Memphis wraps up home campaign vs. Houston

Friday, May 14

Memphis, Tenn.

1 p.m.

University of Memphis

Houston

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

May 14, 2021 | Baseball

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis Tigers conclude their 2021 home schedule this weekend with four games against the Houston Cougars. Looking to end the home schedule with their first conference series win of the season, the Tigers will play a doubleheader vs. the Cougars on Friday, with single games set for Saturday and Sunday.

Series Information
Memphis (14-32, 4-20) vs. Houston (17-26, 5-15)
Friday, May 14 – 1 p.m.
            RH Carson Stinnett (3-4, 6.46) vs. LH Robert Gasser (5-5, 2.73)
Friday, May 14 – TBA (Game two of doubleheader)
            LH Chris Durham (3-6, 5.84) vs. RH Ben Sears (2-3, 5.62)
Saturday, May 15– 2 p.m.
            RH Blake Wimberley (2-7, 6.40) vs. RH Carter Henry (1-4, 6.19)
Sunday, May 16 – 11 a.m.
            RH James Muse (0-0, 6.29) vs. TBD

Location: Memphis, Tenn.
Venue: FedExPark
Twitter Updates: @MemphisBaseball
Stats | Watch | Listen

The Tigers conclude their eight-game homestand vs. the team one spot ahead of them in the AAC standings. Memphis has opened each of its last two conference series with a victory and then dropped the final three games of the series. 11 of the Tigers' 14 wins on the season have come at FedExPark, while the Cougars are just 6-13 on the road.

Houston has faced three ranked teams this season, two in non-conference play, as the Cougars dropped two of three at home to No. 19 Texas, fell at home to No. 25 Texas A&M, had their series vs. No. 5 East Carolina postponed, and went 1-3 vs. No. 25 Tulane. Non-conference series wins vs. Texas Southern, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and Texas State represent the bulk of Houston's non-conference victories. In American action, the Cougars dropped seven of eight games vs. Wichita State, split at home vs. USF, picked up one win of their four games at Tulane, and dropped three of four games last weekend at home vs. Cincinnati.

The Cougars hold a 51-23 edge in the all-time series dating back to at least 1978. In the most recent series, the Tigers took two of three from the Cougars at FedExPark in March, 2019. Prior to that series, Houston had won eight of the previous nine meetings between the two programs. On the current Memphis roster, Ben Brooks, Hunter Goodman, and Alec Trela all had at least two hits in that series, while Chris Durham, and Takoda Metoxen were the only current Tigers pitchers to appear in the series victory.

Like the Tigers this season, Houston has struggled at the plate. The Cougars are hitting just .245 as a team, seventh best in the AAC. Similarly, Houston sits in second to last in runs scored (202) but is fifth in home runs (44). Tyler Bielamowicz, who has started 35 of Houston's 43 games, is the only player on the Cougars' roster hitting better than .300. His .323 batting average is 12^th best among qualified hitters in the American. Brad Burckel, who has played in every game for Houston this year, is the lone conference player with four triples and sits third in the conference with 15 stolen bases.

Pitching has been solid for Houston, as the staff sits sixth in the AAC with a 5.40 ERA but has struck out the fewest batters in the league (311). The Cougars are one of only three teams in the conference to walk more than 185 batters this season, joining Cincinnati and the Tigers. Robert Gasser, likely to start the series opener for Houston, is third among qualified starters in the league with a 2.73 ERA and leads the conference in strikeouts with 83 over 69.1 innings. The bullpen has been an issue for Houston throughout the season, as outside of Coby Casey, Derrick Cherry, and Maddux Miller, all other non-qualified relief pitchers have an ERA north of 5.50. Cherry (2.51) has 37 strikeouts in 15 appearances, while Miller (2.70) has 15 strikeouts across 13.1 innings in 10 outings.

The Memphis radio broadcast of all four games this weekend will be available on gotigersgo.com/watch, while live stats will be available throughout the series at memphisstats.com. The series gets underway at 1 p.m. Friday at FedExPark.