University of Richmond Athletics
Richmond Baseball Heads to Temple for A-10 Series
04/19/2012 | Baseball
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Richmond Spiders baseball team will head to Philadelphia, Pa., this weekend for a three-game, Atlantic 10 conference series at Temple. The series gets underway on Friday with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. Live stats will be available for all three games at RichmondSpiders.com.
Scouting the Spiders
The Richmond Spiders head to Philadelphia with an overall
record of 18-16 on the season, including a 5-4 mark in Atlantic 10 conference
play. This past week, the Spiders
dropped a 7-5 decision at No. 25 Virginia.
Last weekend, Richmond took two-of-three from George Washington at Pitt
Field.
Richmond comes in to the weekend with one of the most powerful offensive attacks in the conference, leading the A-10 with 45 home runs. Senior Chris Cowell leads the league with 14 homers on the campaign and also leads the Spiders with 12 doubles and 37 RBIs. Classmate Phil Ruzbarsky is hitting a team-best .355 on the season.
Junior Jacob Mayers and freshman Zak Sterling have been the pacesetters for the pitching staff this season. Mayers has posted a record of 5-2 and an ERA of 4.48. The junior right-hander has also struck out a team-high 65 batters in 62.1 innings pitched. Sterling has been solid in his first season, going 4-1 with a team-best ERA of 3.48.
Scouting the Owls
The Temple Owls enter this weekend's series with the Spiders
with an overall record of 13-23 and an Atlantic 10 conference mark of 1-8. Last weekend, the Owls earned their first
conference win of the season, defeating Charlotte, 6-4. In the midweek, Temple dropped a 7-5 contest
to Delaware.
The Owls have had a solid season at the plate, hitting .277 as a team with seven home runs and 153 RBIs. Freshman Nick Lustrino leads TU with a .323 batting average, while senior Steve Nikorak has hit a team-high two homers to go with 26 RBIs.
On the mound, freshman Patrick Peterson has totaled a team-high 49 strikeouts in 51.1 innings pitched, posting a record of 2-3. Sophomore hurler Matt Hockenberry has won four games for the Owls, while senior closer Brian Sustersic has accumulated five saves on the year.
The Series
In the overall series
between the Spiders and the Owls dating back to 1968, Richmond holds a 14-7
record over Temple. Over the last six
games, both Richmond and Temple have won three games each. In the last series in 2010, the Owls won
two-of-three from Richmond in Philadelphia.
Familiar Face
The Spiders will see a familiar face this weekend when they
look at the Temple dugout, as long-time Richmond assistant coach Ryan Wheeler
is in his first season as the head coach of the Owls. During his five years at Richmond, Wheeler
helped direct the Spiders' recruiting efforts and helped lead the team to the
A-10 Championship game last season.
