March 28, 2006

Box Score

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. - Senior first baseman Jeremy Hunt (Tampa, Fla.) hit a grand slam in the fourth inning - the biggest hit on a day where the Wildcats totaled 16 overall - and Villanova (11-11) defeated Penn (6-13) 15-6 on Tuesday afternoon at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth. The game was stopped after the top half of the eighth inning.

The game was a first round matchup in the Liberty Bell Classic, which includes eight local teams playing against each other during a three-week period. In another first round game this afternoon, Lafayette blanked Saint Joseph's 3-0. The Wildcats will travel to Easton, Pa. next Tuesday to face Lafayette in the second round.

In today's game, Villanova received hits from 11 different players and also benefited from six errors committed by the Quakers. After scoring three runs in the first and two more in the second - all unearned off of starter Sean Abate - the Wildcats really broke things open with a seven-run fourth inning.

Senior Darren Griffith (Edison, N.J.) led off the fourth inning with a single, sophomore Ryan Arcadia (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) reached on an error and classmate Derek Shunk (Yardley, Pa.) drew a walk. That all came before Hunt stepped up and blasted his fourth home run of the season far over the fence in left field. Later in the inning, junior Frank Cirone (Arlington Heights, Ill.) singled home a run, Griffith hit into a fielder's choice with the bases loaded and senior Kris Molloy (Hillsborough, N.J.) delivered a sacrifice fly.

Shunk, Cirone and Griffith were among the five Villanova players who each had two hits. Shunk scored three runs and raised his average to .354 on the season. Senior Craig Mirsky (Holland, Pa.) and sophomore James Dolbier (Lebanon, N.J.) also had two hits, with Dolbier driving in two runs.

On the mound, sophomore Ryan Wendler (Conshohocken, Pa.) pitched five scoreless innings to earn his first collegiate win. He allowed just two hits, walked one and struck out two in his outing, needing just 50 pitches to get 15 outs. Three other pitchers each worked one inning for the Wildcats.

Shunk, Mirsky and Dolbier each had run-scoring singles during a three-run first inning that was extended due to two errors committed on the first two plays of the inning. Two more runs scored on a throwing error in the second inning and Villanova never let go of its control on the game.

Penn got on the board with three runs in the sixth inning, with Josh Corn smacking an RBI double and scoring when an error was made on the play. Corn, Tim May and two other Quaker hitters had two hits apiece, and Penn scored twice in the seventh and once in the eighth inning to account for the final scoring. The Wildcats got their final three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Sean Abate pitched five innings and was charged with the loss for Penn.

Villanova will not play at home again until April 13 when it begins a conference series against Pittsburgh. Next up for the Wildcats will be the first conference road trip of the season. Villanova faces Rutgers this weekend in a three-game series, beginning on Friday at 3:00 p.m. The Wildcats are 4-1 against the Scarlet Knights over the past two seasons, including a three-game sweep in Piscataway, N.J. to end the 2004 season.

NOTES: Hunt's home run was his second of the season at home ... The Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth has yielded just 10 home runs out of the park since the beginning of last season (31 games) ... The winner of the Villanova-Lafayette game next Tuesday will advance to the championship game of the Liberty Bell Classic ... That contest will be played on April 11 at 8:00 p.m. from Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies ... The Villanova-Lafayette winner will face either Delaware or La Salle in the championship game ... The Wildcats defeated Lehigh 9-5 last season to claim their third title ... Molloy batted leadoff for the first time this season after hitting in the No. 9 hole in each of the first 21 games ... He extended his hitting streak to seven games and is batting a team-high .448 (30-for-67) on the season ... Molloy is batting .621 (18-for-29) with an .828 slugging percentage over his last nine games.