Memphis Softball Hits The Road For I-75 Challenge
The Memphis Tigers softball program will hit the road this upcoming weekend for quite the challenge. Memphis will travel to Kennesaw, Georgia as they will play five games over three days in the I-75 Challenge hosted by Kennesaw State. Along with the home Owls, Memphis will also tangle with #24 Kentucky Wildcats, Georgia State Panthers, and Dayton Flyers in their games. Game one of the challenge, against Kennesaw State, is set for Friday with a 3 pm start time. On Saturday, the Tigers will face Kentucky and Dayton, on the campus of Georgia Tech, followed by a doubleheader, on Sunday, against Georgia State, on their campus in Atlanta. Game one will be streamed on ESPN+.
We will look at how Memphis got here, who is the first opponent of the challenge and series history, and the three keys to Memphis’ success.
We will analyze how Memphis got to this weekend, opponent number one of the challenge, and three keys to success for the Tigers.
How Did Memphis Get Here?
Memphis enters the weekend with an 8-3 record on the season. This is after routing Mississippi Valley State last weekend 27-0 in two games. Tiger pitcher Rylee Dugar threw a no-hitter, her first and the 14th in program history. This history-making performance would be followed by Jericho Tate who threw a shutout in her first collegiate start while allowing two hits. As a staff, Memphis pitchers have a 2.37 ERA and 58 strikeouts. This duo, along with Taniyah Brown, has led Memphis in the circle thus far. The trio will be players to watch as the season matures. We want to also mention that other pitchers, such as Lyrical Bennett, have been vital in multiple situations to shut down opponents.
At the plate, Memphis has been scorching hot to start 2025. To further this, Kennedy Semien and Neely Taylor have 16 and 15 hits which is tops in the conference. Semien leads the team with a .500 batting average, and 10 runs, and is second with 10 RBI’s. Taylor sits second with a .484 batting average, runs, with 9, and has reached base safely in all 11 games played. Taylor would snap a 9-game hitting streak in the most recent game when she got her 3rd walk of the season and her first stolen base. Taylor, and Zoe Adebayo, are the only two Tigers to start all games for Memphis so far. Adebayo has been on a tear from the plate with team-leading performances in home runs, 3, RBIs, with 13, a .929 slugging percentage, and in triples with two on the season.
Not to be outdone by these stellar performances is Drue Thomas. In the most recent game, a 19-0 rout, she hit her first grand slam in her first at-bat of 2025. This grand slam was just the 15th-ever grand slam and was key in the 16-run inning which is also a program record. The Memphis offense has seemingly a different weapon every game as they have a run total of 92 through 11 games. Arianna Cox-Cole, McKaylee Polk, and Shelby Durbin have all recorded 7 extra-base hits for Memphis to assist these runs coming across the plate.
We will now look at the first opponent for this weekend’s challenge.
Kennesaw State
The first opponent of the weekend will be the Kennesaw State Owls. The Owls recently suffered a loss to Georgia State as they enter the weekend with a 3-8 record. KSU has a lineup that is consistent and has experience as 6 Owls have started all 11 games this season. With this, 8 players have started at least 9 games this season.
Leading the Owls at the plate are Ana Gore and Hannah Harvey as they have an average of .300 or better. Gore leads the Owls with a .364 batting average while Harvey has a .300 average. Gore, a freshman, also has 12 hits, 10 RBI’s, and has two of the Owls 11 home runs to start the season. Her hits and RBIs lead the team as well as her 4 doubles as Gore has been a major vessel of production offensively.
In addition to Gore, the Owls have been led by transfer Ava Brooke Strickland who has a .292 batting average along with two RBIs on the season. Strickland has also recorded 7 hits and is the first Owl to leg out a triple this season. This program has four new additions in the lineup and they have strengthened the power at the plate as their development continues.
Ty Hardeman has been just as impactful as the enters the weekend batting .280 along with 9 RBIs in 2025. Lexie Shaver, who also has 2 home runs has added 6 RBIs to a team who also has 22 extra-base hits in the season.
On the mound for the Owls has been strong to start the slate. Kenley Hilleary has labored a team-high 24 innings of work while maintaining a 2.33 ERA along with 12 strikeouts. Her ERA is the best on the team entering the weekend. In addition to Hilleary is Emma Friedal who leads the team in wins, with 2, and strikeouts, with 14, along with a 4.36 ERA. Friedel has been stellar in the circle as she is holding opposing batters to a .219 average against her.
For Owls head coach, Tripp Mackay, this will be another important weekend for his program. In his seventh season at the helm, Mackay has amassed 136 wins. This makes him just the second Owl head coach to reach triple digits in wins while with the program as he joins KSU Hall of Famer Scott Whitlock to accomplish this feat.
The series history between the Tigers and Owls will be renewed as this is the first meeting since the 2014 season. The series is currently all knotted up at one win for each program entering the weekend with the most recent win, 4-3, for KSU over Memphis in the Troy Subway Invitational.
Three Keys To Memphis Success
Confidence In Circle
For Memphis to be successful not just this weekend but this season the circle must be a focus. The confidence must remain high for the pitchers to allow their defense to work for them. Pitchers such as Dugar, Brown, Tate, and others who may be called on have shown poise in the games played. This trend will need to continue this weekend for success.
Steady Offense
We have seen that Memphis can score in bunches as the Tigers rank 13th in the nation with 8.4 runs per game. With this, the style of play has become apparent as they also rank near the top of the nation in batting average, at 10th with a .380 average. In addition, when it comes to hits, with 113, Memphis ranks 5th in the nation, and 11th in doubles, with 21, and in runs batted in, with 78, on the season. Memphis has scored 92 runs which is 10th best in the country and will look for these numbers to continue as they enter this challenging weekend of play.
Dig In Defensively
We have spoken about the offense but we can’t forget the defense. The circle has been successful as has the defense for Memphis. The only downside has been the errors as the Tigers have 18 on the season. This will be something coach Trena Prater and staff will need to clean up as the season transpires. This has been seemingly the only negative defensively for a program that is having fun playing the game.
In closing, this weekend is another opportunity to continue a great season for Memphis. Will they win all five games? We are not sure. But what we are sure about is there will be exciting moments for this group of players and coaches. With this, every win needs to be celebrated no matter how they come or who they are against.
We will have more on this weekend’s games as we break down day one, look ahead at the next opponents, and more as we continue our coverage of Memphis Tigers softball.
Stay Tuned!
