Box Score April 26, 2008
Box Score
Ambler, Pa. -
With number two starter Peter Kennelly out with an injury, Fordham head baseball coach Nick Restaino turned to J.P. Mack today in hopes of getting a quality start from the junior southpaw. And Mack, who made his first career start last weekend, didn't disappoint, throwing six and a-third innings of six-hit ball, striking out seven, while Chris Kaible and Alex Kenny homered to lead Fordham to a 9-5 Atlantic 10 baseball win over Temple at Skip Wilson Field. With the win, Fordham improves to 24-18-1 overall, 8-9 in the Atlantic 10, while Temple falls to 20-20 overall, 11-6 in the conference.
The Rams jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first as Danny Leach walked with one out and then stole second. A walk to Eric Reese put two on for Kaible who connected on his fifth home run of the year.
The Owls got a run in the bottom of the first without a hit as Byron McKoy led off with a walk and Jamie Abercrombie was hit by a pitch. The two runners then pulled off a double steal with McKoy scoring when the throw from Fordham catcher Ryan David got by third baseman Leach.
Temple made it a 3-2 game in third when Ben Flanary and McKoy led off with back-to-back walks and the runners moved up a base on a balk. One out later, Stan Orzechowski delivered Flanary with a single.
Fordham extended its lead to 6-2 with a three-run fourth, highlighted by a Kenny two-run home run. Ryan McCrann led off the Fordham fourth with a double and, one out later, scored on a David single. Kenny followed the David single with a shot to left center for his first collegiate home run.
The Owls cut the Fordham advantage to 6-3 with a run in the bottom of the fourth when Matt Heltz led off with a double and scored on a Kyle Obal single.
Fordham got the run back in the top of the fifth as Reese opened the inning with a walk and Kaible singled him to second. McCrann then hit a ground ball to third that was mishandled, allowing Reese to come around and score.
The Rams picked up single runs in the sixth, when Leach walked with two outs and scored on a Reese triple, and the seventh to take a 9-2 lead. McCrann doubled to lead off the Fordham seventh and Bobby DiNardo singled him to third. One out later, David singled to plate McCrann.
Temple made it a 9-5 game on a McKoy two-run home run in the seventh, his sixth of the year.
Mack (3-3) picked up his third win of the year while Ryan Sheflott came on to throw two and two-third innings of one-hit relief for the Rams. David paced Fordham's 13-hit attack, going 3-for-5 with two RBI while Kaible was 2-for-4 with the three-run home run and McCrann was also 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
The two teams will close out their three-game series with a single game on Sunday afternoon starting at 1:00 p.m.
