Coming off of a 10-3 win over Lafayette in its home opener, Temple (4-9) will face Penn State (5-9) in a doubleheader at Skip Wilson Field beginning at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 16.
In just their second and third home game of the season, the Owls are hoping boost their record against a tough Penn State squad.
“Penn State will definitely be a good club,” coach Ryan Wheeler said. “They have a tremendous amount of athletes, good quality pitching, and they are going to be a solid team all around.”
In the first game of the doubleheader, sophomore pitcher Patrick Peterson will take the mound for the Owls. In three starts for Temple this season, Peterson is 0-2 with a 4.80 ERA with eight walks and leads the Owls in strikeouts with 15.
Following the 12:00 p.m. game, the Owls will play the second game of the doubleheader against the Nittany Lions. Wheeler has named sophomore pitcher Eric Peterson as his starter for game two. In four appearances this season, Eric Peterson has compiled a 2-0 record with a 2.53 ERA. Eric Peterson has recorded three walks and nine strikeouts in three relief appearances and one start in 2013.
In 14 games this season, the Nittany Lions have a team batting average of .275 accompanied by a team ERA of 5.32, while the Owls have a team batting average of .269 and a staff ERA of 5.43 in 13 games.
“We are expecting a team that will play hard the entire game,” redshirt-senior pitcher Dan Moller said.
During the Owls’ 2012 fall season, Temple traveled to Penn State and defeated the Nittany Lions in a scrimmage game, something Moller said he doesn’t believe Penn State has forgotten.
“I believe they will come in with a chip on their shoulders after we beat them in the fall,” Moller said. “No matter what, we are expecting a solid team and a solid performance from them on Saturday.”
On the road this season, Penn State will begin play Saturday with a record of 3-9 while they are the visiting team, while Temple is 1-0 when playing on its home turf in Ambler, PA.
“This weekend is going to be a good test to see if we can continue to play solid baseball,” Wheeler said. “We have been lacking consistency in certain aspects of our game and we hope to fix that starting Saturday.”
John Murrow can be reached at john.murrow@temple.edu or Twitter @JohnMurrow12.
