The Memphis Tigers lost all three games in the inaugural Grind City Classic to cap off a frustrating ten days of baseball.
Starting the Friday before the University of Memphis let out for spring break, the Tigers took two of three games against Wright State.
On Friday, Memphis got a great start from ace David Warren. Warren pitched seven innings, only allowing two runs. Austin Baskin, Will Marcy, Duante Stewart, and Aaron Smigelski each had two hits to propel the Tigers to a 6-3 win.
The Tigers won a thriller last Saturday, earning a 13-12 walk-off win over Wright State. Memphis jumped out to a 3-0 first inning lead thanks to a Jacob Compton home run. However, the pitching staff struggled, with three different pitchers allowing three runs in the game. Memphis trailed by one entering the ninth, but Austin Basking hit a walk-off single to win the game.
Wright State cruised to a 17-7 win on Sunday, thanks to a slew of walks and a few costly Memphis errors. The Tigers offense fought back late, but Memphis pitchers struggled.
Memphis returned to action on Wednesday, when they took on Ole Miss in Oxford. The Tigers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning with Duante Stewart and Pierre Seals each hitting an RBI single. The Rebels hit a string of home runs in the middle innings to pull away. Memphis scratched another run through in the eighth, before falling 5-3.
In game one of the Grind City Classic, Butler defeated the Tigers 7-6. Jacob Compton had two home runs in the contest and the Tigers made it interesting in the ninth, but they ultimately fell short.
On Saturday, Presbyterian’s starting pitcher, Charlie McDaniel cruised through seven innings, only allowing three hits and one Tiger run. For Memphis, Seth Garner threw five innings of shutout relief, but the Memphis bats could not catch up and the Tigers lost 4-1.
The last game of the break was a thriller. Jackson State jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the contest. The Tigers got a run back in the third on an error, but JSU would add another in the fourth. Jacob Compton gave the Tigers the lead in the fifth with another home run. JSU tied it in the sixth inning, before scoring the winning two runs in the tenth inning.
Player of the Week: Jacob Compton
Compton continued his power surge, going 9/27 over spring break, good for a .333 average. He had five home runs and nine runs batted in.
