By Tony Adams, for Temple College
Temple College Athletics has a healthy schedule of games slated this week, both on campus and on the road.
- On Monday, TC Baseball will host the St. Edward’s University Hilltoppers JV team at 1 p.m.
- On Tuesday, TC Baseball will host Navarro College at 1 p.m.
- Also on Tuesday, The TC Softball team will host San Jacinto College-South in doubleheader action at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
- On Wednesday, the No. 19 Temple College Women’s Basketball squad will host Cisco College as they look to avenge the loss the Wranglers dealt them on Jan. 13. Game time on the Leopards Gymnasium hardwood is 5 p.m.
- This weekend, the TC Lady Leopards Softball team will play at the Cisco College Softball Tournament in Brownwood. On Friday, the team will take on El Paso Community College (10:30 a.m.) and Luna Community College (12:30 p.m.). On Saturday, TC will play Coastal Bend College (1:30 p.m.) and Midland College (3:30 p.m.).
- On Saturday, TC Baseball will board the bus to Lufkin for a doubleheader at Angelina College. Game times at Angelina are slated for 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
- The Temple College Basketball teams will hit the road for a conference doubleheader at Ranger College. The women will take the floor at 2 p.m., followed by the men at 4 p.m.
Week in Review
Temple College Athletic faced another busy week on campus, as ten of the 11 games took place at the Danny J. Scott Athletic Complex. Four of the games were moved up a day due to impending weather.
Here is a synopsis of last week’s action in Leopard Nation:
No. 19 Temple College Women’s Basketball endures two challenges
The Lady Leopards, the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) number 19 squad, hosted Weatherford College and Grayson College this week in a pair of NJCAA games.
Against the Coyotes, the Leopards skirted past a 7-0 Weatherford run late in the first half and used a 49-22 stretch over the course of 15 minutes to emerge victorious, 90-73.
Weatherford led 33-26 with 4:46 to play in the second quarter when the Leopards began to impose their will inside the paint, having finished the first half on a 21-5 run and led at the half, 47-38.
The run bridged into the second half, as TC outscored the Coyotes in the third quarter, 28-17.
Wilashia Burleson led all scorers with a solid double-double of 26 points and 19 rebounds. Evelyn Lorenzo added 19, Tia Mitchell contributed 17, and Kyiah Hicks chipped in 14 off the bench.
Grayson jumped out to a 12-2 over TC over the course of the opening 2:22. The Lady Leopards swung back into the contest with a 25-11 clip to take a four-point lead at the end of the first 10 minutes, 27-23. TC led at halftime, 41-35.
The Vikings had opportunities late to take the lead, but the Lady Leopards held an 11-5 stretch in the final 3:21 to earn their 20th regular season win.
Lorenzo led the Leopards with 24 points and 10 assists, and Burleson added 15 points and 17 rebounds.
TC Men’s Basketball falls twice
Temple College Men’s Basketball hosted Weatherford College and Grayson College this week in a pair of NJCAA games.
Against Weatherford, TC found themselves in hole midway through the first half and were not able to recover as the Leopards dropped a decision to the Coyotes, 86-76.
The Leopards trailed the Coyotes at halftime, 48-32.
Ja’Rayl Peoples scored 18 points off the bench for TC. Theo Grant and Jacob Taitte each added 13 points, Andrew Iyamah contributed 12, and Caleb Gaston poured in 11.
Against Grayson, neither team led by more than five points at any point of the game. Temple’s attempt at a game-winning shot was foiled by a turnover with four seconds to go, and Terrance Ramirez’s desperation three-pointer from 35 feet out to beat the buzzer to earn the Vikings a 98-95 win.
Gaston led TC with 27 points, Grant added 16, and Henry Sanchez-Perez contributed 12 points off the bench.
TC Baseball wins three, off to 6-1 start
Temple College Baseball had a three-game week as they traveled to Austin to take on Concordia University (TX) JV and hosted Angelina College in doubleheader action.
Against CTX, the Leopards fought back from a two-run deficit and scored in seven of nine innings as they used an 18-hit attack to diffuse the Tornados, 17-9.
Mason Ashlock, Wilson Woodcox and Brayden Simmons each had three hits, and Ashlock had a homer and Woodcox drove in three runs.
Eric Tenery picked up the win in relief for the Leopards.
Against the Javelinas, Temple picked up the sweep with wins of 9-6 and 10-3.
In game one, the Leopards bounced back from a 2-0 third-inning hole to score nine of the next 13 runs.
Jake Weaver, Cole Tabor and Trent Rucker each collected two hits, with Tabor having driven in three runs in the win.
Colin Huspen dealt an inning and a third for the win in relief.
In game two, Woodcox drilled a homer and drove home three, as the Leopards jumped on the Javelinas early for the victory.
Garrett Baumann pitched three innings of two-hit ball for the win.
Softball wins six, 10-0 to start 2024 campaign
The Temple College Softball team continued a hectic home start to their early season, as they hosted three doubleheaders, with one moved up a day due to impending weather.
Against Blinn, the Leopards banked a sweep of the Buccaneers with a pair of 12-4 wins.
Adelyn Becerra’s monster game one resulted in a 2-of-3 game, with two homers and eight runs batted in. Alyssa Budisalovich also drove home two runs with a 2-of-3 performance.
Haley Crawford scattered eight hits over six innings for the win in the circle.
TC bounced back from a 2-0 deficit to score 12 of the final 14 runs in game two.
Kennan Nunamaker went 3-of-4 with a homer and five runs batted in, and Lily Garcia added a 5-of-5 game with three runs battered in.
Emily Delgado pitched three-and-a-third innings of one-hit ball for the win in relief.
Against Alvin, TC set the tone in the bottom of the first inning of game one and never let up, as they swept the Dolphins, 13-4 and 11-5.
In game one, TC scored seven times in the bottom of the first before Alvin registered their first out and plated ten runs by the end of the inning.
Becerra, Nunamaker and Garcia each homered, with five players registering at least two RBI.
Crawford’s three-hitter over three-and-a-third innings earned her the win in the circle.
Becerra, Delgado, and Garcia homered in the second game, as Garcia logged a 3-of-4 game at the plate.
Delgado pitched four-and-a-third innings of three-hit relief for the victory.
All three facets combined for a doubleheader shutout of Kilgore, with each game ending at five innings. The scores were 12-0 and 8-0.
Temple scored seven times in the second inning and five more times in the third.
Garcia crushed a three-run homer and Nunamaker drove in three runs in the opening game.
Crawford pitched a five-hitter over five innings for the shutout win.
In game two, Delgado drove home two runs, Nunamaker homered, and scored three times as Budisalovich’s RBI double in the fifth inning gave TC the walk off win.
Delgado inherited a bases-loaded situation with no outs in the second inning and navigated the team out of harm’s way to earn the win in relief.