Templeton Outscores Opponents 46-0; ranked No. 1 in Division 3
TEMPLETON — The Templeton Eagles boys baseball team is off to a blistering start to the 2020 season and are unquestionably the hottest team on the Central Coast. According to Maxpreps.com, they are the No. 1 ranked team in Division 3.The Eagles are a perfect 5-0 on the season so far but it isn’t just that they are winning but how they have obliterated every team they have faced. After defeating Mission Prep 13-0 on Tuesday afternoon at home, Templeton has now outscored their first five opponents 46-0. Head coach Rob Tompkins entered this season with high expectations but his boys are way ahead of schedule and playing like the unequivocal best team in Division 3.
Defensively, both on the mound and behind their core five pitchers — Nolan Stetz, Eli Bullard, Ryan Domingos, Robbie Lardner and Trent Wills (pitching in that order thus far) — Templeton has been stellar. In their first five games this year, their starting pitchers have only allowed six total hits.
Stetz opened the season in what he thought would be one of the team’s top pitching performances of the year on Feb. 19 by throwing a one-hitter against Pioneer Valley in six innings (The Panthers were 10-run ruled) while striking out four but ended up with only the third-best outing in the Eagles first five games.
Following Stetz’s one-hitter, fellow senior Eli Bullard tossed a no-no in five innings with six strikeouts the next day before the game was called as a 1-0 victory in the fifth inning due to low light. Saturday, Templeton played in a doubleheader and in the morning Domingos took his turn on the bump and confused hitters throughout the afternoon posting a one-hitter of his own. He was the first Eagle pitcher to crack double digits in strikeouts with 13.
The second game of the day featured the sophomore pitcher, Lardner, who gave up more than 60 percent of the Eagles hits this year and did so by only allowing four total. Lardner went seven innings, recording eight strikeouts and the shutout victory over Firebaugh 8-0.
Yesterday (Tuesday, March 3) Wills, a junior, took the mound at Vineyard elementary school and recorded the Eagles second no-hitter of the season in only five innings of work. Wills recorded five strikeouts in the 13-0 victory.
While the pitching and defense have been as strong as can be, it could be argued, the Eagle’s offense has been nearly as impressive as they are averaging more than nine runs a game thus far. The team has scored double-digit runs in three of their five first games and have three games with more than 11 hits.
Templeton will look to go 6-0 on the season and will have their toughest test so far on Tuesday when they travel to face Taft High School who is currently 5-1 and averaging just over eight runs per game.
