Tigers Drop Final Game of Grind City Classic to JSU in Extras

Sunday, March 10

Memphis, Tenn.

2 P.M.

University of Memphis

Jackson State

Jake Curtis vs. JSU, March 10, 2024 by Matt Smith

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Tigers Drop Final Game of Grind City Classic to JSU in Extras

Mar 10, 2024 | Baseball

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis baseball team fell to Jackson State, 6-4, in 10 innings on Sunday afternoon at FedExPark Avron Fogelman Field in its final game of the Inaugural Grind City Classic.

The Tigers dropped to 7-10 on the season with the loss while JSU improved to 12-4 overall.

"At some point in time we have to pick ourselves up. Nobody is going to feel sorry for us or make excuses for us," head coach Matt Riser said. "At the end of the day it's up to us to dig out of it. The good news is we have games coming up to prove ourselves different, but we have to get collectively back together as a team."

Memphis got a good start from right-hander Caden Robinson (5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 4 K, 2 BB) but allowed a pair of runs on two-out errors in the first two frames to fall behind early. The Tiger bats never came to life as they collected just four hits as a team in the loss.

"I thought Caden pitched his way through some tough situations," Riser added. "We didn't make a lot of plays behind him, but he handled it well and kept us in the ball game. The pitching component was there for us pretty much all weekend, it was a lack of defense and offensive production for us this weekend."

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Tigers fell behind 2-0 early after a pair of two-out errors in the first and second innings allowed runs to score.
• Memphis got on the board with an unearned run of its own in the bottom of the third when Austin Baskin reached on a two-out throwing error by JSU pitcher Christian Womble and Will Marcy came in to score from second base.
• Jackson State added a run in the top of the fourth to regain a two-run lead before the Tigers struck for three runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 4-3 lead. Jake Curtis came in to score when Daunte Stuart grounded into a double play before Jacob Compton came to the plate and mashed his AAC-leading eighth home run of the season – a two-run shot to right-center field – to give Memphis the lead.
• JSU tied the game in the top of the sixth when a run came in to score as Memphis traded two outs for a run and turned a 6-3 double play.
• Solid relief from Logan Rushing, Kylan Stepter and Brayden Sanders from the sixth to ninth inning kept the game tied at 4-4 and forced Memphis into its third extra-inning contest of the season.
• Jackson State pushed across a pair of runs in the top of the 10^th inning on back-to-back two-out hits to go up 6-4 on the Tigers. Memphis went down one-two-three in the bottom half to give JSU the 6-4 victory.

NOTABLES
• Robinson pitched 5.0 innings and gave up just one earned run on four hits, striking out for and walking a pair.
• Compton slugged his eighth home run of the campaign to add to his conference-leading total. He ended the game 1-for-3 with the long ball, two RBI, a run scored and a pair of walks.
• Stepter allowed one hit and no runs in 1.1 innings of work, notching a strikeout.
• Sanders worked three innings and was tagged with the loss. He struck out three, allowed three hits and a pair of runs.
• Baskin walked twice to extend his on-base streak to an impressive 30 games dating back to last season.
• Stuart slapped his eighth double of the year and is tied with Curtis for the team lead.
• Pierre Seals and Seth Cox each tallied a hit.

UP NEXT
• The Tigers are back at FedExPark Avron Fogelman Field on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. against North Alabama (8-6) for their first of two midweek games at home before hitting the road for a three-game weekend series at the University of New Orleans.

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.