Temple University Athletics
Temple Advances In Liberty Bell Classic With 18-7 Win At Delaware
3.27.07 | Baseball
March 27, 2007
NEWARK, DE - Temple scored six runs in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, and advanced to the semifinals of the Liberty Bell Classic for the first time since 2003 with a 18-7 win over Delaware on Tuesday at Bob Hannah Stadium. The 18 runs were the most scored in a game by TU since a 19-1 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore on March 29, 2004. Junior Ryan Weber went 3-for-6 with a career-high five RBI and his second homerun in a Temple uniform.
The Owls play Lehigh on Tuesday, April 3 in the semifinals of the Liberty Bell Classic. Time and location are still to be determined. The finals of the Liberty Bell Classic are held at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies, on April 10 at 8 PM. Temple had dropped three straight opening round games in the tournament since winning the LBC in 2003 by beating Villanova, Penn, and Saint Joseph's.
"It was a good win and we played real well today," Weber said. "We're just one win away from playing at Citizens Bank Park. It's real exciting."
"All the teams involved in the Liberty Bell Classic are great regional rivals," Valli said. "Hopefully we can advance to Citizens Bank Park."
Five starters had at least two hits for Temple and seven of TU's 14 hits went for extra bases, including three round-trippers. Junior Mike Kelch was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Junior Stan Orzechowski, junior Devon Swope, and sophomore Jamie Abercrombie all had two hits. Along with Weber, Swope and freshman Matt Heltz both homered for TU. It was Heltz's first collegiate dinger.
"It was a very good win," head coach Rob Valli said. "We swung the bat extremely well throughout the lineup."
Temple came into the game batting just .220 with runners in scoring position. Today, the Owls were much better. The visitors were 8-for-18 (.444) with runners on second or third and were a perfect 6-for-6 with runners on third and less than two outs.
"We had a different mindset and we're a little more agressive," Weber said. "Good things happen when you hit it hard."
"We did a much better job with sticking with our plan today," Valli added.
The decisive sixth frame began with a bang as Swope led off with a solo homer to left. Orzechowski knocked in a run with a double to right-center, but the big hit was a three-run double Weber. A RBI single by sophomore Sean Barksdale plated Weber to complete the six-run frame.
Despite just one hit in the inning, Temple (7-13) added six more in the seventh thanks to a pair of errors, two walks and a hit by pitch. Swope (hit by pitch) scored the first run of the frame on a botched sacrifice bunt by sophomore Kyle Obal. Sophomore Carmen Del Mastro drove in a run on a fielder's choice to make the score 11-5. He later scored on an error by the Delaware shortstop, while Orzechowski, who had walked, scored on a wild pitch. Weber then drove a two-run homer to left to finish off the scoring.
The Cherry and White, which has now defeated Delaware (4-13) twice in a season for the first time since 2003, got a fine effort from its bullpen. Freshman Richie Gargel and junior Eric Fritz combined for five innings of shutout relief. Fritz (1-1) picked up the win after tossing 3.2 innings and striking out four.
Todd Ozog (0-3) suffered the loss for UD. He allowed five earned runs in five innings for the Blue Hens. Alex Bucholz doubled and tripled for Delaware.
Temple visits Atlantic 10 and Big 5 rival La Salle in a three-game series beginning on Friday at 3:00 PM.
