Temple University Athletics
DOLAN PITCHES TEMPLE TO 5-2 WIN OVER PENN
3.15.06 | Baseball
AMBLER, PA -- Sophomore Tom Dolan struck out eight batters in seven shutout innings to give Temple a 5-2 win over Penn on Wednesday afternoon at Ambler Field. The southpaw allowed just two hits and did not allow a runner past first base in improving to 1-1. The Owls improved to 4-8 on the season, while UP falls to 1-8.
"I felt pretty good out there," Dolan said. "My velocity was up and I was hitting my spots."
Dolan was nearly un-hittable on the cold and windy day in Ambler. He retired the first eight batters and the last nine batters and faced just one over the minimum for seven innings. The victory was the first in his collegiate career.
"I really tried to work them in with my fastball," Dolan said. "It feels good to pick up the win after taking a loss in Hawaii."
"Tom's a real competitor," head coach Rob Valli said. "He gave us a real strong performance when we needed one in a key Diamond Five matchup."
Temple got on the board with two runs in the third. Freshman Steve Mury led off with a double and classmate Casey Sellen was hit by a pitch. After a sacrifice bunt by freshman Jamie Abercrombie, classmate Pat Riley drove in a run and reached base on a mishandled groundball by the Penn second baseman. Sophomore Frank Nunan plated Sellen on a fielder's choice.
The Owls added another run in the fourth, as a two-out single from Sellen scored freshman Lenny DelGrippo, who had doubled to open the inning. Two unearned runs off three Penn errors in the sixth gave the hosts a 5-0 lead without getting a hit in the inning.
Penn made things interesting late in the game. In the eighth, Sean Abate welcomed reliever Rob Licata with a towering homerun to right. Sophomore Eric Fritz replaced Licata in the ninth and recorded the first two outs with little trouble. A Temple error kept the frame alive and the next two Penn batters reached on a walk and a single to load the bases. Another TU error allowed UP to cut the deficit to 5-2, but Fritz retired Abate on a grounder to end the game.
Joe Thornton (0-2) took the loss for the Quakers, who sent six different pitchers to the mound. Doug Brown and Michael Gibbons each struck out the side in the eighth and the ninth.
Temple returns to action on Friday against Long Island at Ambler Field. First pitch is set for 3 p.m.
