March 31, 2007

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - In a pitching duel that saw neither team's starter figure in the decision, the La Salle University Baseball team dropped a 4-2 decision to the Temple Owls in 10 innings in the second game of a three-game Atlantic 10 series at Hank DeVincent Field, Saturday.

Explorer starter Kenny Elkind tied a career-high with seven innings pitched and struck out a career-high 10 batters, while also scattering three hits and allowing two unearned runs. Owl starter Tom Dolan went 8.1 innings allowing five hits, two earned runs and struck out four batters.

Temple scored its first unearned run in the first inning, as Ryan Weber, who was on third, crossed the plate after Sean Barksdale stole second. The throw was off target and went into short centerfield, allowing Weber to come home.

La Salle responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second as John Vincent led off with a walk and back-to-back singles by George Papuchis and Justin Handler plated Vincent and moved Papuchis to second. A sacrifice bunt moved the pair into scoring position and John Malloy drove in the second run with an RBI groundout.

To start the third, Rich Prall singled to lead off the frame, but was erased on a double-play ball, which was the beginning of Dolan retiring 18 straight Explorers.

However, Elkind was just as strong, allowing only a second-inning single to Steve Mury after the first. The Owls did plate another unearned run in the fourth, though, as Mike Kelch, who had struck out, reached third base after strike three. He ran on the wild pitch, and when the throw to first ended up in right field, he advanced all the way to third. Dan Brady knocked him in with a sacrifice fly in the next at-bat.

Neither team had a runner touch second base from that point until the ninth inning, when, with two outs, Kelch stole second, but Gerard Breslin got Brady to fly out to center to end the frame.

After getting the first out in the bottom of the ninth, Temple pulled Dolan for Eric Fritz, who in turned surrendered back-to-back singles to John Rickards and Davis Hewett. The Owls, then went to Matt Blackburn, who got the final two outs of the ninth to end any La Salle threat.

Temple (8-14, 2-3 A-10) was able to get a first-and third with nobody out in the top of the 10th inning with back-to-back singles by Devon Swope and Matt Heltz. Swope would score on a wild pitch, and Heltz added an insurance run on a double-play groundball.

La Salle (8-13, 1-4 A-10) led off the bottom of the inning with Handler reaching base after being hit by a pitch. Malloy then singled up the middle to extend his hitting streak to 21 straight games to start the season. However, Blackburn got the final two outs of the game to register his first win of the season, while Breslin's record dropped to 1-2.