Temple Box Score (March 12)
PITTSBURGH ? The Pittsburgh Panthers baseball team improved their record to 6-4 as they came up victorious in their second game against Temple, beating them 13-6 Saturday evening in West Palm Beach, Florida. Temple?s record drops to 3-5.
After going scoreless in the first four innings, the Panthers finally sparked their offense in the top of the fifth. Jeff Stevens (Danville, V.A./Dan River High) started them off with a single and then advanced to second on an error by Temple?s third baseman. Stevens then scored off a Dan Williams (Berwyn, Pa./Episcopal Academy) single to center field. Williams, after advancing to second on an error by the pitcher and then to third, scored on a Ben Copeland (Bradford, Pa./Bradford) RBI single to left field, leaving Pittsburgh with the 2-0 advantage.
The Owls scored one run in the bottom of the fifth. Matt Lafferty scored on a throw to second in an attempt to pick-off Justin Cooper. The Panthers, however, responded by scoring three runs in the top of the sixth. Dan Ford (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) lined a single to center field. He then advanced to second on a wild pitch and then to third. After Billy Muldowney (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) walked, Dave Cline (Mercersburg, Pa./Mercersburg Academy) came in to pinch run and stole second. Both Ford and Cline scored off a Sean Conley (Chippewa, Pa./Blackhawk) single to right field. They plated the third run as Peter Parise (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) singled to right, scoring Conley.
In the bottom of the sixth, Temple scored two more runs, making it a 5-3 game. In the seventh, the Panthers offense continued to dominate. Jim Mayer (Somerset, Pa./Somerset), Jim Negrych (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Francis), and Conley all scored off a multiple RBI double to left field by Parise.
The Panthers broke the game open in the top of the eighth, scoring five more runs, which gave Pittsburgh a 13-4 lead. After Stevens reached base on error, both Williams and Copeland walked to load the bases. All the runners advanced on a passed ball, scoring Stevens. Mayer then walked to re-load the bases. Williams scored on a sacrifice fly to left field off the bat of Negrych. Copeland then scored on an error by the catcher and Pittsburgh plated their last two runs off of RBI singles by Cline and Conley.
Temple attempted to fight back by scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth. Nevertheless, it was not enough, and the Panthers went on to win the game, 13-6.
Pittsburgh?s starter, Paul Nardozzi (Victor, N.Y./Victor), picks up his second win on the season, giving him a 2-1 record. Nardozzi pitched 5.2 innings, striking out nine batters.
Temple?s Fritz, suffered the loss on the mound, his first of the year.
Peter Parise had two hits and drove in four runs for the Panthers. Sean Conley added with two runs, two hits, and three RBIs.
NOTES: Pittsburgh?s Conley, Parise, Stevens, and Williams each had two hits in the game...Temple had seven errors while the Panthers only had three.