2014 Season Summary

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Temple Baseball
2014 SEASON SUMMARY
(15-32 overall, 9-14 American Athletic Conference)

The Temple Owls, under third-year head coach Ryan Wheeler, finished the 2014 season at 15-32 overall and 9-14 in American Athletic Conference play. The 2014 season also marked the end of the program's 87-year history.

After 47 games, senior 1B Robert Amaro was the Owls' leading hitter with a .324 batting average. He had 25 runs, a team-best 58 hits, three home runs, and a team-best 39 RBI in 47 starts. A starter in all 47 games, sophomore OF Jimmy Kerrigan (.310) followed with 15 runs on 54 hits and 16 RBI. Senior 3B Derek Peterson (.283) scored a team-best 32 runs on 51 hits with a team-leading 23 doubles. Senior OF Bobby Heitzman (.212) scored 14 runs on 21 hits and had eight doubles, a triple, and 14 RBI.

On the mound, senior RHP Matt Hockenberry (3.18 ERA) had a 5-6 record in 93.1 innings pitched, the most of any Owl. He fanned 71 batters and walked 23. Redshirt senior RHP Ryan Kuehn (3.54 ERA) pitched in 15 contests with 10 starts. He fanned 24 batters and walked 19. Freshman RHP Patrick Vanderslice (6.29 ERA) appeared in 17 games with seven starts. He struck out 26 batters and walked 15.

PETERSON NAMED All-CONFERENCE
Senior 3B Derek Peterson (Wall, N.J.) was Temple's sole representative on the American's 2014 All-Conference team. A second-team honoree, Peterson started every game this season while tying the school record for doubles in a season.

BIG 5 HONORS
Freshman LHP Patrick Krall (Downingtown, Pa.) was named the Philadelphia Big 5 co-Rookie of the Year, while head coach Ryan Wheeler was named the co-Coach of the Year.

Named to the All-Big 5 team were senior first baseman Robert Amaro (Bensalem, Pa.) and senior RHP Matt Hockenberry (Hanover, Pa.). Senior RHP Ryan Kuehn (Lehighton, Pa.) was the Owls' Academic Team honoree.

A RETURN TO POSTSEASON PLAY
Temple returned to postseason play in 2014 for the first time since 2008 when the Owls participated in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament.

Since 1960, Temple has advanced to conference postseason play 21 times (1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2014).

TU also played in the NCAA Championship 14 times with two trips (1972 and 1977) to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

HOCKENBERRY MOVES UP CAREER CHARTS
Senior RHP Matt Hockenberry finished his collegiate career ranked among the Top 10 in three pitching categories. He tied the Temple career record for games started (46). Hockenberry also ranked seventh in innings pitched (280.2) and ninth in strikeouts (209).

UPSET CITY
Temple's final two series of the regular season were against nationally ranked opponents, and the Owls claimed an upset against each American opponent.

On May 10, the Owls claimed a 4-2 upset victory over No. 5 Louisville at Campbell's Field, their first of the 2014 season.

On May 16, TU notched another upset— a 4-1 victory over No. 16 Houston at Campbell's Field.

TU's previous upset of a nationally ranked foe came during the 2013 season when TU claimed a 7-3 win at No. 24 Virginia Tech (Feb. 23, 2013).

Previously the Owls' last upset of a Top 10 team(s) came during the 1972 College World Series. Temple, which finished the season nationally ranked No. 3 behind national champion USC and runner-up Arizona State, beat Connecticut and Iowa in world series play. The Huskies finished the season ranked No. 6, while the Hawkeyes were No. 7.

OWL NOTES & TRENDS
•   Temple finished third in the American in triples (13) and first in least home runs allowed (9).
•   Three Owls— Robert Amaro, Jimmy Kerrigan, and Derek Peterson— started every game this season (47).
•   Senior Matt Hockenberry was the Owls' No. 1 pitcher all season. In the American Athletic Conference, he ranked No. 3 in strikeouts looking (26), No. 5 in strikeouts (71), and No. 7 in innings pitched (93.1). Hockenberry tied for first in home runs allowed (0).
•   R-junior Zach Batchelor was TU's top reliever. He tied for seventh in career saves for Temple with six. He lso tied for fourth of the season record for saves. Batchelor tied for 9th in the conference in saves (4).
•   Senior IF Derek Peterson ranked No. 1 in the American and No. 11 nationally in doubles (23). His 23 doubles tied the single-season record, set by Steve Nikorak in 2011.
•   In the American senior Robert Amaro finished No. 9 in batting average (.322), No. 8 in RBI (39) and No. 5 in putouts (421).
•   Sophomore C Michael D'Acunti's home run against in game 3 against No. 5 Louisville was Temple's first home run at Campbell's Field.
•   The Owls' upset of No. 5 Louisville on May 10 was the 50th career win for head coach Ryan Wheeler.
•   Temple played its first home game of the 2014 season on April 1 vs. Delaware.
•   Mother Nature was not kind to Temple this spring, cancelling or postponing all home games until April 1. Overall, a total of 19 games were cancelled or rescheduled.
•   TU opened American Athletic Conference play at Memphis, capturing two wins.
•   The Owls hosted Cincinnati in their first American Athletic Conference home games, claiming two victories.
•   Temple's final game at Skip Wilson Field was against No. 5 Louisville on May 9.
•   Senior Robert Amaro is the nephew of Philadelphia Phillies' general manager Ruben Amaro.
•   Four conference schools— Cincinnati, Houston, Louisville, and Memphis were first-time opponents.

Temple University Athletics

2014 Season Summary

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