Tigers Split Friday Doubleheader Versus UAB, Saturday Start Time Adjusted

Friday, March 28

Memphis, Tenn.

3 PM

University of Memphis

15-19, 4-6

UAB

13-19, 3-7

UAB

Memphis

Tigers Split Friday Doubleheader Versus UAB, Saturday Start Time Adjusted

Mar 28, 2025 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis (15-20, 4-7 AAC) softball picked up an extra-inning victory in game one of a Friday doubleheader against UAB (14-19, 4-7 AAC) before falling in game two Friday evening.

Memphis softball is also adjusting the start time of tomorrow's series finale. Inclement weather has moved Saturday's start time to 6 p.m.

GAME ONE: Memphis 5, UAB 4 (9 inn.)

HOW IT HAPPENED

A single off the bat of Hope Tucker in the first inning led to UAB taking an early lead.
An RBI groundout by Hannah miles gave the Blazers a two-run lead.
Ashlyn Shirah recorded a sacrifice fly in the third inning for UAB's third unanswered run.
Memphis recorded its first run when Kennedy Semien hit a sacrifice fly to score Ariel Davis.
- Davis had reached on a walk and stole second earlier in the frame.
The Blazers extended their lead back to three runs when Hope Tucker singled to right field and Lindsey Smith scored on an ensuing error.
Three runs came across in the sixth inning for Memphis, tying the game.
- An RBI double by Faith Brown brought home the second run of the game for the Tigers.
- In a similar sequence to the fourth inning, Ariel Davis scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Kennedy Semien.
- Drue Thomas hit a high-bouncing shot that resulted in a fielding error by UAB, allowing Aubrey Williams to come home for the game-tying run.
After two runners reached base in the top of the fourth, Macie Harter hit a two-RBI triple to bring the Memphis lead down to one run.
In her seventh inning of work, Lyrical Bennett worked a scoreless inning after allowing a two-out triple.
Both sides went scoreless in the eighth inning, with Bennett working out of another situation with a runner 60 feet from scoring.
A double play turned by Faith Brown and Zoe Adebayo ended the top of the ninth.
After Drue Thomas singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved up to third after a sacrifice bunt by Kayla Clement, Neely Taylor stepped up to the plate and ended the game with a first-pitch RBI single up the middle that scored Thomas.

NOTABLES

Lyrical Bennett earns the victory in the circle, moving to 4-3 on the season.
- It was Bennett's second extra-inning complete game victory where she also eclipsed 120 pitches.
- She previously earned an eight-inning complete game victory while throwing 174 pitches at Central Arkansas.
With this win, Memphis has its highest conference win total since the 2018 season.
- The Tigers won 10 conference games during that season, reaching an NCAA Regional for the first and only time in program history.
Neely Taylor had her first game-winning hit of her collegiate career during her 34th start of the season.
- Taylor finished the first game of the day with one hit in five at-bats.
Kennedy Semien finished with two sacrifice flies.
- In both instances, Ariel Davis was the runner who scored on the play.

GAME TWO: Memphis 2, UAB 6

HOW IT HAPPENED

An inside-the-park home run by Bella Wiggins gave UAB an early lead in the second half of the doubleheader.
In that same inning, Lindsey Smith tripled to right field, scoring Hope Tucker.
An RBI single by Drue Thomas in the bottom of the first inning cut the deficit in half.
In the third inning, a ground ball off the bat of Hope Tucker resulted in a rundown between third and home, where Bella Wiggins was awarded home plate due to obstruction by Shelby Durbin.
Later in the frame, Hannah Miles scored on a wild pitch that gave UAB a three-run lead.
Drue Thomas brought home Memphis' second run of the night on a sacrifice fly that scored Ariel Davis.
UAB added two runs during the fifth and sixth innings, resulting in a 6-2 lead that would hold until the end of the contest.
- Hannah Miles scored on a wild pitch in the fifth inning.
- Kaily Collett entered as a pinch runner and scored on a fielding error from a groundball hit by Hannah Dorsett.

NOTABLES

Jericho Tate drops to 2-6 on the season after taking the loss.
Working in relief, Rylee Dugar threw 4.1 innings without allowing an earned run.
- Neely Taylor holds the longest streak after reaching base in the first 12 games of the 2025 season.
Drue Thomas went 1-for-2 at the plate, recording both of Memphis' RBI during the contest.
At the 35-game mark, Neely Taylor leads the team with a .358 batting average and has started all 35 games this season.
Ariel Davis scored on a sacrifice fly after recording a triple.
- When considering both games of the doubleheader, Davis scored on three sacrifice flies.
Memphis currently has four qualified batters (Neely Taylor, Kennedy Semien, Zoe Adebayo, Faith Brown) hitting with an average above .300.
- Qualified batters must have played in at least 75% of all games played and have recorded at least two plate appearances per game.

UP NEXT
Memphis' series finale against UAB has been moved to a 6 p.m. start on Saturday due to inclement weather.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE TIGERS
For complete information on Memphis Tigers Softball, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram , and Facebook.