The University of Memphis softball team (17-21, 2-6 AAC) took down the Temple Owls 1-0 in Sunday's series-deciding game at the Tiger Softball Complex, and the team got a record-breaking performance from its starting pitcher.
Senior Ellen Roberts went all seven innings, striking out four and allowing only four hits, and she became the Tigers' all-time leader in career strikeouts and wins in the process.
"It's a pretty cool accomplishment," Roberts said of her new records. "It's not something I was working towards or anything like that, but it's pretty cool to have a record like that, and I think it was a team effort, obviously with the wins. I couldn't get the wins like that without my team behind me."
The win was the 38th win for the senior pitcher, who entered the matchup with Temple tied for the wins lead with two other former Tigers. Her four strikeouts on the day gave Roberts 446 in her career.
In addition to the Memphis records, Roberts was also named as the Tennessee Sports Writers Association softball pitcher of the week.
Memphis head coach Natalie Poole said she's proud of Roberts' achievements and notes that they're even more impressive given the timeframe in which they were completed.
"The record that she broke was actually done in probably about two and a half years if you ask me, because she only pitched 12 innings her freshman year," Poole said. "I'm really pleased that she's able to strike people out. It definitely helps us as a team, and I think it says a lot about what she contributes to our team."
The Tigers were unable to brave the Ides of March with the team dropping eight contests in a row over the final two weeks of the month, but April has appeared to bring new life into Poole's squad-the victory over Temple was Memphis' fourth win in its last five games.
Wednesday evening the Tigers continue their 10-game home stand with a matchup against the University of Tennessee-Martin.
Poole and the Tigers are optimistic that the momentum from the previous week's wins can carry over and that issues they faced during the eight-game slide have been resolved.
"I think confidence goes a long way," Poole said. "We got into about a two-week slump offensively. We were trying to find our way out of it and it was a struggle for us. We did some talking last week. We did some work to try to help get over what we were struggling with maybe mentally a little bit as well as physically, and I think we made some good adjustments."
Memphis will look to extend their winning streak to three games in the mid-week meeting with UT-Martin. First pitch is slated for 5 p.m. at the Tiger Softball Complex at the University of Memphis Park Avenue Campus.
