TEMPLE, TX – Temple College Baseball picks up their first two wins of the season with a double header sweep over Angelina College on Friday January 27th.
Game 1 Recap
The offense was clearly anxious to start the season as they wasted no time in starting the scoring as they scored 5 runs in the first inning. Hits by Cade Climie, Lance Cantrell, and Colby Christian were enough to gain the lead for starter Clay Westbrook. In his first collegiate start, Westbrook proved to be a force keeping the Angelina offense off balance. Through his three innings of work, Westbrook allowed 3H, 0R, 0BB and had 1SO. Luis Martinez-Gomez and Christian Okerholm finished off the combined shutout throwing two innings a piece. Martinez-Gomez allowed 1H, 0R, 1BB, 3SO while Okerholm finished the game allowing 2H, 0R, and 0BB.
The offense continued adding runs in the 5th, 6th and 7th inning to help put the game out of Angelina's reach.
Cade Climie went 2-4, R and an RBI in his collegiate debut.
Lance Cantrell went 1-1, 2R, 2RBI, 2BB and a HBP in his collegiate debut.
Colby Christian went 1-3, R, RBI, and a BB
Raithen Malone picked up his first collegiate home run in 7th inning on a shot to left field.
Game 2 Recap
Once again, the offense got their bats hot early and scored 3 runs in the first inning. A walk for Cade Climie and 3 consecutive hits by Lance Cantrell, Hogan Heller and Simon Larranaga (double) gave starting pitcher Dash Albus a comfortable lead to kick off his first start of 2023.
The Leopards scored again in the 5th and 7th inning to extend their lead to four.
Colby Christian went 1-3, RBI
Hogan Heller went 2-2, 2R, BB, 2B(1)
Simon Larranaga went 1-2, R, 2RBI, BB, 2B(1)
Trent Rucker goes 1-3, RBI in his collegiate debut
Angelina's offense answered back in the bottom half of the first inning as they scored 2 runs on 2 hits, but as Albus settled in, he answered back in his second inning of work with a 1-2-3 inning that included 2 strikeouts.
Edward Mendoza made his collegiate debut allowing only 1H in his one inning of work, 0R, 0BB.
John Michael Ramirez followed in relief throwing 1.2IP, 2H, 1R, 1BB, 2SO in his collegiate debut.
Tyler Cooper came in and picked up his first collegiate save in his debut throwing 2.1IP, 2H, 1BB and 2SO as he closed the door for the Leopards' second win of the season.
UP NEXT
Temple will host Blinn College at home on Wednesday February 1st at Danny Scott Sports Complex for their 2023 home opener!
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Visit tcleopards.com for more information on Temple College Baseball. Fans can keep up to date with the Baseball team on Twitter via (@TC_Leopards).
POST GAME QUOTES
Craig McMurtry, Head Coach Temple College Leopards Baseball
On Opening Day's double-header…
Its always nice to start the season off with a couple of wins. Our pitching threw well today, offensively we came up with some timely hits with runners in scoring position and defensively I thought we played extremely well. Pitching and defense is going to be the key to our success, so we need to continue to build on today as we prepare for conference play come March.
Colby Christian, Sophomore Outfielder
On Opening Day's double-header…
This team's work ethic in the cage, weight room and field really showed today as we took huge strides from where we left off in the fall. The offense has seemed to buy into the mentality of "passing it to the next guy" which is what the coaches have been trying to instill in us. For us this means trusting the guy in front and behind you which takes an enormous amount of pressure off of you individually. The pitching staff these first 2 games really stepped up. You could tell their was a different demeanor about them as they competed each and every pitch. I am excited to see where we end up come May, but we need to take this one day at a time and not get ahead of ourselves.