HOUSTON – Trailing 9-7 with the bases empty and two outs in the top of the ninth inning, the Memphis Tigers (18-16, 4-6) had five straight batters reach base and score four times against Houston Cougars (24-14, 5-5) RHP Ben Sears (L, 5-2), who entered the night as one of the premiere closers in the nation and hadn't allowed more than two runs in an outing all season. The Cougars took the 9-7 lead into the ninth inning despite losing a 6-0 lead early in the series opener.
Memphis: 11, Houston: 9
WP: Jacob Gilmore (1-2)
LP: Ben Sears (5-2)
SV: Dalton Kendrick (7)
How it happened:
- Houston took a 2-0 lead in the opening inning on a two-run double by RF Alex Lopez
- The Cougars scored four times in the second off of RHP Landon Gartman (ND) and led 6-0 after two innings
- Memphis' first comeback effort started in the third, as RF Blake Daniels led off the inning with a single, LF Ian Bibiloni followed with a double, and both scored on groundouts, while DH Jacob Compton's two-out RBI triple pulled Memphis within three, 6-3
- Daniels' RBI single in the fourth off of RHP Jaycob Deese (ND) made it a two-run game, while 1B Chris Swanberg tied the game 6-6 in the fifth with a two-out, two-strike, two-run single off of RHP Maddux Miller
- After losing a six-run lead, the Cougars immediately retook the lead, as SS Ian McMillan connected on a two-out, two-run home run, which put Houston back in front 8-6
- A sixth inning leadoff double in the sixth by 2B Brandon Burckel paired with a groundout and wild pitch led to a run that made it 9-6 Houston after six innings
- Compton's one-out solo blast to right field in the seventh pulled Memphis within two at 9-7, where the game stood until the ninth
- After Sears retired the first two hitters in the ninth, five straight Tigers reached base against the Houston closer
- 2B Austin Baskin started the rally with a single, Swanberg walked on five pitches, just the second walk issued by Sears in nearly 40 innings this season, C Brennan DuBose made it a one run game with an RBI double, Daniels's fourth hit of the game, a two-run double, put Memphis in front 10-9, while Bibiloni's third double and fourth hit of the night made it 11-9 Memphis
- Kendrick issued a one-out walk and gave up a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth, but the left-handed reliever caught CF Tab Tracy looking at a fastball down the middle that ended the game, as Houston left the tying runners on base in the 11-9 Memphis come-from-behind win
Notables:
- The six-run come-from-behind win was the largest for the Tigers this season
- With four hits, Bibiloni matched his career high, also set against Houston in 2021
- Bibiloni also extended his hit streak to eight games and is 14-29 over that stretch
- Daniels' four hits were a new season high and extended his on-base streak to 11 games
- With two hits and two RBIs, Compton now has 12 multi-hit games and eight multi-RBI games on the season, both tied for the most on the team
Up Next:
- The Tigers and Cougars are set for the middle game of the series at 6:30 p.