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2013 Memphis Spring Sports 2012: Season Poole Wins First Game As Memphis Head Coach Natalie Poole took over the Tigers softball program on Aug. 3, 2011, replacing Windy Thees who went to coach at Ole Miss. After falling in their 2012 season opener to No. 2/3 Alabama, the Tigers picked up Poole’s first win as the Memphis head coach with a 10-5 victory over Jacksonville State.
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Lindahl Hits Grand Slam Against Samford Sophomore catcher Amber Lindahl accomplished something that hadn’t been done often in Memphis softball history by hitting the program’s sixth grand slam on Mar. 20 in an 11-4 win over Samford. Lindahl’s blast over the centerfield wall was also the first home run of her career. Lindahl became the fourth Tiger to hit a grand slam in its seven-year history, joining Melissa Nance, Vanessa Walle and Jessica Phillips. Roberts Tosses No-Hitter Against Murray State On Mar. 28, junior Ellen Roberts became just the fourth Tiger in school history to pitch a no-hitter, leading Memphis to a 1-0 victory over Murray State. Roberts joined Jenna Kubesch, Carly Hummel and Kimber Bossom as the only Tigers to accomplish the feat. Tigers Win 13-Inning Game Over Southern Miss Memphis won its longest game in program history with a 3-2 victory over Southern Miss Mar. 31. Ellen Roberts threw a school-record 13 innings, striking out a career-high 13 batters which tied for fifth in school history. Roberts also drove in the winning run with a line drive over the first baseman’s head to bring home Ashleigh King. The 13-inning game lasted 3.5 hours. Memphis Wins Seven Straight The Tigers won a season-best sevenstraight games in the month of April with wins over Tulsa, Alcorn State, Louisiana-Monroe and UTEP. Memphis began the streak with a 7-6 over Tulsa, before shutting out Alcorn State with 10-0 and 8-0 victories. The Tigers followed with a 6-1 win over Louisiana-Monroe, before defeating UTEP 5-1, 4-0 and 7-2 for their first conference sweep of the season. Memphis Defeats East Carolina 5-3 on Senior Day Seniors Jessica Phillips, Kamri Chester and Alyssa Palmieri helped Memphis pick up a 5-3 win over East Carolina on Senior Day, as all four RBI in the game were scored by the veterans in their final game at Tigers Softball Complex. Phillips went 3-for-3 in the game, while Chester drove in a run and Palmieri was 2-for-3 with a run scored. In the circle, senior Lauren Carley pitched 6.1 innings, striking our four and allowing two runs on three hits. The 2012 class
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helped Memphis to a 36-14 record and its first NCAA Tournament in 2011.
circle. Roberts’ ERA went from 4.15 to 2.59, and Richwood’s ERA dropped from 4.72 to 2.60.
Tigers Fall to UAB in C-USA Tournament No. 7 seed Memphis fell 2-0 to No. 2 seed UAB in the opening round of the Conference USA Tournament. The Tigers out-hit the Blazers, 4-3, but a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth proved to be the difference maker. Memphis ended the season with a 20-37 record.
Curtis Warms Up at the Hot Corner In the final 36 games, Laura Curtis hit .307 (31for-101) with 17 runs scored and 15 RBI. She also led the team with three home runs in that time frame.
Curtis, Richwood Selected to C-USA All-Conference Teams Junior third baseman Laura Curtis and freshman pitcher Jordan Richwood garnered all-conference accolades. Curtis was named to the All-Conference USA second team, while Richwood was selected to the C-USA All-Freshman Team. Curtis hit .289 with 15 RBI and 19 runs scored. In 2012, Curtis led the team with a .422 slugging percentage, 10 sacrifice hits and 77 assists. During conference play, Curtis led the Tigers with a .309 batting average, .485 slugging percentage and a .377 on-base percentage. Richwood finished the season with a 6-11 record and a 3.17 ERA. During the season, Richwood held opponents to a team-low .225 batting average and totaled 106 strikeouts in 110.1 innings pitched. Phillips Eclipses 100 RBI Senior first baseman Jessica Phillips became just the second Memphis player to eclipse the 100-RBI plateau. Phillips had five RBI in a threegame series with East Carolina totaling 103 for her career. The school RBI record is 123 by Leila Dolfo (2006-09). Phillips also ranks in the top five on the career charts for games played (1984th), games started (183-4th), doubles (273rd), home runs (25-T2nd) and walks (61-4th).
Tigers Make TV Debut Memphis made its softball television debut on Mar. 17, 2012, in the first game of a doubleheader versus Marshall on Fox SportSouth. Tracy Warren called the play-by-play with Bruce Howard providing the color analyst. Memphis lost the game, 1-0. Team Records Broken • Most sac hits - 64 • Most strikeouts looking - 123 • Most caught stealing by - 22 Individual Records Broken • Most triples - Alyssa Palmieri (3, tied) • Most sac flies - Jessica Phillips (3, tied) • Most caught stealing by - Amber Lindahl (21) • Most saves - Ellen Roberts (3) • Most games finished - Jordan Richwood (13) • Most strikeouts looking - Ellen Roberts (68) NCAA Rankings • 2Bs/Game - Jessica Phillips (263rd, 0.19) • Saves - Ellen Roberts (T40th, 3) • ERA - Ellen Roberts (247th, 3.06) Jordan Richwood (258th, 3.17) • K’s/7 Inn. - Jordan Richwood (103rd, 6.7) Ellen Robberts (205th, 5.3)
Lindahl Sets Season Record for Runners Thrown Out Sophomore catcher Amber Lindahl set a school record for throwing out would-be base stealers. Lindahl has thrown out 21 of 77 steal attempts, an average of 27 percent. She has thrown out 13 of 37 attempts in conference play (35%). The previous Memphis record was 17 by Keanah Prestridge in 2010. Lindahl finished the season tied for second in C-USA in runners caught stealing. A Pair of Tigers’ Tales Prior to the start of C-USA play (21 games), Memphis was hitting only .207, and the pitching staff’s ERA was 4.63. The Tigers finished the remaining 36 games hitting at a higher clip (.244), and their ERA was significantly lower (2.79). In the same span of time, both Ellen Roberts and Jordan Richwood took control in the pitching
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2013
Tigers Spring Sports Fact Book