Frustrating.

“It’s been frustrating,” he said Thursday as TC (31-23) prepared for its seventh straight NJCAA Region V Tournament, which for the Leopards begins at 5 p.m. Sunday against Clarendon (35-14). “Staffs we’ve had in the past could keep teams in check better than this year’s staff, so it’s been tougher.

“We’ve been inconsistent and had too many walks and hit batters. This staff has had a problem with inconsistency from inning to inning. It’s made me want to pull my hair out.”

While Temple is confident in starters Daniel Meadows, Tristan Gaines and Courtney Behrend and reliever Hunter Scott, its team earned-run average is 5.06 - almost two full runs higher than it was entering last year’s regional.

It’s a good thing, then, that the Leopard offense - led by sophomore second baseman Nick Anders (.431 average, seven home runs, 51 runs batted in) and freshman shortstop Mike Lowery (.432) - has been so strong throughout this season.

A year ago, TC finished last in the Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference with a .299 average and hit only 27 homers but still managed to post a 38-15 regular-season record, thanks mostly to a 3.14 ERA.

This year, the Leopards have hit .326 - fifth in the nine-team league - and clubbed 45 homers in averaging 6.6 runs per game, yet they’re just eight games above the .500 mark, having allowed 5.5 runs per outing.

“Our hitting has been good,” said McMurtry, who has admitted that he’d rather his team outpitch opponents than have to outslug them. “This is probably the highest batting average we’ve had in quite a few years. Those guys have done a good job and they’ve played hard.”

And the Leopards have had to be very good at the plate.

TC has allowed 10 or more runs 10 times and eight or more 17 times, but its offense has compensated by scoring at least 10 runs 13 times and at least eight in 23 games.

More evidence of the Leopards’ pitching problems - and offensive production - is that they’ve lost games by scores of 9-8, 9-7, 14-10, 16-10, 15-12, 12-8, 9-8, 13-11 and 10-8.

Never was Temple more frustrated by its inability to contain opposing offenses than when the Leopards racked up 56 hits and 36 runs in a four-game series against eventual NTJCAC champion Grayson County - and got swept.

TC pitchers were pounded for 50 hits and 52 runs in that series as the Vikings seized victories by scores of 16-10, 15-12, 9-6 and 12-8.

Temple issued 15 walks and hit three batters in the two home games as its losing skid against Grayson grew to nine games, leaving McMurtry livid after the sweep.

“We just didn’t pitch,” he said March 29 after TC’s seventh consecutive conference loss dropped its league record to 7-9 at the midway point. “We scored enough runs in all the games this week; we just didn’t pitch well enough.

“When you score six, seven, eight runs, you’ve got to have a chance to win. If we pitch like we’re capable of, six runs should be enough to win a ballgame. That’s the whole deal we base our program on, but our whole staff is struggling and it’s not a good situation.”

The Leopards responded by outscoring Ranger 37-11 in a four-game sweep, and their offense exceeded 10 runs in five more conference games as Temple went 12-4 in the second half to finish second in the NTJCAC for the third straight season.

In fact, Temple produced 44 runs against Vernon last week for a four-game sweep that clinched the No. 2 seed for the regional tournament.

Asked to compare this year’s offense to that of the 2006 team that reached TC’s first Junior College World Series, McMurtry said the squad of two years ago - which hit .319 and averaged 6.5 runs in the regular season - had more home run power and speed on the bases.

“But what these guys are capable of is putting runs on the board,” McMurtry said. “I think we’re more of a doubles-type team.”

Anders, committed to play for Texas A&M, leads TC in homers, RBI, doubles (18) and hits (66) and trails double play partner Lowery by only one point in the batting race.

Sophomores Garrett Bivone (6-4, 255 pounds) and Will Sandifer (5-8, 160) are far different in terms of stature, but statistically they’re very similar. Powerful first baseman/designated hitter Bivone (.352) and speedy center fielder Sandifer (.365) have six homers and 36 RBI apiece.

Sophomore first baseman and DH Michael DeLaRosa is batting .375 with five homers; sophomore third baseman Tabor Smith is hitting .345 with four homers; sophomore catcher Johnathon Moore is batting .320 with three homers; and freshman infielder Travis Trial (.315, three homers), back from a back injury, has contributed most of his 24 RBI in the last few weeks.

Those are pretty stout numbers for a TC program that sometimes has won in spite of its offense instead of because of it.

And if the first 54 games of this season are an accurate indicator, the Leopards likely will have to keep hitting and scoring to survive the double-elimination regional tournament.

gwille@temple-telegram.com