Kratochwill's bat leads Hawks past Owls to open Liberty Bell Classic

PBR - Kevin Kratochwill finished with three hits, including knocking in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as Saint Joseph's defeated Temple 4-1 on Tuesday in the first round of the Liberty Bell Classic at Skip Wilson Field in Ambler.

After the Hawks (7-18) got on the board early, Owls' catcher Matt Elko tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth with a sacrifice fly. After that, Temple (10-15) had a hit in each of the three final frames, but ultimately stranded two runners and failed to score another run.

Kratochwill went 3-for-5 on the afternoon, improving his batting average to .357. The sophomore left fielder also leads the Hawks in runs scored with 11.

On the mound, the Owls sent Eric Peterson out for his first collegiate start, and the freshman pitched well, hurling six innings while allowing an unearned run on four hits with three strikeouts in the no-decision.

Daniel Thorpe was awarded his first win of the season after pitching four scoreless inning in the start for the Hawks.

With the win, Saint Joseph's now has three straight victories as they host Rhode Island in a three-game set starting Friday while Temple heads up the Garden State Parkway for two of three straight with Monmouth.