April 13, 2000
Box Score
EASTON, Pa. - Senior Mike Palos (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) and freshman Brad Drake (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg) both drove in three runs to propel Lafayette to a 12-11 win over Temple in baseball action on Thursday.
The first batter of the game drew blood for Temple, as Jim Tully connected for a lead off homer that just barely cleared the left field fence. The Leopards responded with two runs in the home half of the first when Palos drove a single through the left side to give Lafayette a 2-1 lead.
Temple reclaimed the lead in the second inning with three runs, including a two-run single from Bob Filler. The Owls' rally was aided by two Lafayette errors early on in the inning. In the fourth inning, Temple put two more runs on the scoreboard. Cap Poklemba homered to left field with Joe Lyall aboard to give Temple a 6-2 lead at the end of three and a half innings.
Lafayette got one of those runs back in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs in the inning, Drake lifted a James Young pitch over the left field fence for his first career home run to make it 6-3.
In the temple fifth, Rob Cucinotta answered Drake's blast with a home run of his own to give the Owls a 7-3 advantage. Lafayette clawed back in home half of the fifth, scoring four runs to tie the game 7-7. The Leopards' first two runs of the inning came on an error by the third baseman and a wild pitch. Drake then tied the game with a two-out double down the right field line that plated Palos and Ian Burley (Nazereth, Pa./Notre Dame).
In the sixth inning, Temple matched Lafayette with four runs of its own, all coming with two outs in the inning. Tully singled home Andrew Clemens. The next batter, Filler, singled home Tully who had advanced to second on a throw home. Cucinotta then belted his second home run of the game to hand Temple the 11-7 lead.
It was all Lafayette from that point on. The Leopards scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Vince D'Angelis (Montvale, N.J./St. Joseph Regional) led off the inning with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third when he tagged on a fly ball. Senior Bob Osipower (Quakertown, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) drove him in with a sac fly to center. The next batter Jason Carlough (Clinton, Conn./Morgan School) doubled. Palos followed with an RBI-single to plate Carlough. The Leopards continued to manufacture runs. Palos stole second and advanced to third on an error by the second baseman. Freshman Matt Tambellini (Millville, NJ/Sacred Heart) singled Palos home for the final run of the inning to bring Lafayette within one, 11-10.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Leopards scored two runs, including what would be the game-winner. After a Drake strikeout, Jason Moll (Montville, N.J./Newark Academy) reached base on a walk. D'Angelis then doubled to give Lafayette runners at second and third. The next hitter, Tye Gonser (The Dalles, Ore./The Dalles), was intentionally walked to load the bases for the No. 3 hitter Osipower. Osipower walked to bring home the tying run. With one out and Carlough at the plate, a easy fielder's choice to third baseman may have resulted in a force out at first, but instead the third baseman misplayed the ball and allowed D'Angelis to score the game-winning run. The inning ended when Palos lined into a double play.
After a scoreless eighth, Lafayette reliever Ross Butler (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) came on to close the door for his third save of the season. After giving up a leadoff double, Butler enticed the Owls into a fly out to left and a ground out to the shortstop. With runners on first and third and two outs, Butler ended the game when he strike out Tully.
Freshman James Duer (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) got the win for Lafayette and evened his record at 2-2. Chris Joyce took the loss and falls to 1-6. Lafayette (8-18) returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Holy Cross for a Patriot League doubleheader at Noon.
