Temple University Athletics
Photo by: Mitchell Leff
Owls Look To Retaliate Against Villanova On Tuesday
5.1.12 | Baseball
Live Stats | Listen
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. Temple and Villanova will meet for the second time in less than a week to play out the second game of the season home-home series between the two Big 5 rivals.
Pitching for the Owls (16-27, 4-11) will be redshirt sophomore Ryan Kuehn, who enters in search of his first career victory. Villanova's (25-20, 8-10) starter is yet to be determined, but all indications point toward it being either Matt Lengal or Tyler Radtke.
Last week's matchup featured a dramatic ending. After redshirt senior Steve Nikorak hit a ball off the left field wall with the bases loaded to score two runs and tie the game at three heading into the ninth, the Wildcats worked Brian Sustersic for the go ahead run. Down to their final out, the Owls loaded the bases. Junior Allen Stiles laced a single into right field, but junior Elijah Yarborough was thrown out at the plate to keep Temple from at least forcing extra innings.
Over the weekend, the Owls put in a complete effort and got results, as they won their first Atlantic 10 Conference series since 2010, taking the first two games from Massachusetts on the road to walk into today's game winners in three of their last five games.
Villanova welcomes the Owls after taking the first two games of a three-game BIG EAST set from the Bulls of South Florida. The Wildcats have won six of their last seven games and seven of their last nine. Their last three wins have all been decided by one run.
Stiles has certainly made the most of his recent added playing time. Making starts in each of the four games played last week, Stiles led the team in hitting with a .444 batting average, going 8-for-18 with two runs scored and five runs batted in. His hit late in the ninth inning oflast week's game against Villanova nearly tied it for the Owls, but on Friday at UMass with his team trailing, he came through with a game-tying RBI-double to score redshirt junior Matt Elko to deadlock the score at three, forcing extra innings. In the the 13th frame, Stiles got the bat again—this time with the bases loaded—and smacked a single up the middle to put Temple on top for good.
Nikorak suddenly has an extra pop to his swing since being placed as the leadoff hitter in head coach Ryan Wheeler's batting order.. Over the last six games, he had belted three home runs, putting his season total at five, which leads the team.
Junior Tyler Sciacca is still carrying the team, as he comes into Tuesday's game hitting.373. He is tied with Kevin Wager with 66 hits. On the year, wager is hitting .357 and has driven in a team-high 40 runs.
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. Temple and Villanova will meet for the second time in less than a week to play out the second game of the season home-home series between the two Big 5 rivals.
Pitching for the Owls (16-27, 4-11) will be redshirt sophomore Ryan Kuehn, who enters in search of his first career victory. Villanova's (25-20, 8-10) starter is yet to be determined, but all indications point toward it being either Matt Lengal or Tyler Radtke.
Last week's matchup featured a dramatic ending. After redshirt senior Steve Nikorak hit a ball off the left field wall with the bases loaded to score two runs and tie the game at three heading into the ninth, the Wildcats worked Brian Sustersic for the go ahead run. Down to their final out, the Owls loaded the bases. Junior Allen Stiles laced a single into right field, but junior Elijah Yarborough was thrown out at the plate to keep Temple from at least forcing extra innings.
Over the weekend, the Owls put in a complete effort and got results, as they won their first Atlantic 10 Conference series since 2010, taking the first two games from Massachusetts on the road to walk into today's game winners in three of their last five games.
Villanova welcomes the Owls after taking the first two games of a three-game BIG EAST set from the Bulls of South Florida. The Wildcats have won six of their last seven games and seven of their last nine. Their last three wins have all been decided by one run.
Stiles has certainly made the most of his recent added playing time. Making starts in each of the four games played last week, Stiles led the team in hitting with a .444 batting average, going 8-for-18 with two runs scored and five runs batted in. His hit late in the ninth inning oflast week's game against Villanova nearly tied it for the Owls, but on Friday at UMass with his team trailing, he came through with a game-tying RBI-double to score redshirt junior Matt Elko to deadlock the score at three, forcing extra innings. In the the 13th frame, Stiles got the bat again—this time with the bases loaded—and smacked a single up the middle to put Temple on top for good.
Nikorak suddenly has an extra pop to his swing since being placed as the leadoff hitter in head coach Ryan Wheeler's batting order.. Over the last six games, he had belted three home runs, putting his season total at five, which leads the team.
Junior Tyler Sciacca is still carrying the team, as he comes into Tuesday's game hitting.373. He is tied with Kevin Wager with 66 hits. On the year, wager is hitting .357 and has driven in a team-high 40 runs.
The Stellas: Temple Athletics' Celebration of Champions 2026
Wednesday, April 29
Ep. 51: Women's Cross Country/Track & Field Student-Athlete Rose Tuomisto
Monday, April 27
Ep. 50: Tara Evans, Director of Nancy and Donald Resnick Academic Support Center for Student-Athl...
Friday, April 17
Temple Women's Tennis vs. Drexel - Courts 4, 5, and 6 Multiview
Saturday, April 11
