The baseball team beat Memphis on Sunday 4-3, winning its first conference series of the 2014 season.

Entering their first year in the American Athletic Conference, the Owls now have a 7-10 overall record. This is the team’s final season before the university’s athletic cuts will take effect in July.

The baseball team will begin playing at Campbell’s Field in Camden, N.J., on April 4 against Cincinnati.

After having its first series snowed out last weekend, the baseball team was anxious to get this season – the program’s last should the cuts not be reversed – underway.

Seven Owls recorded multi-hit games as Temple stormed past Rider University 15-8 in Wilson, N.C., on Saturday afternoon.

Senior Josh Mason smacked four hits and drove in a run and senior Robert Amaro had three hits while driving in four runs.

Right off the bat, it was clear that the Owls were ready to get started.

Temple got RBI hits in the top of the first inning from Amaro, Mason, sophomore catcher Michael D’Accunti and senior outfielder Bobby Heitzman. The Owls had a 5-0 lead before pitcher Matt Hockenberry even took the mound for Temple.

Once he took to the rubber, Hockenberry was solid. The senior right-hander earned the win after going five innings, giving up six runs – three earned – and striking out two.

When he exited the game in favor of junior reliever Phil Gianakos, the score was 12-6 Temple.

Gianakos gave up two runs in the bottom of the sixth but Temple answered right back in the seventh.

D’Accunti blasted a long solo home run, extending the lead to 13-8. Then in the top of the eighth, Derek Peterson and Amaro added an RBI each and the score was 15-8.

Sophomore Tim McCarthy pitched a scoreless eighth and freshman Pat Vanderslice closed out the game in the ninth.

Temple gets back on the field for a double-header on Sunday, taking on UMass-Lowell at 10 a.m. before again playing Rider at 1:30 pm.

Coming off of three consecutive losses to Rhode Island this past weekend, Temple will host Villanova at Skip Wilson Field on Tuesday, April 23 at 3:00 p.m.

The match-up will mark freshman pitcher Connor Staskey’s first start of his collegiate career, who has appeared in 11 games for the Owls this season. The freshman left-handed pitcher has a record of 3-0 with a 4.05 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched.

“[Staskey] was a starting pitcher in high school,” coach Ryan Wheeler said. “He has been in the bullpen this season, but he has earned this start on Tuesday.”

Wheeler hopes that the Owls can provide Staskey with some run support, as Temple scored just three runs in three games against the Rams this past weekend.

“We are a team looking to continue to compete and improve each day,” Wheeler said. “Regardless of our record and how season has gone, everyday is a chance to learn and get better. This past weekend was tough for us but we pitched and played defense very well. We just need to get back on track offensively.”

The Owls will need to replace senior second baseman Jordan Queja, who broke his arm after a hit-by-pitch this past weekend and will miss the rest of the season. Wheeler said he expects senior Elijah Yarborough and freshman Sean Arnott to split time at second base for the remainder of the season.

On the season, the Owls have played better while they are on their home turf. As the home team, Temple is 7-4, compared to 6-13 when playing away from Skip Wilson Field.

Entering Tuesday’s match-up, Wheeler said he expects his players to want more out of a Temple team that dropped in the Atlantic-10 Conference standings following the Rhode Island sweep. While Tuesday is not a conference game, the game will its own bragging rights for the Philadelphia Big 5 match-up.

“The sweep wasn’t part of our game plan this past weekend,” redshirt-senior pitcher Dan Moller said. “We are going to come into Tuesday’s game with a chip on our shoulder.”

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

After taking the final two games of a three-game series against conference opponent Virginia Commonwealth last weekend, Temple (14-17, 5-7 Atlantic 10) will travel to Kingston, RI for a three-game series against Rhode Island (19-17, 6-3 A-10).

Despite falling 2-1 in last Friday’s match-up against the Rams, the Owls were able to take Saturday’s meeting behind a strong pitching performance behind sophomore pitcher Eric Peterson and finished the weekend with two runs in the eighth inning to take Sunday’s meeting 4-3. Coming off of their first series win last weekend, coach Ryan Wheeler said hopes his team can stay hot.

Rhode Island has had a lot of success in the past four to five years,” Wheeler said. “They’ve had a tough early schedule so I don’t think their record is indicative of the kind of season they are having. They are also well coached so I believe this is going to be a very tough test for us.”

In the Owls first game on Friday at 3:00 p.m., sophomore pitcher Patrick Peterson will start on the mound. Despite 8.0 innings pitched, Peterson allowed nine hits, two runs, one walk and five strikeouts in his fourth loss of the season. In 2013, Peterson has started eight games for Temple, compiling a 1-4 record with a 4.10 ERA.

On Saturday at 1:00 p.m., Eric Peterson will look to continue his dominance against the A-10. In last Saturday’s match-up, Peterson hurled 7.0 innings, allowing four hits and one earned run while adding one walk and seven strikeouts. In his first season in the starting rotation, Peterson leads the Owls with a 5-0 record with a 1.82 ERA.

In the series finale on Sunday at noon, Wheeler has yet to announce his starting pitcher. Redshirt-senior pitcher Dan Moller, junior pitcher Matt Hockenberry and junior pitcher Preston Hill are among the candidates Wheeler said he may choose from.

“They pitch, they play defense and it looks like they also run a little bit,” Wheeler said about Rhode Island. “They also bunt, play the short game, but they don’t have a lot of power. They are at the top of the conference for a reason.”

Rhode Island will enter the weekend sitting in the sixth position in the A-10 standings, while Temple holds the ninth spot.

Although Rhode Island does not have one batter hitting above .300, 40 extra-base hits have allowed the Rams to score 174 runs in 36 games. On the mound, Temple is likely to face Rhode Island pitchers Sean Furney and Mike Bradstreet, who have combined for nine of the Ram’s 19 wins on the season.

“Hopefully [Temple] can do okay this weekend,” Wheeler said. “It is definitely going to be a tough test for us.”

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

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.

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.