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Weather wreaked havoc on the weekend schedule forcing Temple, La Salle and Villanova to cut short their stay at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, N.C. Combined, five games were cancelled involving the three teams as rain and snow moved in Saturday morning.
Further down the coast, Saint Joseph's avoided wet weather in Florida taking two-of-three in their opening series against Stetson.
Friday's (2/15) capsules:- Temple vs. Wright State: Dan Moller surrendered six runs on seven hits and failed to get past the fourth inning in an 8-3 loss. Nick Lustrino paced the Temple offense (2-for-3, HR) while Henry Knabe and Connor Reilly each chipped in with solo homers of their own. Zach White pitched a scoreless two innings for Temple, marking his first appearance since May 2011.
- Temple vs. Delaware: Temple rallied to score a pair of runs in the ninth but it was too little as the Owls fell, 8-4. Connor Reilly and Michael D'Acunti each finished 2-for-4 with an RBI. Steve Visnic tossed a scoreless inning in relief and in doing so tied the program record for most career appearances with 84.
- La Salle vs. Toledo: The Explorers erupted for four runs in the ninth and Pat Christensen notched his 34th career save to clinch an 8-7 win. Ryan Wheeling (3-for-5, 2 R) paced the offense along with Kevin Conroy (2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R) and George Smith, Jr. (2-for-4, R). Freshman JT Crits knocked an RBI double down the right field line (his first collegiate hit) in the ninth to tie the contest at 7-7. Dan Klem followed with the eventual game-winning single.
- La Salle vs. Wright State: Kevin Barron (4-for-4, 2B, R) led the Explorers' offense but Domonic Sgroi struggled in relief (2 IP, 3 H, 5 R) in a 9-5 defeat. Brandon Day (3-for-4. 2B) and Kevin Conroy (1-for-3, 3B, RBI) chipped in for La Salle.
- Villanova vs. Monmouth: The Wildcats scored three runs in the ninth but fell short, 7-6. Connor Jones finished with a pair of RBIs via a two-out single in the final frame. Tyler Sciacca collected two hits and Brandon Carr added two RBIs. Pat Young (5.1 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 3 K) started for Villanova.
- Saint Joseph's at Stetson: The Hawks won on opening day for the first time in 14 years with a 5-3 victory. Stefan Kancylarz (1-for-5, HR, 2 RBI) clubbed a two-run home run in the eighth. Chris Hueth finished with three hits and Anthony Cirillo (2-for-4) scored a pair of runs. Kyle Mullen (5 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 4 K) collected the win and Jimmy Yacabonis (1 IP, 2 K) recorded the save.
- Saint Joseph's at Stetson: The Hawks scored four runs in the eighth in a series-clinching 5-4 win. Quinn Renner (3-for-5, HR, 2 R, 1 RBI) opened the scoring early for St. Joseph's with a solo shot in the first. Brian O'Keefe finished with a pair of hits and a run scored. Mike Muha launched a sac-fly in the eighth to drive in the game winning run. Jimmy Yacabonis (1 IP, 3 K) notched his second save of the weekend.
Sunday's (2/17) capsules:
- Saint Joseph's at Stetson: Greg Kumpel and Mike Muha (HR) collected three RBIs each but Steven Schuler (0.2 IP, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 H) surrendered a run in the ninth as the Hawks fell, 7-6. Muha also tossed a pair of scoreless innings in relief for St. Joseph's. Daniel Thorpe (4 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 5 H) struck out five. The Hawks committed four errors in the losing effort.
- Patrick Gordon is the editor of the Philadelphia Baseball Review. Contact him at pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com or @Philabaseball on Twitter.
