March 13, 2007

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Despite being two outs away from a four-run victory on Tuesday afternoon, Villanova (8-6) was defeated 9-8 by La Salle (6-8) after a five-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning at Hank DeVincent Field. The loss marks the second time in three years that the Explorers have won in walk-off fashion against the Wildcats.

Leading 8-4 going to the bottom of the ninth inning, Villanova allowed two runs after La Salle loaded the bases with one out. After a strikeout for the second out, the Explorers loaded the bases again before John Malloy doubled home the tying and winning runs to end a marathon game lasting over 3 ½ hours.

The Wildcats were beaten on a walk-off hit at Hank DeVincent Field just two days after playing a home game there and winning their own game on a walk-off hit (10-9 over Cornell on Sunday). As the visiting team this time around, Villanova scored twice in the top of the seventh inning to pad a two-run lead with what appeared to be insurance runs heading into the closing innings.

That all changed on La Salle's rally in the ninth inning, which was reminiscent of a game in 2005 in which the Explorers overcame a one-time seven-run deficit in the middle innings and hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth for a 12-10 win over the Wildcats.

In this game, it was La Salle that got on top first, scoring twice in the first inning and once more in the third to take a 3-0 lead. Villanova finally got going with five runs in the fourth inning, a rally that started after there were two out and nobody on to start the frame. Tim Poydenis (Vero Beach, Fla.) walked and Joe Cotter (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) doubled to get two runners in scoring position, and a single by Ryan Arcadia (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) brought in both runners. Two more runs scored on an error with the bases loaded and Matt McFolling (Chicago, Ill.) singled home the final run.

Poydenis walked and scored again in the fifth inning to make the score 6-3 and the Explorers got a run in the sixth inning to get within 6-4. In the top of the seventh, the Wildcats again had two outs and nobody on before rallying to score two runs. Joe Rosati (Havertown, Pa.) singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch, while Jim Gillin (Broomall, Pa.) doubled home another run.

The rally by La Salle in the bottom of the ninth spoiled what would have been a victory for Josh Eidell (Pottstown, Pa.), who allowed just one earned run over five innings. He allowed four hits, walked two and struck out a career-high eight batters in his fourth start of the season. His counterpart, Craig Muschko, pitched three scoreless innings before turning the game over to the Explorer bullpen which first gave away the lead and then kept La Salle in the game. Relief ace Gerard Breslin pitched scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth to earn his first win of the season.

Derek Shunk (Yardley, Pa.) went 2-for-4 with two walks and two runs scored to extend his career-best hitting streak to 11 games. Rosati also had two hits and two runs scored, while Cotter doubled twice and scored a run. Villanova totaled 11 hits to reach double figures for the fifth consecutive game. The Wildcats also drew 10 walks in a game which featured a combined 20 hits, 18 walks and 17 runs.

Malloy and T.J. Chism, both freshmen, had two hits apiece for the Explorers.

Villanova is back in action this weekend when its hosts the Villanova Bash along with Saint Joseph's and Temple. The weekend starts with a home game against Iona on Friday.

NOTES: In the game in 2005, the Wildcats scored six in the first inning and led 7-0 after three innings before La Salle rallied ... That game was also started by Muschko and finished by Breslin, who pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win ... Shunk had three hits and three RBI in that game and is a .500 (12-for-24) career hitter in six games at Hank DeVincent Field ... Due to unplayable field conditions at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth, the Wildcats played `home' games against Iona and Cornell on the DeVincent Field turf this past weekend, winning both games ... Rosati has scored at least one run in five straight games ... Entering the game, Eidell had struck out just six batters total in 15.1 innings on the season ... On two occasions as a freshman last season, he struck out a then-career high six batters in a game ... Villanova stranded 15 runners in the game, including leaving the bases loaded in the fourth and fifth innings ... The Wildcats had eight of their 11 hits with two outs and batted .421 (8-for-19) overall with two outs.