Collective Effort Pushes Softball Past Sam Houston State

Friday, March 1

Memphis, Tenn.

3:30 PM

University of Memphis

6-9

Sam Houston State

6-12

Sam Houston State

Memphis

Photo by: Jason Roberts

Collective Effort Pushes Softball Past Sam Houston State

Mar 01, 2019 | Softball

Box Score

Alyssa Dean hits first career home run in the victory

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis softball team started the Blues City Classic on the right foot with a 5-3 victory over Sam Houston State Friday afternoon. Memphis improves to 6-9 on the year with three more games remaining in the tournament.

The Tigers took an early lead over the Bearkats and added to it with Alyssa Dean's first collegiate home run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Bayleigh Wisher earned the start against Sam Houston State and put in 4.2 innings of work in the win.

Sam Houston State attempted a comeback with runs in the top of the fifth and sixth inning. Prior to the Bearkats rally, Wisher had a stretch of 10 retired batters.

Mariah Nichols came in relief in the top of the fifth and helped the Tigers out of a jam. She tallied her second save of the season in 2.1 innings of relief.

Ryleigh Aungst led Memphis with two hits and Dean's home run drove in a team-high three runs. Wisher struck out three while not allowing a walk. Nichols also tallied a strikeout for Memphis.

Scoring
Bottom 1 – Delaney Smith led the inning off with an infield single down the first base line. She stole a pair of bases before scoring on a throwing error by Sam Houston State's catcher. A double to right center by Gracie Morton put another Tiger on the bases for Regan Hadley, who tripled to right center. (2 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 1 left on base)
Bottom 4 – Sara Ann Davidson drew a 13-pitch walk with two outs. A single through the right side by Ryleigh Aungst advanced Davidson to second. Alyssa Dean proceeded to hit a three-run home run to left field to give Memphis a 5-0 lead. (3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 0 left on base)
Top 5 – Sam Houston State strung together back-to-back hits to lead off the fifth inning. With two outs, the Bearkats singled to left center to drive in two runs. (2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 left on base)
Top 6 – The Bearkats led the inning off with a single up the middle. After stealing second, the base runner advanced to third on a ground out to the pitcher. A fielder's choice to second base drove in base runner. (1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 left on base)

Notables

Alyssa Dean hit her first collegiate home run in the fourth inning.
Bayleigh Wisher improved to 2-1 on the year and Mariah Nichols tallied her second save of the year.
Ryleigh Aungst's two-hit performance was her first multi-hit game.
Delaney Smith, Gracie Morton, Ashley Threatt and Regan Hadley also registered hits for the Tigers.

Up Next
Memphis returns to action Saturday morning with an 11:15 a.m. start against UT Martin. The Tigers will also take on Mississippi Valley State Saturday. For more information on the Memphis softball team, follow the Tigers on social media at @MemphisSoftball.