April 1, 2006

Box Score

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - In a game featuring four ties and two lead changes, senior Jeremy Hunt (Tampa, Fla.) tripled home the eventual winning run in the top of the ninth inning on Saturday afternoon to lead Villanova (12-12, 1-4 Big East) to an 8-6 victory over Rutgers (8-14-1, 1-4 Big East).

Sophomore Derek Shunk (Yardley, Pa.) singled with one out in the ninth inning and Hunt followed with a triple that landed at the base of the wall in right-center field. Shunk scored to give the Wildcats a 7-6 advantage and Hunt scored on a sacrifice fly by junior Frank Cirone (Arlington Heights, Ill.) to cap the scoring.

Shunk finished the day with four hits and three runs scored, while Hunt had three hits, three runs and two RBI. The two hitters drilled back-to-back home runs with two outs in the first inning to spot Villanova a quick 2-0 lead before the game swung back and forth for the remainder of the day. Hunt finished just a single short of the cycle, as he also doubled and scored during a three-run third inning.

After the two homers in the top of the first inning, the Scarlet Knights scored three times in the bottom half of the inning to take a 3-2 lead. Todd Frazier drove in a run on a fielder's choice and Frank Meade hit a two-run home run of his own to put Rutgers ahead. The Scarlet Knights scored another run in the second and led 4-2, but could do no better than tie the game twice after Villanova retook the lead in the third inning.

Cirone, who had a career-high three RBI on the day, doubled in the third inning to score Shunk and Hunt and tie the score at 4-4. An RBI single by junior Andy Wendle (New London, Pa.) on the next play scored Cirone and the Wildcats had a 5-4 lead.

Rutgers tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, but Villanova went back in front on a sacrifice fly by senior Kris Molloy (Hillsborough, N.J.) in the top of the eighth inning. The Scarlet Knights would again tie the score, but junior Nate Hall (Longmont, Colo.) struck out Victor Cegles to end the inning with the game still tied. Hall entered the game in the eighth with the bases loaded, two outs and the game tied 6-6. He then threw a 2-2 pitch past Cegles, who had driven in the game's only run in a 1-0 Rutgers victory on Friday afternoon.

Hall remained in the game to pitch a scoreless ninth inning and earn his second victory of the season, while Wendle was 3-for-4 with an RBI on the game. The 3-6 hitters in the Wildcats lineup combined to go 11-for-16 with seven runs scored and seven RBI on the day.

Junior Mike Loree (Gillette, N.J.) started and went seven-plus innings for Villanova, allowing seven hits and five earned runs while striking out four and walking two (one intentionally). Sophomore Gus Guida (Martinsville, N.J.) recorded the first two outs of the eighth inning before Hall came in.

Meade was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two driven in to lead Rutgers, which also got two hits and an RBI from Cegles. The Scarlet Knights starting pitcher, Matt Pustay, allowed seven hits and five earned runs in 2.2 innings, before Mark Lampariello pitched 3.1 scoreless frames to get the game into the seventh inning.

NOTES: There was a rain delay lasting 56 minutes before the bottom of the fourth inning ... Today's game marked the seventh straight in the series between the teams that was decided by one or two runs ... Villanova is 5-2 in those seven games ... Overall, the Wildcats are 5-6 this season in games decided by one or two runs ... Villanova is 5-4-1 over the past three seasons in games that are tied after the eighth inning ... The win snapped an eight-game Big East losing streak for the Wildcats, dating back to the end of last season ... Villanova had been 1-15-1 in its last 17 conference games.