April 5, 2007

Box Score
Game 2 Recap: St. John's 16, Villanova 9

JAMAICA, N.Y. - In the first game of a doubleheader on Thursday afternoon, Villanova (13-11, 3-4 Big East) allowed the tying and eventual winning runs to score in the bottom of the eighth inning of a 4-3 loss to St. John's (13-11, 4-3 Big East) at a cold and windy Jack Kaiser Stadium.

The majority of the game featured a pitchers' duel between Mike Loree (Gillette, N.J.) of the Wildcats and Scott Barnes from the Red Storm. Villanova opened the scoring with two runs in the fourth inning and another in the fifth for a 3-0 lead.

Loree took a shutout into the bottom of the sixth inning but St. John's made its eighth-inning heroics possible by plating single runs in the sixth and seventh. In the eighth, Loree induced a slow groundball by leadoff man Brian Kemp to start the inning and Kemp was called safe at first, just ahead of the throw.

After a sacrifice bunt moved Kemp to second base, the Red Storm produced another infield hit followed by a two-run double off the bat of Gil Zayas that gave St. John's the only lead they needed in the game. The Wildcats put leadoff man Ryan Arcadia (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) on base to start the ninth inning and moved him to second with one out, but could not draw even and extend the game.

On a day during which temperatures hovered in the high 30's with strong winds blowing around the stadium, neither team gained an offensive advantage in the early innings. That changed with two outs in the fourth inning when junior Robert Parks (Brick, N.J.) doubled to deep right-center field, scoring junior Derek Shunk (Yardley, Pa.) and senior Jim Gillin (Broomall, Pa.).

In the fifth inning, sophomore Joe Cotter (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) singled with one out and eventually scored on a single from Shunk with two outs in the inning. Villanova had eight of its 10 hits between the fourth and sixth innings but then managed just one hit over the final three frames against Red Storm starter Scott Barnes and relievers Miguel Valcarcel and Colin Lynch.

Kemp scored the first St. John's run of the day in the sixth when he tripled to lead off the inning and scored on a groundout by Chris Joachim. Brendan Monaghan walked with one out in the seventh inning and scored one out later on a double off the bat of Chris Anninos.

Loree wound up with a no-decision in 7 1/3 innings of work. He scattered eight hits and three earned runs while walking one and striking out two. He turned the game over to senior reliever Nate Hall (Longmont, Colo.), who was charged with the loss after allowing an infield hit to Sam DeLuca and the double by Gil Zayas.

Shunk and Parks each had two hits for the Wildcats off of Barnes, who allowed 10 hits and three earned runs while striking out nine and walking one. Colin Lynch recorded his sixth save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning.

NOTES: The loss was the eighth straight for Villanova against the Red Storm ... The last time the Wildcats beat St. John's came in the first game of a doubleheader on April 23, 2004 ... Villanova was beaten in a game it led after seven innings for just the ninth time in the last six years (105-9-1) ... Loree has worked at least 6 2/3 innings in all three of his conference starts ... Hall had allowed just four of 19 inherited runners to score in 10 outings prior to Thursday afternoon's opener.