TEMPE, Ariz. – After getting out to a 4-0 lead and extending it to 7-3, sophomore designated hitter Mya Clark led off the fourth inning with the game tied at seven.
Clark had already gotten off to a strong start, drawing a walk in the first inning and tripling in the third.
In her third at-bat, she continued her hot hitting, leading off the fourth inning with a fly ball deep to right-center field. Sophomore centerfielder Samantha Bolding went back to the wall and attempted a jumping catch, but was unable to make the catch.
Clark’s homer and three more insurance runs in the following inning gave the Memphis Tigers (1-0) an opening-day win against the Toledo Rockets (0-4) 11-7 on day two of the Bill Kajikawa Classic at Farrington Stadium on Friday, Feb. 6.
The Tigers extended their lead in the fifth inning with a solo home run from sophomore second baseman Zerenti Sousa. They added two more runs on consecutive wild pitches by Toledo.
The Rockets played their fourth game of the season in two days, losing 9-1 to Northwestern in five innings earlier.
Toledo went down early but was able to cut the lead to one, using a three-run homerun by graduate third baseman Eli Enriquez to cut a four-run lead to 4-3.
The Tigers were able to extend the lead in the third inning, but the Rockets would not back down, using two singles, a wild pitch and a hit by pitch to even the game after three innings.
But Toledo’s offensive run would end there as it went hitless the rest of the way and returned to its struggles seen earlier in the Kajakawa Classic.
After Clark’s home run, the Tigers went to senior pitcher Rylee Dugar. After three innings in which the Tigers’ pitching got pummelled, Dugar shut down the Rockets the rest of the way, allowing zero baserunners.
Freshman pitcher Avery Stutts got the start for Memphis. She was pulled after two innings, but she came back in when the bases were loaded with no outs for Toledo.
However, she would spiral on the mound the rest of the way as four runs came through to tie it up.
Memphis got off to a fast start, scoring four runs in the first inning. A sac fly from sophomore outfielder Kylie Waldrep, a two-run single by graduate shortstop Deana Cunningham and a triple by senior outfielder Kennedy Semien.
The game was one of the longer softball games you’ll see, running for two hours and 52 minutes, pushing the start time of the following Texas State vs ASU game from 6:15 to 7:00.
For Toledo, the team is now 0-4 in the Bill Kajikawa Classic and the season with losses to Arizona State, Texas State, Northwestern and Memphis.
Memphis improves to 1-0 on the season, now the last team to begin play in the weekend-long tournament.
Both teams will go at it again on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 10 a.m. MT at Farrington Stadium.