The Temple College baseball team starts their 2026 North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference schedule on Wednesday afternoon at Vernon College.

First game is slated to start at noon at Bob & Anna Wright Baseball Field, followed by game two 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.

Temple (9-9) is coming off a Western Texas swing where they dropped a decision to No. 2 Midland College on Friday and split a doubleheader at Odessa College on Saturday.

Through 18 games, the Leopards are batting .254 with an on-base percentage of .382. TC is averaging 4.9 runs per game 6.8 hits per contest.

Kash Millar (.315 BA, .375 OBP, HR, 12 RBI), Chase Fricke (.306 BA, .383 OBP, four HR, 19 RBI), and Peanut Brazzle (.286 BAS, .388 OBP, three RBI) were amongst the Leopards' top producers in non-conference play.

Temple's staff earned run average is 6.10, with 82 earned runs allowed, 117 strikeouts and 70 walked over 121 innings pitched.

Joseph McMurtry (2-0, 3.00 ERA, 18 IP, six earned runs allowed, 20 walks, 12 strikeouts), Kade Davis (0-3, 9.92 ERA, 18 earned runs allowed, 17 strikeouts, 13 walks), and Peyton Reynolds (1-0, 6.92 ERA, 13 IP, ten earned runs allowed, nine strikeouts, four walks) have the most starts on the staff so far this season.

Vernon (13-5) is hitting .368 with an on-base percentage of .479. The Chaparrals have hit 36 homers through their first 18 games, averaging 10.6 runs scored and 11.3 hits.

Nine different Chaparrals have homered this season and seven players have five doubles apiece, led by Irvin Leonard's seven round-trippers. Jorge Olivera-Gutierrez (.528 BA, .630 OBP, five HR, 22 RBI), Leonard (.475 BA, .617 OBP, seven HR, 21 RBI), and Evan Dugdale (.444 BA, .492 OBP, five HR, 22 RBI) are amongst the offensive leaders for Vernon.

While the offense produces at a 10-run rate, the staff earned run average is 9.45, having allowed 127 earned runs, 136 strikeouts, 86 walks, and 23 hit batters over 121 innings.

Jackson Wilkerson (2-2, 4.50 ERA, 20 IP, 10 earned runs allowed, 20 strikeouts, 14 walks), Kyu Lumson (4-0, 5.40 ERA, 20 IP, 12 earned runs allowed, 20 strikeouts, eight walks), Degan Kubat (2-1, 9.68 ERA, 17 2/3 IP, 19 earned runs allowed, 18 strikeouts, six walks), and Luke Thomas (2-1, 12.2 IP, 24 earned runs allowed, 14 strikeouts, 13 walks) have shouldered the pitching load for the Chaparrals.

Games three and four of the series will be on Saturday at the Danny Scott Sports Complex.