TTN: The American is a step up for baseball and softball

http://temple-news.com/sports/2013/04/30/the-american-is-a-step-up-for-baseball-and-softball/

(April 30, 2013)
Players and coaches speak to “significant” talent increase.

The American: Operating Expenses for 2011–2012 Reporting Year

When softball coach Joe DiPietro looks at the 2014 schedule, one thing stands out to him.

“The talent level is significant,” DiPietro said. “Obviously in this conference there’s going to be no games we look at where you think, ‘This is a win.’”

The same concept goes for coach Ryan Wheeler and the baseball team, who will be making the same transition into the American Athletic Conference next season.

“My initial reaction was good,” Wheeler said. “[The American] is a step up in competition and it’s going to be a great league. But then my excitement turned to apprehension with the type of talent is ahead of us, knowing that we have to get better.”

Initially, both teams were preparing to play in the Big East Conference beginning in 2014. While some players were initially upset at the news they would not be entering the Big East after the departure of the Catholic 7, others were not as affected with the change.

“Initially, it was kind of eye-opening,” sophomore shortstop Nick Lustrino said about entering the Big East. “You see all these Big East teams on television and playing in major tournaments. I just thought, ‘Wow I am now a part of this conference.’”

Lustrino admitted that it was difficult when he found out the Owls were not heading to the Big East. However, softball junior catcher Stephanie Pasquale was indifferent about the switch to The American.

“Personally I was really excited to go to the Big East and play all those really good teams,” she said. “And now it’s kind of like, ‘Whoop, now you’re playing whoever’s in [The American].’ It is what it is and there’s still some good teams left in this conference now.”

“Both conferences have beautiful stadiums and strong programs so it is very similar to the Big East, just with a different name,” Lustrino said. “The American does not take away from the prestige of playing in a great conference.”

The American will consist of nine baseball teams and eight softball teams in Spring 2014. Cincinnati and Southern Methodist do not have softball programs, and SMU doesn’t have a baseball program, either. By 2015, 10 baseball and nine softball teams will make up The American.

“On paper I guess we’d probably be maybe slightly under middle of the pack [in The American],” DiPietro said. “If there are eight teams, we would probably be, I would say, maybe fifth or sixth. Just on paper Louisville would have to be the best, then Houston, then South Florida, then maybe Central Florida, somewhere in that range. I don’t think we’re going to be in over our heads.”

The softball team will face the likes of No. 8 Louisville, No. 24 South Florida and Houston, all Division I powers. The baseball team’s toughest opponent on paper may be No. 24 Louisville, who currently dons a record of 30–9.

ABI REIMOLD / TTN

“It will be really good,” Wheeler said of The American. “Some of those programs in [The American] are Top 25 teams and some others are Top 50 and Top 75. The conference has some really good players and there is certainly a big commitment to baseball.”

Temple’s track record against these programs is far from stellar for both softball and baseball. Next season will also mark the first time both teams face Houston, Louisville and Memphis, while the baseball team has the opportunity to face Cincinatti for the first time. Softball has a combined record of 41–65 against the 2014 version of the conference, while baseball is 33–63-1. Neither team has a winning record against any of the current or future teams.

While Louisville is the only baseball team in The American that made the NCAA tournament last year, DiPietro thinks the softball team will benefit from a better RPI. He said if the conference has the same pull as the old Big East, they have a chance to make the tournament without winning the conference.

“I think we’ll be OK as we move forward because the standard has been set that just making the playoffs is not good enough, we want to get into the NCAA tournament,” DiPietro said.

“I think our program can only get better,” Lustrino said. “There are a lot top talent schools in The American; it will be interesting for sure to find out next season.”

John Murrow can be reached and Jake Adams can be reached at sports@temple-news.com.

TTN: Conference move eliminates small ball option

http://temple-news.com/sports/2013/04/30/conference-move-eliminates-small-ball-option/

(April 30, 2013)
Undersized Owls face an increase in competition.

Coach Bakeer Ganes. | TTN

The American: Operating Expenses for 2011–2012 Reporting Year

Elyse Burkert grew up in Richardson, Texas, less than 10 miles from Southern Methodist University.

It will be a welcomed treat for the junior outside hitter when her Owls travel to SMU as a part of volleyball competition in the American Athletic Conference next season, and again when Temple faces Houston, which is four hours away from her hometown.

“I’m so excited, it couldn’t have worked out better,” Burkert said. “It’s going to be great because I’ve been working really hard and been doing a lot of things up here, but it’s really great that I can share it with my family, my grandparents and my friends who are going to be able to come and watch.”

It couldn’t be better timing for Burkert, who will play her last season next fall.

But The American, responsible for bringing Burkert back to the Lone Star State, poses a whole new set of challenges for a team used to the Atlantic 10 Conference – a conference they dominated just a decade ago.

“It’s very competitive, it’s much more competitive than it was in the A-10,” coach Bakeer Ganes said. “The A-10 basically had two top teams, Dayton and Xavier, and this new conference, [The American], has basically four or five top teams.”

Last season the Owls went up against several teams in the Top 100 in Ratings Percentage Index. No. 19 Dayton has made the NCAA tournament the past two seasons. Xavier and VCU were second and third in the A-10 in RPI, ranking No. 54 and No. 60, respectively.

The average RPI of Temple’s old opponents was 159. Next year’s conference foes have a collective RPI of 145. But that’s counting a No. 17 Louisville squad (RPI of 7) that has gone dancing the past two years, but leaves in 2014. After that, only Cincinnati (RPI 95) is in the Top 100 in RPI until Tulsa (RPI 49) joins in 2014.

And when Louisville and Rutgers (RPI 130) leave and Tulsa, Navy (RPI 271), Tulane (RPI 287) and East Carolina (RPI 316) join the fold by 2015 the conference’s RPI plummets to what would have been 190 this year.

The one advantage is the pull the old Big East had in the NCAA tournament. The A-10 sent Dayton as its lone representative the past two seasons, while Louisville, Marquette and Cincinnati have all made the tournament at least once in the past two years. If The American can keep the same clout, the Owls have better odds of making the dance, something junior outside hitter Gabriella Matautia said is the team’s goal next season.

“I think it’s going to be a huge challenge, but I think we’re up to it,” Burkert said. “For me and Gabby, it’s our last chance, so we’re going to have to leave everything out there.”

But the Owls must do this without a conference tournament. Despite having 10 teams heading into next season, the conference will simply have each team face each other twice and crown a champion based on the regular season.

“I hope we’re in the Top 5, but we could be in the bottom five because all the teams are good,” Burkert said. “You have a couple games that aren’t your best and you’re [right at the bottom].”

“So what we’ll have to do is we’ll have to learn how to adjust quicker within the game at some points than having to prepare more for some of the things we’re used to playing against,” Matautia said.

But a team that played “small ball” with success in the A-10 with a roster that had just three girls taller than 6 feet now faces a conference with more height and more physicality. The Owls are also without A-10 Libero of the Year Chelsea Tupuola, leaving a defense that was their strength with serious question marks.

“We do feel pretty good about our team and the recruits, but I think we’re still going to be the underdog in the conference,” Ganes said. “So basically our role hasn’t changed from last year. It’s just a different conference.”

Jake Adams can be reached at jacob.adams@temple.edu or on Twitter @jakeadams520.

TTN: Softball bats come alive in 10-2 win

http://temple-news.com/sports/2013/04/28/softball-bats-come-alive-in-10-2-win/

(April 28, 2013)
Freshman right-hander Kelsey records 11th win of season in the Owls’ win against Rhode Island.

Back-to-back doubles to the wall put the Owls in an early hole, but it turns out it was nothing the team’s hitting couldn’t overcome.

Temple (24–22, 11–5 Atlantic 10 Conference) connected for 14 hits on day when freshman righthander Kelsey Dominik needed just five innings against Rhode Island (9–30, 2–11 A-10) to secure the series sweep.

It took a few innings for the bats to warm up, but it didn’t matter. Despite giving up two runs in the opening frame, Dominik settled down and recorded her 11th win of the season in a 10–2 offensive display for the Owls

After spending two weeks nearly absent the Temple bats woke up this weekend. One day after putting up nine runs in a come-from-behind ninth-inning victory the Owls put 10 across home and run-ruled a team coach Joe DiPietro said before the weekend they could afford to lose to.

The top four in the lineup combined to go 7-for12 with six runs, six runs batted in and two homers. In all the Owls matched their homerun output from Friday with five.

Temple played small ball to start, though, scoring freshman leftfielder Annie Marcopolus on a sacrifice fly by junior catcher Stephanie Pasquale in the bottom of the first to make it 2–1 Rams. A solo shot by junior third baseman Devynne Nelons tied it an inning later.

The Owls kept the runs coming in the third, en route to scoring in every inning until run-ruling Rhode Island. In the third Pasquale took a 2–1 pitch to right center for a two-run shot. She finished 2-for-2 with three RBIs, two runs scored and walking once. An inning later junior Sarah Prezioso hit a two-run dinger of her own to bring the score to 6–2.

Dominik continued to shut down the Rams in the top of the fifth and the offense made sure to end it a half inning later. Dominik helped her own cause with a leadoff homer on a 3–2 pitch. Two batters later senior designated player Kayla Cook—one day after going 3-for-4 with a game tying homerun in the bottom of the seventh—took a pitch over the leftfield fence.

And with two outs Prezioso sealed the deal with a double that scored Marcopolus. Prezioso swung the bat well, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base. Her infield partner, Nelons, was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI.

On the other side, no Rhode Island hitter recorded more than one hit. Only the two through five hitters made contact safely against Dominik.

Dominik was in control after her rough first inning. In the final four innings she retired 12 of the 14 batters she faced, only allowing one hit and hitting a batter. She went on to surrender four total hits—three of which came in the first—while striking out three and walking one.

The win gives the Owls a critical sweep against an A-10 opponent. With Massachusetts up in a double-header Sunday, the Owls got two key wins that keep them on the inside track for the A-10 Tournament.

Massachusetts and Temple will battle it out to hold onto the fifth spot in the standings. First pitch is set for noon.

Jake Adams can be reached at jacob.adams@temple.edu or on Twitter @jakeadams520.

TTN: Kastner walks off in softball win

http://temple-news.com/sports/2013/04/26/kastner-walks-off-in-softball-win/

(April 26, 2013)
Owls hit five homers and beat Rhode Island 9–7 in extra innings.

Julia Kastner just knew.

“I never thought we were going to lose once,” the sophomore rightfielder said. “I was just like, ‘Alright, well I guess this is the inning that we’re going to win now.’”

It took nine innings but Kastner and the Owls (23–22, 10–5 Atlantic 10 Conference) felt the time was right in the ninth to finish off conference foe Rhode Island (9–27, 2–10 A-10).

Kastner took the first pitch she saw after starting off 1-for-4 and shot it over the leftfield fence for a walk-off two-run homerun to win it 9–7 in dramatic fashion.

Temple needed not one, not two, but five long balls to put away the Rams in what turned out to be a slugfest.

But Kastner wasn’t the only one to come up clutch.

Trailing 7–5 after a disastrous four-run top of the sixth, the Owls were down to two outs left in the bottom of the seventh when senior designated player Kayla Cook stepped up to the plate. Coming in with a .178 average Cook needed to do something with a runner on to keep the game alive.

She took the first pitch she liked and launched the Owls’ fourth homer of the day.

“I was just looking for my pitch and she threw it, and it just went out,” Cook said. “It was a team effort, so it was nice for everyone to contribute.”

Cook had quite the day, going 3-for-5 with two runs batted in and a run scored. But none was bigger than the two-run shot that sent the game to extras.

“I only have two more weeks of my career so I’m just trying to give it my all,” Cook said.

“Kayla had a day,” coach Joe DiPietro said. “She hasn’t been playing a lot lately, she’s really, really struggled. I know as I was writing the lineup today I’m like, ‘You know what, she’s a senior. She’s been through a lot.’ I feel like I owe her.”

Both teams went down quietly in the first two frames, but a three-run blast by redshirt-senior shortstop Courtney Prendergast gave the rams a 3–0 lead in the third. The Owls answered right back with a solo shot from junior shortstop Sarah Prezioso and a two-run opposite field homer from freshman second baseman Leah Lucas a few batters later in the home half of the third.

But the Rams got another big inning in the sixth. The Owls suddenly lost awareness on defense, as junior catcher Stephanie Pasquale allowed a passed ball to advance a runner, bean a runner stealing second in the helmet that allowed a runner at third to score and the team wasn’t paying attention on another steal attempt at third. Then two bases-loaded singles gave the Rams a 7–3 lead.

Somehow sophomore Jessica Mahoney managed to get out of the inning with no more damage done.

The Owls got two runs back in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a two-run shot by senior centerfielder Ali Robinson, and would tie it up an inning later thanks to Cook’s heroics.

The Owls main power threat, Pasquale, was silent all day, however. The four-hole hitter, and A-10 batting average leader, walked four times while grounding out once on what was clearly a third outside pitch in her third plate appearance. Rhode Island took no chances with her on a day where the rest of the offense had her back.

“I knew it from the first at-bat that she wasn’t going [to get pitched to],” DiPietro said. “She has to understand that people are going to pitch around her.”

But with the game tied heading into extras DiPietro had a decision to make. Mahoney had struggled all game. Despite going the distance entering the eighth inning she had given up eight hits, walked seven and struck out just two. But DiPietro decided to stick with her in the extra frames.

“I just felt it in the gut to stick with her,” DiPietro said. “I don’t know why. She had eight walks. I thought she was around the plate for the majority of them… I just had a gut feeling to leave her in.”

Putting in Cook and keeping Mahoney in paid off for the skipper as Mahoney had a few close calls in the eighth and ninth innings, but came out unscathed both times, just in time for Kastner’s walk-off.

“We only had five other hits,” DiPietro said of the five homers. “That was something we talked about in the locker room before the game, about getting good swings… But like I told them before the game in the locker room, that this time of year, it’s about winning. It was ugly, but it was a win.”

The win keeps the Owls in control of making the A-10 Tournament. With one more game to potentially beat up on the Rams—even though the first game proved tougher than expected—the Owls must next host Massachusetts, who went into the day slightly ahead of the Owls in the standings.

Jake Adams can be reached at jacob.adams@temple.edu or on Twitter @jakeadams520.

TTN: Softball falls to rival Penn

http://temple-news.com/sports/2013/04/25/softball-falls-to-rival-penn/

(April 25, 2013)
Owls allow Quakers to blow game open in fifth inning.

Typically making the switch from junior Brooklin White to freshman Kelsey Dominik has worked this season for coach Joe DiPietro.

But against city rival Penn (25–16, 13–3 Ivy League) the pitching change couldn’t have gone any worse.

White walked the first batter she faced with the game tied 3–3 in the bottom of the fifth inning. DiPietro had seen enough and decided to go to his youngest, but most consistent pitcher, Dominik (10–5).

“We had to do something,” DiPietro said of the decision. “It was just that [White] started to lose it and she walked the leadoff kid that inning, and it was the right decision.

For a few batters it worked out, as the Owls (22–22, 9–5 Atlantic 10 Conference) got two outs in the next three at-bats. But the wheels flew off immediately after. Over the next four batters Dominik coughed up a triple that scored a run, an RBI-single, a two-run homerun, and a solo shot.

Suddenly what was a close game was a blowout for the Quakers.

“She’s been counted on to go in there and get the job done, and she didn’t do it,” DiPietro said. “And it kind of snowballed from there… She just wasn’t good and wasn’t effective.”

Freshman second baseman Leah Lucas slapped an RBI-single in the top of the sixth but that was as close as Temple would get the rest of the game. Dominik gave up three more runs in the bottom half of the frame and the Owls fell 11–4.

Dominik’s final line on the day was two innings, seven hits, eight runs (five earned), no strikeouts and two walks.

The three-four combination of junior third baseman Kayla Dahlerbruch and senior rightfielder Brooke Coloma caused havoc for Temple pitching. The duo combined to go 4-for-7 with four runs scored, one homer and five RBIs.

“Well anybody’s a good hitter when you throw the ball down the middle of the plate,” DiPietro said.

The day started out far better for the Owls than in finished. Temple was trying to rebound off a double-header split Tuesday at the hands of Villanova and did just that to start.

After two quick outs in the top of the first inning, junior shortstop Sarah Prezioso singled to right. Junior catcher Stephanie Pasquale played the textbook four-hole hitter, launching a pitch to leftfield for a two-run shot.

White started out hot, retiring the first eight batters she faced before surrendering a harmless single in the third. In the fourth she had a little trouble, giving up a two-run homer to Coloma and surrendering another run on a sacrifice fly to right that also got the final two outs of the inning, but not before Penn took a 3–2 lead.

White went 4-plus innings, giving up four hits, three earned and striking out two while walking two.

In the top of the fifth Prezioso tied the game with a double that scored freshman leftfielder Annie Marcopolus. But the Owls would never lead again.

The three-four-five combo of Prezioso, Pasquale and senior centerfielder Ali Robinson did their job at the plate. The trio combine for a line of 5-for-11 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Lucas also recorded two hits, as the Owls got eight on the day.

But DiPietro had no answer after the game for why the offense has struggled to score runs of late. One of the hottest offenses in the conference a few weeks ago has suddenly cooled, averaging a pedestrian 3.57 runs over the past seven games.

“When you’re undisciplined and you swing at pitches that aren’t strikes, I don’t care how good your offense is, you’re not going to be productive,” DiPietro said. “The last week they’ve been very undisciplined and they’re swinging at a lot of bad pitches.”

“You’re always going to have a couple kids who are going to swing at bad pitches, but when it starts to be the majority of them there’s really nothing as a coach you can do anymore,” DiPietro added. “We’ve played 44 games, at this point you have to know what a strike is and what isn’t.”

But it wasn’t enough and the Owls dropped their second game in two days. DiPietro said after the Villanova game that he hoped playing Penn would be a good confidence booster heading into a four-game A-10 weekend. But the plans seem to have backfired.

Now the Owls find themselves backing into what could be a critical weekend, with games against Rhode Island and Massachusetts coming up, especially if they can’t get consistent production from their pitchers and at the plate.

“This is a huge weekend for us,” DiPietro said. “I don’t think we can come out of this weekend 2–2 and be in a good position for the A-10 Tournament.”