Baseball Splits Doubleheader at ODU; Wheeler Earns First Win as New Skipper

Saturday, February 18

Norfolk, Va.

2:00 p.m.

Temple University

1-1

Old Dominion

1-2

Temple

OLD DOMINION

Brant Norlander

Photo by: Mitchell Leff

Baseball Splits Doubleheader at ODU; Wheeler Earns First Win as New Skipper

2.18.12 | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score

NORFOLK, Va. – Temple notched its first victory of the season with a come from behind 5-4 win over Old Dominion in the 10th inning of game one of a doubleheader at Bud Metheny Complex. Ryan Wheeler earned his first tally in the win column as head coach of the Owls. In the series' rubber match in the second game of the day, the Monarchs broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth, scoring three runs en route to drop the Owls, 6-2.

With rain expected to fall in the Norfolk area on Sunday, Temple and Old Dominion made the decision to make Saturday's scheduled 2:00 p.m. start the first game of a doubleheader to assure the rubber match could be played.

[GAME 1]: Just as Temple saw its 3-0 lead vanish on Friday before falling in extra innings, Saturday looked as if it were déjà vu, however this time things transpired in favor of the Owls.

In game one, the Owls trailed 3-0 going into the sixth inning, where they put two runners in scoring position with one out. Senior Taylor Juran brought the Owls within a run with his two-run RBI double.

Going into ODU's half of the inning, freshman southpaw Patrick Peterson departed in relief of senior Brant Norlander.

Peterson, who made his first collegiate start, lasted 5.0 innings, which he was charged with only one of the three runs. Rounding out his line, Peterson allowed only two hits and struck out four batters, while walking three.

Norlander worked to keep the Owls in the ballgame, as he went on to pitch the next three innings, where he gave up just one hit and did not allow a run.

In the eighth, Temple evened the score at 3-3 when redshirt junior catcher Matt Elko ripped a base hit up the middle to score redshirt senior Steve Nikorak from second base.

Elko finished the game going 3-for-4 with a walk that forced in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning after freshman Adam Dian pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the ninth.

After Elko forced in freshman Nick Lustrino to make it 4-3, Nikorak scored his second run of the day on junior Elijah Yarborough's fly out to left.

With redshirt senior Brian Sustersic on the hill to close it out, ODU put up a scare in their half of the 10th, as Josh Wright smashed a home run into left field to bring it back to a one-run lead. Sustersic maintained his composure, getting the next three batters out and helping himself to his first save of the season and Temple to its first victory of the year. Dian was Temple's pitcher of record, notching the first win of his collegiate career.

[GAME 2]: The Monarchs got on the board fairly early, putting up a run in the second inning off of Nikorak.

ODU's Brett Harris pitched a gem over the course of his five innings of work, where he allowed only a hit to Juran, while walking two.

In the sixth when Harris was relieved by Erick Baker, Temple matched the Monarch's output to that point when sophomore Bobby Heitzman scored on a wild pitch. Junior Jordan Queja moved up to third with one out , but Baker pitched out of the jam for ODU.

The Monarch's responded, by taking back the lead after a two-run RBI triple off the bat of Joey Burney.

Nikorak, who was tabbed with the loss, saw his day end after 5.1 innings when Dan Moller came in to take over.

Burney score later in the inning to put ODU up 4-1 after six.

Queja would score for the Owls in the eighth to bring it back to a three-run lead, with ODU up 5-2, but the Monarchs pushed one more across the plate in their final inning they batted, to hand the Owls a 6-2 defeat.

Temple goes 1-2 in its opening series of the 2012 season. From here, it will set its sight to next weekend's three-game set at North Carolina A&T.