Memphis baseball check-in

With about a month remaining in the regular season, it’s a good time to check in on Memphis baseball. The Tigers are currently 12-23 on the season, 4-8 in conference play, and they sit at No. 9 in the 10-team conference standings.

Memphis is coming off back-to-back wins over FAU and Mississippi Valley State, and it heads to Houston this weekend for a three-game series against Rice.

Matt Riser’s team won the opening series against Toledo, but they haven’t won a series since then. While they haven’t won a conference series, the Tigers have found ways to win one game in each conference series.

With five conference series remaining, Memphis must find ways to win more than just one game each weekend. In the American, only the top eight teams qualify for the conference tournament, and the Tigers are looking to make the tournament for the first time since the 2023 season.

While the Tigers have struggled, there have been bright spots on the season, including the addition of Michael Gupton. The outfielder signed with Memphis after spending last season at Samford, and he has been one of the most consistent bats in the Tigers’ lineup.

Gupton is batting .311 with a 1.003 OPS and 10 home runs, which ties for the third most in the conference. 

Tyler Harrington has been another impressive addition to the squad. The infielder played high school ball at Briarcrest and spent his freshman season at Memphis before stops at Southwest Tennessee Community College and UAB.

He returned to Memphis this season, and he’s batting .300 this season in 100 at-bats.

The Tigers have 11 players batting .250 or better, but they’ve struggled to slow opposing teams down. Memphis has allowed opposing teams to score five or more runs in 27 of the 35 games this season, and they’ve allowed 10 or more runs in 13 games, including three in the last eight.

The Tigers rank last in the American in ERA and home runs allowed, and they rank No. 276 in the country in team ERA.

While they’ve struggled at times this season, they’re tied in the conference standings with Florida Atlantic for the final spot in the conference tournament. Memphis will need to make up ground over the final month of the season, but it won’t be easy.

The Tigers have five conference series left this season against Rice, UAB, East Carolina and UTSA before wrapping up the year in Charlotte against the 49ers. That’s No. 3, No. 2, No. 5 and No. 1 in the conference standings before ending the year against the last team in the conference, who could be looking to make a late jump into the conference standings. 

Memphis has remained in games because of its hitting, but it must find some success on the mound and more consistency at the plate if the Tigers want to be playing in Clearwater in a month. Memphis returns to action on Friday for a three-game road series against Rice.