Tigers split doubleheader with Tulane

Saturday, April 20

Memphis, Tenn.

12 p.m.

University of Memphis

18-17, 5-5

Tulane

25-13, 7-3

Tulane

Memphis

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Apr 20, 2019 | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Schoenrock earns 400th win as Memphis skipper

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – In a day that featured Daron Schoenrock's 400^th victory as the head coach of the Tigers, Memphis baseball split a doubleheader in its series against Tulane on Saturday afternoon at FedExPark.

The milestone win came from an 11-8 win in the day's first game. The visiting Green Wave responded in the nightcap with a 20-5 win to split the series.

"I told the team we had a lot of really competitive at bats in that first game," Schoenrock said. "A (two-out, 11-pitch) two-RBI single from Cale Hennemann was typical of how that first game was. In the second game, we had a hard time doubling up strikes. If you don't throw multiple strikes in a row, they are going to do damage."

A seven-run inning in the second propelled the Tigers in the first game. Seven of the starting nine batters recorded a hit, with Colton Neel, Cale Hennemann and Nick Vaage posting multiple-hit efforts. Ben Brooks, Neel, Hennemann and Vaage also drove in multiple runs for the home side.

On the mound, Hunter Smith registered his fourth win of the season.

After Hennemann and Alec Trela reached base to lead off the second, an error on a sacrifice bunt by Kyle Ouellette plated the first run of the day. Consecutive bases-loaded singles by Jason Santana and Brooks plated three more, while a sacrifice fly later in the frame from Hunter Goodman made it a 5-0 ball game. Hennemann capped the big inning with a 2-RBI single for a 7-0 advantage.

Memphis and Tulane traded runs in the fourth and fifth innings.

The Green Wave got on the board after a pair of runs in the fourth inning. In the home half, a walk, single and sacrifice bunt put two in scoring position. Nick Vaage then connected on a two-out, 2-RBI single for a 9-2 lead.

Tulane came right back with two runs in the fifth before Neel blasted a two-run home run to regain a seven-run lead. Neel's shot to right field was his first in 2019.

The Green Wave offered one more rally in the sixth inning with four runs. But Neel closed the door on the mound in the seventh inning, registering his seventh save of the season.

In the second game of the day, Tulane used big innings to rebound and split the series. The Green Wave found a 4-0 lead early before Memphis trimmed the deficit. Two-out RBI singles from Trela and Ouellette cut the margin to 4-2.

Tulane would put the game out of reach with nine runs in the fifth and six runs in the seventh inning. Neel added his second home run of the day, another two-run blast to right field, to set the final score.

Memphis will return to action on Monday, hosting North Alabama in a midweek series. First pitch from FedExPark on Monday is set for 6 p.m. with Tuesday's game slated for 4 p.m.