Caitlin Austin improved to 5-2 with a one-hit shutout in the opener in which she struck out 11. She was aided by an offense that saw Michelle Stratta, Emily Gallia, Yesenia Torres, Jade Stock, Shelby Shepperd and Vicky Recek all get multiple hits.
But after that win the Lady Leopards (11-5) struggled, getting just three hits against Iowa Western (1-1) and eight against Blinn, led by a game-tying home run by Stratta.
“I was a little disappointed with our effort today,” Temple coach Larry Hennig said. “We gave up too many runs and our offense was kind of spotty as well. We have to make some improvements - the teams we lost to today will be similar to what we are going to face in conference. Maybe this was a wake-up call."
