Memphis Softball Drops Road Contest To North Alabama
Memphis Softball made its third road trip of the early season as they trekked to Florence, Alabama, to tangle with the Lions of North Alabama. In the end, the Tigers fell, 5-1, to the Lions for their second straight loss. With the loss, Memphis falls to 9-7 in 2025. We will briefly analyze the game, some Tigers who stood out, and what is next on the season for Memphis.
What Happened In Loss?
The Lions roared early as Bayleigh Rouse hit a two-run RBI in the first inning off of Tiger starter Taniyah Brown. In the second stanza, Memphis had runners in position yet couldn’t take advantage as they came away with no runs. In return, the Lions extended their two-run lead after a single from Hailey Jones. In the play, Memphis had a throwing error that caused both runs to be unearned. Regardless, the deficit for Memphis was now four runs and would be extended when Laura Leigh Wheeler sacrificed to drive in a fifth run for North Alabama.
As both squads went scoreless from the third inning to the sixth, the bats froze up as the Lions and Tigers combined for three hits over four innings. In the seventh, Memphis got a spark from Shelby Durbin. Durbin blasted a solo home run to lead off on what was her first home run as a Tiger. The bats again went cold as the next three batters for the Tigers were sat down to end the game.
In the circle for the Lions was Katie Simon, who threw a complete game, the first of her career, as she allowed three hits and one run and finished with a 0.57 WHIP in the win. For Memphis, Brown finished allowing four hits, five runs, three walks, and two strikeouts. In addition, Brown allowed one double while throwing 51 total pitches with 23 for strikes in her 12 batters faced in 1.1 innings. Brown was placed with the loss, bringing her overall record to 3-3 in the season.
In relief for Brown, Memphis went to Lyrical Bennett, who worked 4.2 innings. In these, she allowed two runs and one walk while facing 17 Lions. In addition to this, Bennett threw 48 pitches, with 31 being for strikes in her road appearance. As a staff, Memphis allowed 6 hits, 5 runs with 3 being earned, 4 walks, and 2 strikeouts. The Tigers hit one Lion on the day as they faced 29 batters. The Tigers threw 99 pitches, with 54 being for strikes, and a 3.15 ERA for the day.
Who Stood Out?
We want to shine light on the positive performances even in a loss.
We mentioned Durbin and her first deep ball as a Tiger, as she scored the only run of the game. In addition, Durbin was the only Tiger with a multi-hit game as she finished the day two-for-three from the plate. The home run allowed the Tigers to continue their streak of 16 games of not being shut out. The current run is the longest for the program since the 2018 season, when the team went 34 consecutive games with a run.
Speaking of consecutive games, this brings us to Neely Taylor. In the loss, Taylor extended her streak of starting games, as she has started all 16 contests in 2024. The former Saint Benedict star is the only Tiger to have accomplished this on the roster this year. While Memphis wasn’t shut out, they did tie the lowest runs scored, with one, as this mirrors the Kentucky loss in the I-75 Challenge.
What Is Next?
The road trip continues as the Tigers get a day of rest before heading to Monroe, Louisiana. While there, Memphis will face Tarleton State twice, on Friday, Southeast Missouri, on Saturday, and tangle with the hosting Louisiana Monroe Warhawks twice on Sunday. These games will take place between Friday, February 28th and Sunday, March 2nd.
Stay tuned, as we will have more on these opponents soon.
