March 1, 2000

Box Score

At Florida Atlantic Stadium on Wednesday, March 1, the Villanova baseball team rallied from an 8-4 deficit to upset the No. 25 nationally ranked Florida Atlantic Owls, 13-12. The Wildcats improve to 2-4 with the victory, while FAU falls to 9-5.

The Owls scored one run in the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead. Ryan Withey opened the first with a single. After advancing to second on a wild pitch, Withey scored on a single by Tommy Murphy

Villanova starter Aaron Krawiec settled down after the first inning, holding FAU scoreless for the next three innings. Krawiec struck out the side in the second and third innings, and sent down two more Owl batters in the fourth inning.

In the top of the fifth inning, the Wildcats rallied off reliever Dave Eddinger. First baseman Rob Cafiero singled to begin the inning and advanced to second on an error by FAU first baseman Shaeh O'Connor, as designated hitter reached first on the fielder's choice. With one out, senior Chris Watson singled to load the bases. The next batter, shortstop Brendan Trainor, followed Watson with an RBI single to tie the game at 1-1. Villanova would score two more runs in the inning on a two-RBI single by senior catcher John Picone, to take a 3-1 advantage.

In the bottom of the inning, the Owls would tie the game as Jason Sullivan singled in two runs. The game would not be tied for long, as the Wildcats took the lead once again in the top of the sixth. Third baseman Matt Longo opened the sixth with a double, and advanced to third on a groundout by Cafiero. With one out, Piantek singled in Longo with the go-ahead run.

Villanova held a 4-3 advantage going into the bottom of the sixth, but FAU rallied with five runs of their own to claim the 8-4 lead. Designated hitter Mike Elliott sparked the Owl rally with two RBI.

The following inning, the Wildcat offense broke out. With the bases loaded and no outs, Piantek singled in two runs to trim the Owl lead to 8-6. Right fielder Brian Hearne followed with an RBI single to pull Villanova within one. After a single by pinch hitter Mike Houser reloaded thee bases, Trainor gave the `Cats a 9-8 lead on a two-RBI single. Before the inning was over, Villanova would score four more runs to grab a 13-8 advantage. Leftfielder Dave Pizzini and Cafiero each added two-RBI singled.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, FAU pulled to within one after a sac fly by Regan Samaniego and a three-run home run by John-Edward Raffo off of Wildcat relief pitcher John Yeager. With two outs in the inning, Brian Manning came on to get the final out and preserve the Villanova lead. Manning would hold the Owls scoreless for the final two innings, to help the Wildcats finish off FAU for a 13-12 upset victory. The save was the second of the season for the Villanova closer. The win went to Krawiec, who struck out eight without walking a batter, in six innings of work.

Piantek led the Wildcat offense, going three-for-five with two runs and three RBI. Also starring for Villanova was Pizzini who went three-for-six with two runs and two RBI, while Cafiero went two-for-four with two RBI.

Villanova will get back into action on Thursday, March 2, traveling to FIU to face the Golden Panthers at 6:00 p.m.