Temple University Athletics
Offense Explodes in Season-Opening 12-11 Loss to Middle Tennessee State
2.16.07 | Softball
Feb. 16, 2007
TUCSON, AZ - Second-year head coach Casey Dickson and the Temple softball team opened their 2007 season Friday afternoon with a wild 12-11 loss to Middle Tennessee State in the Worth Wildcat Tournament held in Tucson, Ariz. Sophomore ace Katie Burdeaux tossed four and two-thirds innings while striking out four en route to a no-decision. Sophomore Samantha Floyd came on in relief for the Raiders and threw six innings for the win.
The Cherry and White showed no signs of a slow offensive performance in their first outing as sophomore catcher Courtney Norene nearly carried the Owls to victory on her back. The Wheatland, Calif. native slugged three homeruns, one in the second, third and seventh, as she turned in a 3-for-4 day at the plate while knocking in six runs.
Senior first baseman Adrienne Repsher, not to be outdone, homered twice and tallied two RBI. The two homeruns from Repsher now ranks her in a tie for third all-time, with three-time all-Atlantic 10 performer Bari Lynn Plfueger (2000-03) with 11 long-balls in her career as an Owl.
Despite the loss, Dickson couldn't say enough about her team's performance and the adversity its had to overcome.
"Here's a team that has been on a dirt field since November. We even had some transportation troubles even getting to Tucson, but there are several players today that played great," said the second-year skipper. "Playing teams like we did today can only help our team improve."
Behind Repsher's first long-ball in the first inning and Norene's two-run shot in the second followed by her solo homerun in the third, the Owls jumped on the Raiders early holding a 4-0 lead after two and a half innings. Middle Tennessee responded in the bottom half of the third and cut the Temple lead to just one run, 4-3, as junior Katie Mielke slammed a three-run homerun.
After a silent fourth frame, Repsher added a solo homerun that provided the Owls with an insured two-run advantage at 5-3. Floyd then supplied the Raiders with their first lead of the contest, 6-5, with a three-run homerun off Burdeaux in the bottom half of the inning. After senior Jessica Rohn's sacrifice fly scored freshman Krystle Metzler in the top of the sixth, the Owls clawed back to tie the game at six.
The Owls' stitches came loose in the bottom half of the sixth as a wild pitch and two-run single from junior Whitney Darlington gave the Raiders a comfortable four-run cushion at 10-6 with three outs to play.
However, Norene wouldn't let the Owls go quietly as her three-run long-ball shaved the Temple deficit to one run with one out in the seventh. Following a Metzler single and an Anna Rico double, junior outfielder Brittany Burks' two-run single gave the Cherry and White a lead, 11-10, heading into the final last half inning.
But freshman pitcher Ashley Smuda could not hold the lead for the Owls. Sophomore Justine Cerda singled in the game's tying run with one out then was followed by Mielke's game-winning hit.
The Cherry and White waste no time in looking to rebound as the second-half of their season-opening doubleheader immediately follows with a 5:00 p.m. EST tilt against tournament-host #4 Arizona.
