quartet of players - two sophomores and two juniors - who each hit over .315 this season. Juniors Brittany Seale (.365) and Lindsey Stickrod (.324) along with sophomores Brooke Lee (.330) and Kyler Trosclair (.310) rank in the top four on the team in batting average.

STICKROD AND SMITH SHARE AAC HONOR

Memphis junior first baseman Lindsey Stickrod and sophomore pitcher Molly Smith have been named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll, announced by the Conference office on Monday afternoon. It is the second honor roll selection for each this season. Stickrod batted .455 on the week (5-of-11) with a pair of multi-hit games against conference foe UConn. She went 2-for-2 with three runs scored on Thursday, the runs tying for the seventh-most in a game in program history. On Saturday she also put together a perfect game at the plate going 3-for-3. She scored another run against the Huskies, giving her four runs scored for the game. Smith went 2-0 in the pitcher's circle on the week with 19 total strikeouts in 14 innings of work against just two walks. On Thursday against the Huskies she threw her second shutout of the season, striking out nine batters while walking two and giving up six hits. In the Sunday series finale she struck out a career-high 10 batters while walking none and gave up just four total hits. Opponents batted just .192 against her in the two games.

ALL-TIME SERIES

This is the sixth season that Memphis and Murray State have met on the softball field with the Tigers leading 5-2; however the Racers hold a one-game win streak in the series.

Date	Result	Location
Mar. 28, 2012	W, 1-0	Memphis, Tenn.
Mar. 28, 2012	W, 1-0	Memphis, Tenn.
May 1, 2013	W, 5-4	Murray, Ky.
May 1, 2013	W, 5-4	Murray, Ky.
April 30, 2014	L, 3-4	Memphis, Tenn.
April 28, 2015	W, 5-0	Murray, Ky.
April 28, 2015	L, 1-9	Murray, Ky.

ALL-TIME VS. THE OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE

Memphis has faced off against nine of the 12 teams currently in the Ohio Valley Conference. In the Tigers' all-time history, the squad is 45-22 all-time against teams in the league, and are 18-7 under head coach Natalie Poole.

School	OVERALL	UNDER POOLE
Austin Peay	4-2	2-0
Belmont	9-2	3-0
Eastern Illinois	0-0	0-0
Eastern Kentucky	0-0	0-0
Jacksonville State	5-3	1-0
Morehead State	1-1	1-0
Murray State	5-2	5-2
SE Missouri State	7-2	3-0
SIUE	0-0	0-0
Tennessee State	6-4	1-1
Tennessee Tech	0-1	0-1
UT-Martin	8-5	2-3
Totals	45-22	18-7