Temple Baseball Diamond Diary

Jamie Abercrombie is a sophomore outfielder for Temple majoring in sports and recreation administration. The Philadelphia Diamond Five Rookie of the Year in 2006, the Ambler, PA native batted .288 in 47 starts last season. Along with three teammates, he will be providing an inside look at the 2007 Temple baseball team.

May 3, 2007

We entered Tuesday's Big 5 game with Villanova confident after taking Sunday's game with Xavier. We had played the Wildcats two weeks ago and played one of our most complete games of the season. The game was gridlocked for the first couple innings before `Nova got a bases-clearing triple that turned into a grand slam. Unfortunately, we dropped the game and evened the series with Villanova for the year.

Friday marked the beginning of the most critical week for our team in the last couple years. We are battling for the last spot in the conference tournament and every win down the stretch is crucial. Tommy (Dolan) battled, despite giving up four early runs in the first inning and gave us seven strong innings. We got some late offense that we needed and got our first A-10 win on a Friday all season.

Saturday marked a big day for the history of our program with our field being dedicated to one of the most popular figures in the Philadelphia area when it comes to baseball, James "Skip" Wilson. I didn't have the opportunity to play a season under Coach Wilson given his health condition that limited his coaching in the 2005 season. On the field, we didn't get off to the start we needed. After being down 10-5 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Owl offense pushed five runs across and forced extra innings. We eventually gave away the game pushing the series tied.

We needed a big team effort Sunday with the season on the line and sophomore hurler Matt Mongiardini gave us a huge lift. Mong pitched a complete game shutout and the offense eventually got going late in the game to give us a series win.

After week's end, we sit 2 ½ games out of sixth place in the Atlantic 10 standings with nine conference games to play. We entered the new week pretty optimistic with our offense hitting as good as anyone in the conference.

On Tuesday, we welcomed Lafayette to Skip Wilson Field for a good mid-week test. John Coyle got his first start of the year and threw the ball well for us. Offensively, we continued to hit in key spots and pushed across six runs to win the ballgame over the Patriot League leaders.

Yesterday at George Mason was probably one of the wildest offensive games I have ever been apart of. The game totaled in 34 runs, 34 hits and 7 home runs. The offense continued to perform well and many Owls came away with multiple hit games but we fell to the Patriots, 18-16.

We enter the weekend with big expectations as a team. Those who remain from last year's team look forward to getting revenge on Fordham with a new team headed into the Bronx for a crucial three-game series starting under the lights Friday night.

April 23, 2007

Matt Heltz is a freshman second baseman on the Temple baseball team. A native of Garyville, LA, Heltz was an all-state pick during his prep career. Along with three teammates, he will be providing an inside look at the 2007 Temple baseball team.

Hey everyone,

Welcome to another week of Diamond Diaries from Temple baseball.  The Owls are in the middle of conference play with a 5-10 A-10 record and 13- 24 overall.  After dropping three straight games to Richmond on April 13- 14, we were looking to get back on a winning streak this past week.

The week started off with another game at Delaware.  The game was supposed to be played at Skip Wilson Field but due to heavy rains the game was moved to Delaware.  The game started off good for us as we jumped out with a 3-0 lead. However, Delaware would score five unanswered runs to take the lead.  We did a great job coming back and scoring three more runs, but Delaware would tie the game in the ninth and win it in the tenth, 7-6.

The next day we played at home against Bucknell.  The game started off real bad for us as we were down 5-0 after two innings of play.  The team did a nice job in the late innings to fight back to score seven runs in the eight inning with two outs. Mike Click would then finish the game and get his first win of the season.

With a good come from behind win over Bucknell, we had a good feeling going into our conference weekend with Xavier.  The weekend did not go as well as planned for us as we dropped the first two games on Friday and Saturday.  With a good team effort from everyone on Sunday we won the third game of the series 8-7 to avoid the sweep.  The Owls are back in action on Tuesday at Villanova.

Til next time, Heltz

Rob Chamra is a freshman pitcher for Temple majoring in business management and finance. A native of Cranford, NJ, Chamra was a all-conference, all-county and all-North Jersey Group II pick last season. Along with three teammates, he will be providing an inside look at the 2007 Temple baseball team.

April 9, 2007

As we were getting closer to our destination of Dayton, Ohio we knew it was going to be a cold one, as we watched flurries for the last hour of our drive.  Throughout the weekend we got great performances throughout the lineup from freshmen to the upper classmen.

Game one started with light flurries and a temperature of about thirty degrees.  Dayton got out to a 3-0 lead in the third.  We fought back with Matt Heltz scoring Dan Brady on a single and moving Sean Barksdale over to third, which allowed him to score on a sac fly by Kyle Obal. Matt Mongiardini pitched well for the circumstances he was pitching in--short rest and cold temperatures. 

Then the 7th inning came and it brought snow with it and in the top of the inning we had a 15 min. delay and in the bottom we had a 70 min. delay.  We came within one run in the 7th with Kyle Obal scoring on Ryan Weber's ground out to second.  Richie Gargel came in a pitched real well striking out three and giving up no runs or hits in 1.2 innings.  The final score was 6-3.  It was a tough start to the series but we knew that Saturday we would get a good chance to win with Dolan on the hill.

Saturday's game was cancelled due to snow and very low temperatures, so Sunday was going to be a doubleheader.  The off day had a workout for hitters at Dayton's indoor facility.  With a high intensity workout and positive outcome it quickly carried over to Sunday. 

Like in game one, game two started with flurries, and a one run lead by an RBI double by Sean Barksdale.  Tommy Dolan took the mound to what would be his best performance of the year.  He struck out 12 out of the first 15 batters he faced and had a no-hitter through 6.1 innings. 

Mike Kelch would lead the offensive attack in this one going 3-5 with a homer. Matt Heltz and Stan Orzechowski would add two hits a piece.  Dolan finished with a career high 16 strikeouts, three hits, and one earned run, which would get him named Collegiate Baseball's National Player of the Week.  Matt Blackburn and Eric Fritz came in and gave up two runs a piece, but Ryan Weber came in to complete the ninth and leave the tying run at third to earn his first collegiate save.

The second game of the doubleheader started off with an offensive explosion.  We scored five runs in each of the first two innings.  The lineup contributed with a homer from Barksdale along with three RBI. Stan and Brady added three hits a piece, and Kelch added three RBI to go 3-5 on the day. Arsh was dominating on the mound allowing four earned runs and five strikeouts to earn his first victory of the year.  Richie Gargel came in to relieve Arsh with one out in the 8th and pitched a scoreless 1.2 innings to finish the nightcap.

Tommy Dolan's performance on Sunday of 16 strikeouts earned him Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week, Philadelphia Big 5 Pitcher of the Week, and is on the CBF's National Honor Roll.  Tommy is 4-2 on the season with a 1.80 ERA.  Freshman Matt Heltz was name A-10 Rookie of the Week as he batted .500 for the week, with some key hits in the Dayton series.

Well this weekend was a positive weekend for us despite the cold, the pitching and the hitting came together. We are now 4-5 in our conference and tied up with a couple of teams for sixth place and hungry for at least two wins in Richmond this weekend to get us up in the standings.

Till next time,

Rob 

April 3, 2007

We began our week on Tuesday, March 27, traveling to the University of Delaware to take on the Blue Hens. This was much more than your regular weekday game since it was a first round match-up in the Liberty Bell Classic. Web (Ryan Weber), Dev (Devon Swope) and Heltzie (Matt Heltz) were able to knock homeruns, while it was good to see (Eric) Fritz gain confidence and give us good innings down the stretch of the ballgame to close out a big win for our team 18-7.

As a program, we haven't been able to win the Liberty Bell Classic since 2003 and we are all looking forward to Lehigh tomorrow and getting the chance to move onto Citizens Bank Park.

On Friday, we entered Hank DeVincent Field to take on our city rivals, La Salle. Many of the freshman and transfers got their first taste of a true college rivalry and what was at stake. Many of us have played with or against La Salle guys growing up so our teams were very familiar with each other.

It was a huge boost to our lineup to have the return of 2006 First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection, Dan Brady. Brady had been recovering a sprained MCL that sidelined him for the last five games.

We got another solid effort from Arsh (Asjes) on Friday, however, we lost the lead on a walk-off single from La Salle freshman Davis Hewett to end the game.

Tommy (Dolan) would take the bump for us on Saturday and give us the effort we have grown accustomed to seeing from him all year. Unfortunately, he didn't factor into the decision. We got a solid performance from freshman Matt Blackburn at the end of the game allowing us to push the series even heading into Sunday.

Since there was potential for showers, the game was pushed up to 10 AM to decrease the chances of the rain impacting the game. We got another good effort from our starter, Matt Mongiardini. After being up only 3-2 entering the 7th, (Mike) Kelch knocked the game open with his bases clearing triple making the score 7-2. La Salle answered in the bottom half of the inning with four of their own runs making it 7-6 with two innings to play.

The game eventually entered extra innings forcing Web to get his first appearance on the bump with the series on the line. La Salle senior Billy Kern hit a single down the left field line to win the game in the 11th giving the Explorers the series and bragging rights for Broad Street for the second straight year.

We look forward to the upcoming week with optimism as we aim to get to Citzens Bank Park and win our first Atlantic 10 series of the year.

Have a blessed Easter week,
Jamie

Matt Heltz is a freshman second baseman on the Temple baseball team. A native of Garyville, LA, Heltz was an all-state pick during his prep career. Along with three teammates, he will be providing an inside look at the 2007 Temple baseball team.

March 26, 2007

Hey Everyone,

This past week was a long week for the Owls, as we played five baseball games in six days.  We played at two turf fields due to unplayable fields and weather.  We won two of the five games this week.

On Tuesday, we were scheduled to play at Lehigh, but due to the rain and snow of the past week the game was cancelled, so the schedule for Tuesday was just to practice.  However, Coach managed to schedule a game at Delaware for 3:00 PM that morning.  With not much time, we got in the van and drove to the game.  We won the game 5-4 and Tom Dolan picked up the win.  It was a good win but with a costly injury to Dan Brady in the bottom of the ninth.  He sprained his MCL, but should be back in action soon.

The team traveled to New York on Wednesday to face St. John's.  We had to play on a turf field due to the snow still on the ground in New York.  We lost the game 7-2 but it was a time to get some work in since we opened conference play that Friday.

This past weekend we opened our first conference weekend against UMass.  Again on Friday we played at another location due to weather.  We played on La Salle's turf field at 10 in the morning on Friday since La Salle needed the field in the afternoon.  We lost in a wild game on Friday 13-10. 

The next two games of the series were played at our home field on Sunday due to unplayable conditions on Saturday.  The Sunday doubleheader was a split as we lost the first one but won the second.  Tom Dolan pitched another great game but the Owls came up short 3-2 in the first game of the doubleheader.  The second game we much more offensive production as we scored nine runs to win, 9-7.

It was a crazy week as far as the rain and the ice that was still on the ground but we managed to play.  Hopefully it starts to warm up because I cannot wait for some warm weather.

Til next time,

Matt

John Coyle is a sophomore pitcher/catcher on the Temple baseball team majoring in marketing.  Along with three teammates, he will be providing an inside look at the 2007 Temple baseball team.

March 19, 2007

Hey guys,

Welcome to another edition of the Diamond Diaries. We played one game since our last entry and that was at cross-town rival Penn. We played the Quakers on Wednesday in beautiful 70 degree sunshine. Unfortunately, our bats weren't quite as nice as the weather.

We had some quality pitching performances out of our freshmen (Rob Chamra, Matt Blackburn and Kyle Monahan), but the nine different pitchers Penn threw our way kept our hitters from finding a groove. Jamie (Abercrombie) was the only one who seemed to be able to adjust and he ended up having a career day. Unfortunately, his four hits weren't enough for us to keep pace with Penn and we lost, snapping our five-game win streak against the Quakers.

That warm weather didn't hold for the weekend, and all of a sudden there was four inches of ice on the ground. As a result, our whole weekend slate was cancelled. As a team, we were hoping to get in these games because we needed everyone to get into a groove for next weekend's conference opener against UMass. Unfortunately, Mother Nature wasn't cooperating and we have been relegated to the gym for the next few days. However, we're confident we'll be able to get back into the full swing of things by Friday for UMass.

In honor of St. Patty's Day, here is my own Irish blessing for all of you: May your ducks fall and grounders have eyes.

John

March 12, 2007

After the Coca Cola Classic at Winthrop, we traveled to North Carolina to take on Duke and UNC. Monday was our off day, but we went to the UNC campus for a team building activity called "Carolina Adventures."

It was a good learning experience for all of us. We learned from each other and got to see some of our weaknesses that may affect us on the field. As the day went on, we meshed real well as a team. Communication was a big topic of the day to help lead us through each individual activity.

The final activity was to get the whole team over a 12-foot wall. At first we were told that the UNC Baseball team did it in 4 minutes and 20 seconds. We killed that time, finishing in 2:20. After the completion of this task the instructor said that UNC actually did it in 1:47. So we all wanted to do it again. We planned out our attack and all got over the wall in 1:30. That was a success to us. The day helped us work together and feed off of each other's different skills.

On Tuesday morning we went over to Durham and played the 13-1 Duke Blue Devils. We jumped out to a 4-1 lead early but we stayed quiet the rest of the game. We battled but couldn't come up with any runs after the second. A few errors here and there gave Duke some runs that helped give them the victory. The final score was 7-4.

Wednesday we packed are bags, checked out of the hotel and made our way to UNC's Boshamer Stadium to take on the #1 Tar Heels. We started off well in the first couple innings but a ton of walks and well-placed hits for Carolina blew the game open. When the game was out of reach we took it as a learning experience and tried to get better every pitch.

After a long spring break which resulted in only one win, we knew we could have had a few more. Playing ranked programs has been a key for our team because it has helped us prepare for the rest of our schedule and become better as a whole. We've learned a lot about ourselves on this trip and it will soon start to all come together as we take these experiences into our home series against Buffalo.

We got home early Thursday morning and we were prepared to take on Buffalo this weekend. Some snow and rain moved Friday's game to Saturday, but when we got to the field on Saturday it was unplayable after attempting to fix the field as best as possible. So it came down to a double header on Sunday.

In the first game we had Arsh on the hill and he pitched very well. We jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the third inning with a two-run double by Dan Brady and a two-run single by Devon Swope. Matt Mongiardini then came in to relieve Arsh in the sixth and didn't give up an earned run during his appearance. The Bulls fought back and took the lead 5-4 in the seventh. We fought back in the eighth and a pinch-hit single by Jamie Abercrombie scored Sean Barksdale for the game-winner.

In game two, we jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third. With the pitching of Tom Dolan, who threw eight scoreless innings, we put up five more runs in the eighth to make the final score 9-0.

This was a game where everybody contributed. Everyone hit, the pitching was excellent, and some flashy plays in the infield and outfield kept the game in our control. This past week and a half has shown us what we can do and what we may have to fix. We ended the week on a positive note with two wins and now we have to go hard into practice and focus on a win at Penn this Wednesday.

Till next time,

Rob

March 5, 2007

After returning home from a long Monday traveling across the country, we returned home from New Mexico. Since it was mid-term week, many guys had tests and papers to be completed before entering the toughest five game stretch of the season starting at the Winthrop Coca-Cola Classic in Rock Hill, SC.

We were all looking forward to the challenge of playing #1 team in the nation, North Carolina on Wednesday, March 7. However, I know Tom (Bingham) and Kyle (Obal) couldn't wait to return to Rock Hill and get revenge against their old teammates on Friday.

We got a stellar pitching effort turned in by our staff ace Arshwin Asjes over the first seven innings and led 4-3 after his departure. I know Arsh was anxious to get out there and put his stuff up against a good squad like Winthrop.

The ball was turned over to Tom (Bingham) in the eighth inning when Winthrop was able to tie the score forcing extra innings. Senior Dan Brady led off the tenth with a single up the middle and was followed with a clutch two strike double to the right center gap by Mike Kelch setting up Web's (Ryan Weber) eventual game-winning sacrifice fly.

Tom closed out the tenth inning putting Winthrop down in order giving us a big win over a team one week removed from the Top 25 in the country. For many of us, it was the first time we got to see Obal break his permanent serious face and show a smile.

The rest of the weekend was disappointing on the diamond. We got beat on Saturday by sidearming Caleb Glaffenheim from East Tennessee State who threw off the momentum of the Owl offense. Matt Mongiardini turned in a steady performance on Sunday against Kent State, but the offense failed to get going for the second straight day.

As we prepare for Duke and North Carolina, we aim to make the adjustments as a team that are essential to our success. We believe all the pieces are coming together to be prepared to take on the challenges of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

We look forward to seeing you out at the home opening series against Buffalo on March 9-11.

Jamie
 

February 27, 2007

It has been another long week for the Cherry and the White.  It's Monday afternoon and I'm writing on an airplane headed back to Philadelphia from our second series of the year against New Mexico State.  After losing three straight to UNCW, we really needed to have a good week.

This past week we worked hard on Tuesday and Wednesday to prepare for New Mexico State.  We didn't have much of a workout on Thursday because we were headed to the airport by 9:00 am. 

Thursday was a long day for us.  When we got to the airport we found out our flight to Chicago was cancelled.  So we had to take a six hour flight to Phoenix and then catch another flight to El Paso which is about 45 minutes from our hotel.  So we did make it to the hotel on Thursday night around 8:00 pm.

As far as the series goes, we lost the first game that we should have won, but did manage to get our first win on Saturday behind the great pitching of Tom Dolan.  Also Ryan Weber had a great offensive weekend for us.  Sunday was another tough one as we lost the series.

After Sunday's game we headed back to El Paso where we spent the night and headed back to Philadelphia around 5:30 Monday morning.

Talk to you later,

Matt

John Coyle is a sophomore pitcher/catcher on the Temple baseball team majoring in marketing.  Along with three teammates, he will be providing an inside look at the 2007 Temple baseball team.

February 19, 2007

It's been a tough week since our last diamond diary entry.  I'm writing this entry on the bus back from our season opening series with UNC Wilmington. We prepped all week for this series and finally got out on the road on Thursday afternoon. 

It was funny to watch some of the new guys on the trip. It was the first road trip for the freshmen and a few of younger guys and even some of the older ones celebrated the start of the season by shaving their heads.  Kyle Obal, Steve Mury, and freshman Brett Carroll sported the buzz cut, and even Ryan Thomas shaved his long, shaggy hair for the season (this resulted in his hat being about three sizes too big, but that's besides the point).

As for the weekend, we played well Friday and Saturday but lost both games.  Sunday, on the other hand, seemed as if nothing could go right for us. The story for the whole weekend was our mistakes were coming back to beat us. 

It was a challenge to open up against a team is a perennial 40-game winner, but going in we thought we were good enough to win against anyone.  We dropped the series, but the team seems to be starting to mesh.

Some guys got their first taste of college baseball this weekend and with that experience behind them will be counted on to improve all year.  As we ride back to North Philly, we realize we let a few winnable games get away this weekend, but we are confident about the upcoming trip to New Mexico State and our ability to win there.

Talk to you soon,

John

February 12, 2007

Sunday, January 28, was the first day of team practice and we started it off with great intensity.  The weather wasn't what we would have liked it to be, but we made the best of what we had.  We were able to get outside for one day and use it to our advantage.  We were able to do everything with an outfield and have a full field.  The only thing we did not have going into our first series was many true groundballs or fly balls.  Other than that, we are fundamentally ready to go.

McGonigle Hall has enabled us to set up a full infield, access to the cages and mounds for live hitting and pitching everyday. The hitters have taken many swings and have faced live pitching after the last three weeks.  The pitchers have been on their throwing schedules and throwing in the cages facing live situations. 

As a team and individually we have become stronger.  We knew going into practice that hard work and preparation would be key for us and we've improved everyday.

As we enter these last couple days of team practices leading into UNC Wilmington, the momentum is definitely there.  Like Coach Valli said, "we have cabin fever," and we're all very anxious to get out of the gym and play.  Our off-season workouts have given us great preparation and energy to take us to the opening series. 

With Monday as our off day, we are looking to have two great practices to lead us to the departure of UNC Wilmington. With everyone being healthy and strong it gives us a greater chance of doing big things.  Baseball is finally here and the Owls are more than ready to go.

Til next time,
Rob

Jamie Abercrombie is a sophomore outfielder for Temple majoring in sports and recreation administration. The Philadelphia Diamond Five Rookie of the Year in 2006, the Ambler, PA native batted .288 in 47 starts last season. Along with three teammates, he will be providing an inside look at the 2007 Temple baseball team.

January 22, 2007

Over the course of the last year, Temple Baseball has made dramatic changes here on North Broad Street. Our 2006 season was a huge transition for everyone involved with the program as we struggled to get in the win column. However as we entered fall practice, things began to look more optimistic for the Cherry and White as Coach Valli and Coach Fahy filled out the 2007 roster with 19 new teammates for the upcoming season. They comprised a combination of nine freshmen with ten transfers to a roster of thirteen players returning from the 2006 squad.

Fortunately, weather for fall practice was better than expected allowing us to accomplish a lot of baseball-related activity on the field. When we weren't working on our baseball skills, our strength and conditioning coaches (Jamie Hiegel and Mike Kapusta) worked tirelessly to improve our overall strength, speed, athleticism and flexibility. I know we feel as a team very appreciative to have those guys devote so many hours to us to change the makeup of our program.

Fall practice was came to an end with the Cherry and White World Series. Seniors Rob Licata and Dan Brady filled out their lineup cards as managers of this "classic." Brady managed and performed in a leading role for the White team as they rolled to victory. Freshman 2B Matt Heltz and sophomore C Kyle Obal also had big days also for the White squad.

As we went to Christmas break in anticipation for the upcoming season, we aimed to change the recent success of our program. We will know quickly how much our off-season work paid off with early season match-ups against NCAA perennial powerhouses North Carolina and Winthrop as well as our 2007 opening series of the year down at UNC Wilmington in mid-February.

Preparation is key for us over the next couple weeks leading up to the season opener as we enter our last week of individual positional groups. People will know quickly this year how much we have changed the image and success of our program. Our combination of determination, tireless work ethic and passion for winning will put us where we want to be come the Atlantic 10 Tournament in Dayton in late-May. Baseball is right around the corner and the Owls are ready for big things in '07.

Till next time,

Jamie

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