Memphis Drops Saturday Contest Against the Shockers

Saturday, May 3

Memphis, Tenn.

3 PM

University of Memphis

18-34, 5-21

Wichita State

27-24-1, 14-11-1

Wichita State

Memphis

Memphis Drops Saturday Contest Against the Shockers

May 03, 2025 | Softball

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis (18-34, 5-21 AAC) softball dropped the middle game of its series against Wichita State (27-24-1, 14-11-1 AAC) by a score of 5-2, Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Wichita State was aggressive at the plate in the top of the first inning, plating two runs on three hits.
- After Lauren Lucas and Taylor Sedlacek reached on singles, Jodie Epperson doubled down the right field line to bring the pair home for the first runs of the game.
After Memphis went down in order in the bottom of the first, the Shockers added a run in the top of the second with an RBI single by Krystin Nelson.
The Tigers responded in the second inning with two runs, cutting the deficit to one.
- After Drue Thomas and Arianna Cox-Cole led off the second with back-to-back singles, the pair were moved over by a sacrifice bunt by Mia Brown.
- Kayla Clement followed with an infield single, scoring Thomas on the play.
- A sacrifice fly off the bat of Marley Maness scored Cox-Cole for Memphis' second run of the game.
Lyrical Bennett worked through a third inning where Wichita State had two runners in scoring position and stranded both runners after inducing a flyout and groundout to end the threat.
- Ava Sliger, the Shockers' starter, responded with a scoreless third inning.
Wichita State extended its lead with two more runs in the fourth inning.
- The first run came home on an RBI double by Taylor Sedlacek.
- A run came home on a fielder's choice where Ariel Davis fielded the ground ball and went to third, where Presley Morris applied the tag.
After singles by Ariel Davis and Drue Thomas, Arianna Cox-Cole sent a ball through the left side for a single, with Davis being thrown out attempting to score.
- The following batter flied out to end the scoring chance.
Jericho Tate entered in relief of Bennett, tossing the final three innings.
- Tate only allowed one hit, striking out four batters in her three innings of work.

NOTABLES

Lyrical Bennett moves to 5-11 on the season after going four innings in the loss.
Jericho Tate threw the final three innings of the contest, striking out four and only allowing one hit in her outing.
Drue Thomas went 3-for-3 with one run scored in the loss.
- She now moves into second on the team with a .318 batting average after becoming a qualified hitter.
- Qualified hitters must have played at least 75% of games and have at least two plate appearances per game.
Ariel Davis recorded one hit in the loss.
Arianna Cox-Cole recorded her ninth multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-3 in today's game.
Kayla Clement went 1-for-3 with an RBI infield single in the second inning.
Marley Maness went 0-for-2 with one RBI on a sacrifice fly.

UP NEXT
Memphis looks to secure a series victory tomorrow at noon on Senior Day. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Senior Day recognition scheduled for after the game's conclusion.

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.