Baseball headed to Richmond

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Coming off of a 9-7 comeback victory against St. Peter’s on Tuesday, Temple (12-16, 3-6 Atlantic 10 Conference) will travel to Richmond, VA for a three-game series against VCU (15-15, 2-4 A-10).

After 14 seasons of coaching experience in Virginia, Wheeler had grown very familiar with VCU during his time with William & Mary and Richmond.

“[VCU] is a program that I have known very well for a lot of years,” Wheeler said. “They are going to have good players and are well coached. This year has been up and down for them, but I expect them to be good.”

For the first match-up on Friday, Wheeler said sophomore pitcher Patrick Peterson will be the starting pitcher for Temple in the game scheduled for 6:00 p.m. In seven starts this season, Peterson is 1-3 with a 4.46 ERA.

On Saturday at 3:00 p.m., Wheeler expects sophomore pitcher Eric Peterson to start for the Owls unless he relieves his brother on Friday night to seal a victory. On the season, Peterson leads Temple with a 4-0 record and a 1.91 ERA.

In Sunday’s matchup scheduled for 1:00 p.m., Wheeler has yet to decide on a starting pitcher.

“I think this series should be a lot of fun,” sophomore shortstop Nick Lustrino said. “We will be playing in a minor league park, which is pretty cool. [VCU] has a good history, but we believe they are beatable. Hopefully we will go down there and win a few games this weekend.”

After scoring nine runs in Tuesday’s defeat of St. Peter’s, Temple will look to keep the offensive production going as the team compiled a four-run eighth inning. Offensively the Owls were led by Lustrino who recorded three hits and three RBI in the victory.

“I expect [VCU] is going to make it a tough series for us, but we are going to go out there and try to get it done.”

John Murrow can be reached at john.murrow@temple.edu or Twitter @JohnMurrow12.

Temple to host St. Peter’s

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After dropping two out of three conference games to La Salle this past weekend, Temple will host St. Peter’s at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10 at Skip Wilson Field.

In Sunday’s matchup, the Owls used five different pitchers after redshirt senior starting pitcher Dan Moller was relieved after 2.0 innings. For Wednesday’s meeting with the Peacocks, coach Ryan Wheeler has not made a decision on who will start on the mound.

“It will probably be a little bit of a staff day,” Wheeler said. “Right now, I am probably leaning towards [sophomore pitcher] Adam Dian.”

Temple’s pitching staff with face a tough presence in the form of St. Peter’s senior Pat Farrell who leads the Peacocks offensively in non-conference games this season, batting .333 (12-for-36) in 14 games.

The Owls will also enter Wednesday’s meeting losers of four out of their past five games, winning the lone contest in a complete game shutout delivered from sophomore pitcher Patrick Peterson against La Salle on Saturday.

This season against non-conference opponents, Temple is 8-10, but is 3-0 against non-conference opponents at Skip Wilson Field this season.

“Regardless right now of who the opponent is, I am more concerned about what is going on in our dugout and how we are playing,” Wheeler said. “I told these guys we are not quitting; there is still a good part of the season left and we are going to keep working to try and get better.”

John Murrow can be reached at john.murrow@temple.edu or Twitter @JohnMurrow12.

Women’s tennis to take on Villanova

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The women’s tennis team will play their first on-campus match of the year, taking on Big 5 rival Villanova Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the Student Pavilion.

The Owls (6-12, 2-6 Atlantic 10 Conference) broke a five-match losing streak after defeating Quinnipiac on Sunday. The Wildcats (6-10, 0-3 Big East Conference) also recently snapped a losing streak, getting their first win in four tries against Saint Francis of Pa. on Sunday.

Temple’s best players this spring have been junior Jordan Batey and sophomore Rebecca Breland. Playing from the first to the fifth flights, Batey has amassed a 10-5 record in singles play and has not lost more than one match in a row. Breland, playing everywhere from the second to the fifth flight, is 7-0 in flights two and three.

The Owls have not won a doubles point in the past six matches, despite the two main doubles teams – Bater and junior Alicia Doms, and Breland and junior Yana Mavrina – both having winning records. Batey/Doms is 7-5, and Breland/Mavrina is 8-4. Winning doubles would have swung matches against Xavier and Fordham, and the Owls defeated Qunnipiac despite losing doubles. If Temple can get the doubles point, its match will be a lot easier.

Pasquale, Dominik collect conference honors

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It was a big week for two Owls on the diamond.

Junior catcher Stephanie Pasquale won Atlantic 10 Conference Softball Player of the Week while freshman pitcher Kelsey Dominik was named the Rookie of the Week.

Pasquale earned the award largely for her efforts in Sunday’s double-header over St. Bonaventure when she went 9-9 in both games with four homeruns, seven runs scored and 11 runs batted in. On the week she went 15-22 at the plate with five long balls, four doubles and 21 RBIs.

Dominik was solid on the mound for Temple, going 2-0 in three appearances (two starts). She pitched 12.1 innings, surrendering six earned runs. The rookie ace was also hot at the plate, hit .333 in 21 plate appearances with three homers and 10 RBIs. She plays first and third base when not toeing the rubber.

Both will look to continue their hot streaks this week in conference battles against St. Joe’s and Dayton. Pasquale is looking to extend her hitting streak past 15 games.

Former Owl Staley headed to Hall

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Former Owls’ coach Dawn Staley, who was instrumental in rebuilding a program nearly left for dead at the turn of the century, has cemented herself among some of the greatest to play the game of basketball.

The winningest coach in program history will be a part of the 2013 Basketball Hall of Fame class.

While not nominated for her coaching prowess at Temple—where she went 172-80 in eight seasons and three-straight Atlantic 10 Conference Championships along with six NCAA Tournament appearances—and the University of South Carolina, she was nominated for her skills on the court preceding her coaching career.

Staley played high school ball at Dobbins Tech, in Philadelphia, before becoming a force at Virginia and eventually winning three Olympic gold medals with Team USA.

Staley responded to the announcement on Twitter, saying, “How incredible it is to be amongst greatness?!! I’m still I’m shock….and dreaming. Don’t wake me! 🙂 #2013HOF.”

According to philly.com, Staley told philahoopsw.com in February that she had two goals in basketball, “I wanted to be an Olympian and be a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.”

Now she has both.

Hawks, Owls will begin double-header tomorrow

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The Owls (16-15, 5-1 Atlantic 10 Conference) kick off a tough conference week Tuesday when they host St. Joseph’s (21-3, 6-0 A-10) in a double-header.

The battle features two of the top hitting teams in the conference—St. Joe’s with .296 (3rd) and Temple with .295 (4th).

The differences between the two squads end there. The Hawks boast the best pitching rotation in the A-10, with a 1.78 earned run average, nearly a full run better than George Washington in second. Temple, meanwhile, is second-to-last with a 5.85 team ERA. The Hawks have allowed just 44 earned with 170 hits while the Owls have surrendered 163 earned and 272 hits.

But the Owls hold the advantage in team defense, with the top-ranked fielding percentage, .966 and 12 double-plays turned. The Hawks are ninth with a .952 fielding percentage and have only turned four double-plays.

The game also sports several of the top hitters in the conference. Junior catcher Stephanie Pasquale is hitting a conference-leading .485 with 47 runs batted in for Temple. St. Joe’s, meanwhile, has three of the top seven hitters in terms of average, led by freshman infielder Sarah Yoos, third in the A-10 with a .409 average.

The first half of the double-header is set for 3 p.m.

Gymnastics headed to Springfield University

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No. 13 nationally ranked men’s gymnastics (12-6) will head to Springfield University for tomorrow’s Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships, competition begins at 7 p.m. As last year’s conference champions, the Owls will look to retain their ECAC crown.

The main competition standing in the way of back to back ECAC titles will be conference rival William and Mary. In three meets against the tribe this year, Temple went 2-1, but the past month showed some disappointing performances by the Owls and their expectations going into the ECAC’s are in suspect.

We’ve been in this situation before,” men’s coach Fred Turoff said. “The guys know they can defeat William and Mary this Friday as they have twice after an initial-meet loss to them this season. However, William and Mary has outscored us in recent meets, so they have been hitting better than we have.”

Even though William and Mary has been outscoring Temple recently, Turoff still said he believes his team will win based on how the team has looked in practice.

He said, “Since practice has been going well, I have to have a positive outlook and expect us to prevail.”

Softball begins road trip vs. Wagner

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The Owls hit the road Thursday for the first time in almost two weeks, and leave Pennsylvania for the first time since March 17.

Temple (12-15, 3-1 Atlantic 10 Conference) heads to Staten Island, N.Y. to face Wagner (4-21, 0-6 Northeast Conference) in their second straight double-header.

The team is coming off a series split against Lafayette in which pitching proved to be the deciding factor for the Owls in both games.

With junior Brooklin White roughed up in the first game and sophomore Jessica Mahoney going the distance in a 9-0, five-inning second game it appears coach Joe DiPietro might send out freshman Jessica Tolmie, who has been battling for the second slot in the rotation, for one of the two games.

Fellow freshman Kelsey Dominik, who has come out of nowhere to become the team’s ace this season, will likely get the starting nod in one of the games as well.

The Seahawks are led on offense by freshman outfielder Abigail Beasley, who is hitting .357 on the season in 70 plate appearances. The team’s ace is sophomore Samantha Bedker, who is 3-6 with a 4.90 earned run average.

The first pitch for game one is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

Men’s tennis travels to La Salle

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The men’s tennis team will take on La Salle on Thursday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in Olney, Pa.

The Owls (4-9, 2-3 Atlantic 10 Conference) will look to extend their two-match winning streak. The Explorers (7-5, 0-2 A-10) are on a three-match losing streak.

Since senior Kacper Rams will not be playing, the top flight singles spot will be up for grabs. Sophomores Kristian Marquart and Hernan Vasconez have played there in the last two matches, each losing in straight sets.

Rams’ injury has opened up playing time for freshman Maros Januvka. He has played top-flight doubles in each of the past two matches with Vasconez. Despite losing both matches, coach Steve Mauro has said Januvka is impressing in practice, and deserves the opportunity.

Marquart and his doubles partner, freshman Sam Rundle, have been doing well lately. In the last nine matches, the duo is 5-2 with two incomplete matches. They defeated Morgan State’s team of freshman Evan Ward and junior Jannick Tash 8-5.

Matthews in contention at Wildcat Invitational

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Freshman Brandon Matthews finds himself in contention for an individual title once again after completion of the first day of play at the Wildcat Invitational held in Malvern, PA.

The freshman’s 36-hole total of two-over-par leaves him in fourth place individually, six strokes behind University of Delaware freshman Braden Shattuck who paced the individual field with a 36-hole total of 140. Matthew’s started the day off hot firing a three-under-par score of 69 on his first 18 holes. He then cooled off shooting a five-over-par score of 77 on his second 18 holes.

As a team the Owls find themselves in sixth place out of 13 teams in the event. Behind Matthews the Owls were led by senior Devin Bibeau who finished with a 36-hole total of 151 (+7) and sophomore Paul Carbone who finished with 155 (+11). Junior Matthew Crescenzo and sophomore Matthew Teesdale rounded out the Owls with scores of 157 (+13) and 160 (+16) respectively.

Temple finished the day with a team total of 604 and trails team-leader Rhode Island by just nine shots. With six teams being within nine-shots of the leader the second-day of play at the Wildcat Invitational is sure to be unpredictable, especially with temperatures expected to be around 10 degrees lower than they were Monday during round one.