May 14, 2011

Box Score

AMBLER, Pa. - Using an offensive explosion in the first game and some outstanding pitching in both contests, the Saint Joseph's baseball team swept both ends of a doubleheader with Temple at Skip Wilson Field on Saturday afternoon. SJU won the first game, 9-5, before securing the twinbill and series sweep with a 4-1 victory in game two.

The win was the fourth straight for the Hawks, who have now won 11 straight conference games against city rivals Temple and La Salle, dating back to the beginning of the 2009 season. SJU also improves to 6-0 in the Big 5 this season.

In game one, Chad Simendinger went seven strong innings and the Hawk bats exploded for 15 hits as Saint Joseph's came away with a 9-5 victory.

Saint Joseph's (19-30, 9-12 Atlantic 10) scored a first-inning run for the second straight day as Kevin Taylor hit into a fielder's choice to score Mike Coleman and give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.

Another RBI fielder's choice from Taylor in the third plated Kevin Kratochwill and doubled the margin to two.

With the bases loaded in the fourth, Anthony Cirillo hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Cody Silverman and push the lead to 3-0.

The Hawks continued to pour it on, scoring three in the fifth to expand the lead. A Kratochwill single and a walk by Greg Kumpel put two on for Taylor, who reached on an error by second baseman Adrian Perez. Kratochwill scored and Kumpel went to third, leaving runners on the corners for Eddie Palmer, who singled to right to score Kumpel and push the lead to 5-0.

That hit chased Owl starter Brant Norlander, who finished the game with six runs allowed, five earned, on nine hits in four-plus innings. His replacement, Tyler Horst, retired the next two hitters, but a walk to Quinn Renner and a single by Cirillo extended the SJU lead to 6-0.

The Hawks added one in the sixth as Kumpel doubled and Palmer singled him in two batters later to push the lead to seven.

Temple (23-27, 3-18 Atlantic 10) hung a three-spot on the board in the bottom of the sixth to end the shutout. Back-to-back doubles by Byron McKoy and Perez scored the first run of the game for the Owls before Steve Nikorak's ninth home run of the year cut the SJU margin to 7-3.

The Crimson and Gray got two of those runs back on a wild pitch in the seventh. Cirillo scored from third and catcher Will Remillard's throw got away, allowing Coleman to come around from second and give SJU a 9-3 lead.

Nikorak went yard again in the eighth to get the Owls within four, but Dominic Favazza came in with runners on first and third to record the final two outs of the game and notch his first career save.

With the win, Simendinger improved to 3-6 on the year. He allowed three runs on six hits while striking out eight and not allowing a walk. Norlander (3-5) took the loss.

Kumpel led the way with three hits in the game, while Cirillo, Palmer, and Taylor had a pair of RBI apiece.

In the nightcap, A.J. Holland dazzled through seven innings of his own as the Hawks completed the sweep with a 4-1 win.

For the third time in as many games, SJU scored early and took a first-inning lead. This time, Coleman led off the second game with a triple to left center and came in to score on a sacrifice fly by Taylor.

The lead swelled to three in the fourth on RBI singles by Nuri Gunes and Brett Tiagwad. The Owls got one back in the bottom half when Nikorak scored on an error after Rafael Cordero's infield single.

A two-out single by Cirillo in the top of the sixth scored Tiagwad to close the scoring.

Holland scattered nine hits over seven innings, allowing no free passes and fanning six, for his second win of the season. Matt Hockenberry took the loss for Temple to fall to 2-4.

The Hawks will look to extend their streak to five as they head to La Salle for a non-conference tilt on Tuesday afternoon. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.