No. 26-ranked TC lost a pair of tight games against No. 8 San Jacinto on Saturday, with Andrew Riddick hitting a two-run walkoff home run for a 9-7 win in the seven-inning first game and Darren Crabtree’s line-drive bid for a two-run hit being caught by San Jac’s center fielder to end the Gators’ 4-3 victory for a doubleheader sweep.
The Leopards saw their record slip to 1-5, and four of their losses - two to Galveston, one to Wharton County and one to San Jacinto - are by a single run.
“We played better today and did some things right, but we also did some things wrong that kept us from winning,” McMurtry said. “We’re doing some things you can’t get away with.
“We can’t panic because it’s early, but it’s frustrating to be 1-5 because we’ve been in all the games,” he added. “Now we’re at the point where we’re six games into the season and need to start making some adjustments.”
In Game 1, Nick Anders and Garrett Bivone drove in first-inning runs as Temple jumped out to a 2-0 lead. San Jacinto stormed back to go up 7-2. Anders’ third homer of the year and a three-run sixth pulled the Leopards even at 7, but TC made a one-out error in the seventh before Riddick connected for his game-winning two-run shot against reliever Zach Butler (0-1).
The Gators overcame another 2-0 deficit in the nine-inning second game and led 3-2 through six. TC tied it with a run in the seventh, but reliever Sam Cordero walked in a run in the eighth to put San Jac up 4-3.
The Leopards put two runners on with two outs in the ninth, but a deep liner by Crabtree - who homered in the first game - was snared by the fully stretched center fielder near the warning track to end it.
Temple next will compete in Blinn College’s tournament Friday and Saturday against Angelina, Blinn and Navarro in Brenham.
