Temple University Athletics
Softball Kicks Off Atlantic 10 Season This Weekend
3.25.10 | Softball
Owls host Saint Louis on Friday and Saturday
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - After going 8-15 in non-conference play to date, the Temple softball team will begin its quest for an Atlantic 10 conference championship this weekend. The Owls host Saint Louis in single games on Friday and Saturday to kick off the A-10 campaign.
Temple is picked to finish sixth in the conference, while Saint Louis is selected fourth.
Senior captain Danielle Fagan is a leader in every sense of the word, topping the squad with her .268 batting average. The third baseman has notched a team-best 19 hits, five doubles and 15 runs batted in. Also proving solid at the plate in her first season is freshman Ali Robinson. Robinson is batting .265, while leading the team with 13 runs scored and three home runs.
On the mound, most of the pitching duties have been split by junior Kristen Marris and freshman Crystal Nyman. Marris has gone 6-6 in the early part of the season, posting a 2.64 earned run average with 64 strikeouts. Marris already has a one-hitter under her belt, with her 9-0 victory over Loyola-Chicago on March 6. Nyman has appeared 13 times with 11 starts. The rookie is 2-8 on the year.
TU went 6-8 in conference play last season, just narrowly missing the conference tournament. Temple's games against Saint Louis were cancelled a year ago, so the Cherry & White have not faced the Billikens since 2008. That year, SLU traveled to Ambler and swept the Owls in a two-game series.
Saint Louis carries a 12-10 overall record into this weekend's games. The Billikens will be playing their first four A-10 games this weekend, taking on Temple on Friday and Saturday, and playing a doubleheader against Saint Joseph's on Sunday.
Kelly Flanagan leads SLU, and is second in the conference, with a .400 batting average. Hannah Huebbe and Kelcie Matesa have been the primary pitchers for the Bills. Huebbe is 6-3 with a 2.53 ERA and the hurler has not allowed a homerun in 63.2 innings pitched. Matesa is 6-5 with a 2.88 earned run average in 17 appearances.
Live Stats will be available for both games this weekend.
