Coming off of a three-loss weekend in Norfolk, Va. against Old Dominion, the baseball team will look to improve its record against UNC Asheville this weekend.
Beginning on Friday, March 8, UNC Asheville (4-9) will host Temple (2-6) in the first of a three-game series at 3:00 p.m. The two teams will also face off on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
“We were let down from last weekend and we are now putting that behind us now,” sophomore shortstop Nick Lustrino said. “Right now, everybody has their head on correctly, more than usual actually.”
In three games last weekend, the Owls were outscored 23-6 by Old Dominion. During the three-game series against the Monarchs, the Owls used 12 different pitchers who as a staff combined for a 7.66 ERA.
“We are heading down to North Carolina to play better baseball this weekend,” coach Ryan Wheeler said. “We need to get into a little more of a routine.”
For the first time in 2013, Temple was able to practice outside on a grass field at the Ambler campus this past Tuesday. This practice was exactly what the Owls needed in order to catch up to those teams that have had the ability to practice outside all season, Wheeler said.
“The early season stuff is kind of over,” Wheeler said. “We have had enough reps and have played enough games. We have just got to play better.”
Entering Friday’s matchup, both the Bulldogs and the Owls will be looking to snap a four game losing streak. For Temple, the team has not won a game since Feb. 24 against Holy Cross in a 13-12 offensive battle, while UNC Asheville last won a game on March 2 against Pittsburgh in a 5-4 extra innings win.
In Friday’s 1:00 p.m. matchup, Wheeler said he expects sophomore pitcher Patrick Peterson to start for the Owls. In Patrick Peterson’s last start on March 3, the right-handed pitcher left the game after 6.0 innings pitched while allowing four hits, two runs, one walk and four strikeouts before being replaced by sophomore pitcher Eric Peterson.
“If we play as well as we did against No. 24 Virginia Tech, we expect that we can beat anybody, and that’s the attitude we are going to take heading into this weekend,” Wheeler said.
John Murrow can be reached at john.murrow@temple.edu or Twitter @JohnMurrow12.
