March 20, 2009

Box Score

JAMAICA, N.Y. - In its conference opener on Friday afternoon, Villanova (10-7, 0-1 Big East) was unable to avoid big innings while in the field and lost the opener of a three-game series to St. John's (9-7, 1-0 Big East), 19-7, at Jack Kaiser Stadium. The Wildcats saw their eight-game winning streak snapped at the hands of the Red Storm, who broke open a close game and padded the final margin in the late innings.

Seniors Matt McFolling (Chicago, Ill.) and Kyle Carver (Aldan, Pa.) drove in two runs apiece and Villanova put up a five-spot in the top of the third inning to take a 5-0 lead on the defending regular season champions. All five runs in the inning scored with two outs, beginning with a bases-loaded walk to senior Joe Cotter (Bryn Mawr, Pa.). McFolling followed with a two-run single through the right side and Carver hit a two-run double off the face of the wall in the left field corner.

The Wildcats traded a run for an out in the bottom of the third to limit the potential damage after St. John's put runners at second and third with nobody out. A pop-up to the catcher accounted for the first out and a sacrifice fly to center field brought in the first Red Storm run of the day before junior Brian Streilein (Staten Island, N.Y.) recorded a fly ball to right field to end the inning.

St. John's eventually scored five runs in the fourth inning, four in the fifth and nine in the seventh, first rallying to take the lead and later taking the opportunity to distort the final score. The Red Storm rally in the fourth inning started with a one-out single up the third base line by Greg Hopkins that changed direction and rolled fair after initially appearing destined for foul territory. After Joe Pannick hit a three-run home run to pull St. John's to within 5-4, a bunt single and infield chopper extended the inning until a double by Jimmy Parque gave the Red Storm their first and only lead of the game.

After falling behind 10-5 after the fifth inning, Villanova chipped away with single runs in the sixth and seventh innings. The Wildcats, however, left 13 runners on base in the game, including nine in scoring position and were unable to capitalize beyond a lone run after loading the bases with none out in the top of the seventh.

Sophomore Dain Hall (Barrington, Ill.) hit a sacrifice fly to right in the sixth inning and Villanova loaded the bases in the seventh on a walk to Carver and singles by redshirt freshman David Koczirka (Thornton, Pa.) and freshman Marlon Calbi (Montclair, N.J.). That brought up redshirt freshman Matt Szczur (Erma, N.J.), who enjoyed a three-hit day and extended his hitting streak to 15 games. Szczur bounced into a fielder's choice that scored a run and made the score 10-7, but St. John's then turned an inning-ending double play when the shortstop Pannick was perfectly positioned up the middle to turn a potential hit by pinch hitter Justin Bencsko (Pompton Plains, N.J.) into a pair of outs.

Szczur walked to lead off the game, reached on an infield hit in the third inning for the first of 12 Wildcat hits and later had a pair of singles to center field. He raised his average to .407 and took over the team lead in hitting, just ahead of McFolling and Koczirka. McFolling finished 2-for-4 while stretching his own hitting streak to nine games. Hall also had two hits and senior Wes Borden (State College, Pa.) reached base three times via a hit and two walks. Villanova walked eight times and struck out just three times against four pitchers from the Red Storm.

The bounces that went St. John's way in the middle innings victimized Streilein (2-3), who took the loss in 4 2/3 innings of work.

Brian Kemp was 5-for-5 and Parque drove in four runs for the Red Storm. Lefthander Nick Luisi was reached for seven hits, five earned runs and three walks with no strikeouts in five innings but was the beneficiary of the St. John's rally to earn his first win of the season.

The three-game series continues with the second game on Saturday at 1 p.m.