Owls Close Out Homestand Wednesday At 3 PM Against Big 5 Rival Villanova

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AMBLER - Temple closes out its longest homestand of the season on Tuesday afternoon, as Big 5 rival Villanova rolls in for the Owls' eighth straight game at Skip Wilson Field. The midweek non-conference affair will get underway at 3:00 p.m. Live Stats and Twitter updates will be your source for all the up to the minute action.

SCOUTING THE OWLS...

The Owls (14-25, 2-10) are coming off their most dramatic win of the season after they walked off on Richmond in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, compliments of an infield single by junior Foster Dunigan in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded to score redhsirt freshman Connor Reilly to give Temple the, 7-6, victory.

On the hill for Temple this afternoon will be freshman right-hander Adam Dian, who comes in 1-1 with an earned run average of 4.26 in 13 appearances. Dian has started one game already this season, that being back on March 21 at La Salle, where the Owls won 6-3, which was the last time they won a mid-week game this season. His lone win came in his first career appearance in Temple's second game of the season at Old Dominion.

Freshman Nick Lustrino continues to be an offensive spark for the Owls in his rookie season. Leading the team with a .319 batting average, he's tied with redshirt senior Steve Nikorak with 46 hits and carries a 13-game on base streak.

Nikorak blasted his team-leading third home run of the season in game one of Saturday's twin bill. The Owls' everyday hot corner is batting .400 over the last six games with eight hits and eight RBIs.

Redshirt junior Steve Visnic comes in ranked third all-time at Temple University with 77 relief appearances. He needs just eight more calls out of the bullpen to take over the top spot in school history. On the year, Visnin has been consistent. In 21 relief outings, he owns a 2-1 record with a low 1.50 ERA through 36.0 innings pitched in which he has allowed just six earned runs.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS...

Villanova comes to Skip Wilson Field following a doubleheader sweep of Seton Hall on Saturday. The Wildcats are 22-19 on the year and own a 6-9 record in the BIG EAST. Over the course of the year, they have been consistent for the most part winning nine games both at home and on the road.

Entering the game today, the Wildcats have played four contests against city rival schools. Earlier this season, they defeated Saint Joseph's, split with La Salle and fell to Penn.

Tyler Sciacca is this week's Big 5 Player of the Week. Last week, he drove in the game-winning run in a 7-5 win over La Salle, scored the game-winning run in the 12th inning of a win over Seton Hall. Over the course of the week, he had a .476 on-base percentage and a .526 slugging percentage for the week while drawing two walks and stealing a base. As of today, he ranks second in the BIG EAST in hitting with an average of .424 (14-for-33) during an eight-game hitting streak.

On the mound for the Wildcats will be Max Almonte, a sophomore right-hander who comes in with a 1-2 record and an ERA of 6.48 through eight starts.

THE SERIES...

The Villanova Wildcats hold the advantage on the all-time series with a record of 57-52-0. Last season, the two teams met twice, splitting the season series. The Owls won the last meeting, 6-1, in Plymouth Meeting. After today, Temple and Villanova will meet once more, as the two will go head-to-head next Tuesday.

Temple University Athletics

Owls Close Out Homestand Wednesday At 3 PM Against Big 5 Rival Villanova

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