April 22, 2007

Box Score

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - For the third straight day an early lead had the Wildcats off to a good start, but Villanova (18-18, 5-10 Big East) gave up the tying and eventual winning runs in the bottom of the sixth inning of a 6-5 loss to Pittsburgh (19-16, 11-6 Big East) on Sunday afternoon at Trees Field. The Panthers completed a three-game sweep and kept the Wildcats winless on the road in conference play this season.

There were two outs and nobody on to start the bottom of the sixth inning but Jordan Herr singled and Sean Conley doubled off of starting pitcher Jordan Ellis (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) to set up a Pittsburgh rally. With Ellis out of the game, the next two batters were walked to force in a run and trim a Villanova lead to 5-4. Freshman Kevin Crimmel (Harrisburg, Pa.) induced a potential inning-ending groundball but an error allowed the tying and go-ahead runs to come in.

The Wildcats never recovered from the game-turning rally by the Panthers, getting just three runners on base the rest of the way. Kyle Landis recorded the final seven outs of the game for Pittsburgh and notched his second save of the series.

Villanova scored three runs of its own in the top of the second when senior Jim Gillin (Broomall, Pa.) scored on an error and sophomore Joe Cotter (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) delivered a two-run single. Gillin hit a sacrifice fly in the third inning and junior Ryan Arcadia (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) contributed a run-scoring single in the fourth as the Wildcats opened a 5-2 lead.

Ellis allowed the Panthers to get on the board in the third inning on an RBI single by Gary Bucuren and a bases-loaded walk to Dan Williams. He stranded the bags full though, striking out Nick Mullins and inducing a groundball by Dan Lopez to end the inning with a three-run lead intact.

Freshman starter Nate Reed settled down for Pittsburgh after the early innings and wound up allowing six hits and five runs (two earned) in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out four and walked three to earn his third win of the season. Conley had three hits and two runs scored at the top of the order for the Panthers, while Bucuren had two hits and two RBI to increase his total to six runs batted in during the series.

The middle and late innings became a frustrating point for Villanova, which scored 14 of its 18 runs in the series in the first four innings. The Wildcats had at least a three-run lead by the fourth inning in every game but came up empty each time as Pittsburgh batted .361 (13-for-36) in the series with two outs. Meanwhile, Villanova hit just .238 (5-for-21) with runners in scoring position and were swept for the second time in as many road series in BIG EAST play.

Arcadia had two hits and a stolen base for the Wildcats and junior Robert Parks (Brick, N.J.) scored two runs. Ellis allowed eight hits and five runs (four earned) in 5 2/3 innings in his second career conference start. Senior Nate Hall (Longmont, Colo.) took the loss after issuing the two walks during the sixth-inning rally. The winning run charged to his account was unearned because of the two-out error in that frame. Sophomore Josh Eidell (Norristown, Pa.) pitched 2 1/3 innings with two strikeouts and just one hit allowed in closing out the game for Villanova.

Villanova hosts Temple and Saint Joseph's this week on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Both games will start at 3 p.m. and will be followed by the Wildcats heading to Cincinnati for a three-game series next weekend.

NOTES: Villanova hit just .227 (22-for-97) for the weekend but that mark included a split of .250 (17-for-68) in the first six innings and .172 (5-for-29) in the seventh through ninth innings ... The Panthers hit .337 for the series ... Both teams committed five errors on the weekend but those miscues led to nine unearned runs on the Wildcats account and just four unearned runs let in by Pittsburgh ... Villanova is now 3-12 in true road games (as opposed to 3-1 at neutral sites) this season ... Dating back to last season, the Wildcats have lost nine straight BIG EAST road games and 12 of their last 13 ... In four appearances out of the bullpen this season, Eidell has allowed just two earned runs in seven innings while allowing seven hits, two walks and eight strikeouts.