The University of Memphis baseball team went on the road for the first time this season and defeated Central Arkansas, 8-6, at Bear Field on Tuesday night.
The Tigers won their fourth-straight game and improved to 7-2 to begin the season.
"It was a good win tonight," head coach Kerrick Jackson said. "We got solid pitching performances across the board, made some mistakes on defense, but we were able to capitalize and score some runs to jump out early. They settled down with their pitching staff and threw up some zeroes. We were able to match that until right at the end, but we were able to hang on."
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Austin Baskin got the scoring started when he hit a frozen-rope solo shot to left field in the top of the second to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
• Catcher Jonah Sutton knocked in another run on a sac-fly to center field and Brayland Skinner muscled up for a three-run, opposite-field homerun to make it a five-run inning.
• In the third, a two-out single by Tyler Heckert brought home Logan Kohler and Baskin to make it 7-1, Tigers.
• UCA pushed across one run in the bottom of the third to trim the Memphis lead to five.
• Memphis scored on another sac-fly in the fourth, this one off the bat of Baskin, scoring RJ Jimerson to make it an 8-2 Tiger lead.
• A solo homerun and an RBI ground out for the Bears in the top of the fourth brought the score to 8-4.
• Central Arkansas loaded the bases in the eighth and was able to plate a pair of runs before Dalton Kendrick entered the game to pitch. With the bases still loaded, Kendrick got a fly out to Skinner in center field to get Memphis out of the jam with an 8-6 lead still intact.
• The Bears threatened in the ninth with back-to-back two out singles, but Kendrick and the Tigers shut the door to seal the 8-6 road win.
NOTABLES
• Utility man Jake Curtis made his third overall appearance and first start on the mound for Memphis. He tossed three innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and struck out one.
• Glenn Green III made his third relief appearance of the season and picked up the win to move to 2-0. Green threw 2.1 innings, striking out three and retiring six-consecutive UCA batters at one point. He allowed just one earned run on a solo homerun and sports a 2.25 season ERA in four innings.
• Baskin stayed hot and went 2-for-4 on the afternoon with a homerun, a double, two RBI and two runs scored. He raised his season batting average to .448 (13-for-29) and has now collected multiple hits in four-straight games.
• Kohler logged a 2-for-4 game, adding a stolen base and scoring a pair of runs.
• Braden Webb made his second start of the season at DH and went 2-for-4 with a run scored.
• Anthony Hansen extended his hitting streak to nine games to begin his Tiger career. Hansen (14-for-34) is hitting .412 on the year.
• Kendrick earned his second save of the season, entering the game in the eighth with two down and the bases loaded. He pitched the Tigers out of that jam before recording the final three outs in the ninth.
• Eight of the Tigers nine starters had a hit in the game.
UP NEXT
• The Tigers hit the road again for a three-game series Friday through Sunday with Nicholls (4-4) in Thibodoux, La.
