Temple University Athletics
Temple Beats Florida Gulf Coast, 5-3, In 11 Innings
2.22.09 | Baseball
Feb. 22, 2009
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FORT MYERS, FL - Senior Carmen Del Mastro singled in the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th inning to give Temple a 5-3 victory over host Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday at the FGCU Invitational. The Owls head north having won two of three in Fort Myers, FL, marking just the second time since 1997 that the Cherry and White has started out 2-1.
"It was just one of those good baseball games where each team scores a run here, a run there," head coach Rob Valli said. "We pitched real well out of the bullpen and got some clutch hits there late from Carmen."
It was one of four hits on the day for the Philadelphia native, who also drove in three runs. He returns home having batted .545 (6-for-11) in the Sunshine State with four RBI.
TU last took two of three games to open the season at the Homestead (FL) Challenge in 2004 when the Owls beat Detroit Mercy (9-8) and Maine (10-7) before falling to Evansville, 26-10.
Temple tied Wichita State, ranked #35 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, for the mythical Florida Gulf Coast Invitational title. The Shockers (2-1) lost to Central Michigan (2-2), 16-9, on Sunday. The host Eagles finished in fourth (1-3).
Despite the slow start in 2009, FGCU won 38 games last season and the Atlantic Sun regular season championship. The Eagles are ineligible for the league's automatic postseason bid since they are in their final season of reclassifying to Division I.
Things were knotted at 3-3 in the ninth when the Owls narrowly avoided the loss. Junior Mike Click, which pitched 2.2 innings of scoreless relief, had walked a pair of batters and induced a fielder's choice to put runners at second and third with two outs.
Valli inserted his junior closer Kyle Monahan, who earned the save on Saturday, to escape the jam. Monahan walked the first batter, but got a fly-ball to centerfield to send the game into extra innings.
The right-hander eventually got the win to improve to 1-0. He tossed 2.1 innings without allowing a run.
Junior Tony Jusino had the second of his two hits to lead off the 11th and after a strikeout, moved to second on sophomore Byron McKoy's single through the left side.
Del Mastro then stepped up to the plate and delivered a single to score Jusino and give Temple its first lead since the first inning at 4-3. Senior Sean Barksdale then singled home McKoy to make it 5-3, but Del Mastro was gunned out on the play from leftfield for the second out.
Monahan allowed just a two-out single in the bottom of the 11th to close the game.
McKoy, Jusino and seniors Jamie Abercrombie and Lenny DelGrippo all had two hits. Both of DelGrippos hits were doubles.
While the Owls continued to struggle in the field (three errors), the pitching came up big in the series finale. Junior starter Ryan Thomas allowed two earned runs in 4.1 innings before meeting his pitch count and freshman Dan Moller bounced back from a tough outing on Friday to throw 1.2 innings of scoreless relief before handing off to Click.
The Cherry and White took a 1-0 lead in the first. McKoy doubled to leadoff the contest and scored with two outs when senior Kyle Obal reached on an error. FGCU scored single runs in each of the first three innings to take a 3-1 lead but Temple answered in the fifth to draw within one.
DelGrippo led off the inning with a double and later scored on Del Mastro's double down the leftfield line. Five of TU's 13 hits were two-baggers.
DelGrippo's lead off double in the seventh sparked the game-tying run. He scored from second on Del Mastro's single up the middle.
The Owls will travel to High Point on Friday to begin a three-game series with the Panthers.
