And that may be the only good news after Temple lost to Hill 4-1 in the opening game of the NJCAA Region 5B conference tournament at Craig Ranch on Saturday. The loss means the Lady Leopards (30-28) need to win five consecutive games in order to advance to the NJCAA National Tournament.
“It was a very frustrating day,” Temple coach Larry Hennig said. “We hit the ball hard but just hit it right to people and Hill made some great defensive plays.”
The Lady Rebels took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning and TC cut it to 2-1 in the top of the fifth with a run by Amanda Mayfield. But Hill would add one each in the fifth and sixth and Lady Rebel pitcher Kim Crouse limited the Lady Leopards to just five hits in the game, three by leadoff hitter Lindsey Matt.
“We had our chances and had some good at bats,” Hennig said. “But Hill really played good and we made some baserunning mistakes including a double play in the sixth where we could have scored some runs.”
Haley Friudenberg (8-9) took the lass for TC, allowing eight hits.
The Lady Leopards will play Vernon at noon today.
