April 27, 2007

Box Score

CINCINNATI, Ohio - Trailing 6-1 in the fifth inning proved to be too much of a hurdle to overcome, and Villanova (20-19, 5-11 Big East) was defeated 13-4 on Friday night by Cincinnati (23-18, 8-7 Big East) at Marge Schott stadium. Five errors in the field did not help the cause as the Wildcats lost their 12th straight road game and remained winless in their last 10 conference road games dating back to last season.

Dustin Alvey's first career home run in the bottom of the fifth inning gave the Bearcats a 6-1 lead, but Villanova started to make its case in the game with two runs in the top of the sixth and another in the seventh. Junior James Dolbier (Lebanon, N.J.) doubled home two runs with two outs and the bases loaded in the sixth and junior Dan Terpak (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) added a sacrifice fly in the seventh to narrow the margin to 6-4.

Two runs were as close as the Wildcats got, as Cincinnati added another insurance run in the bottom of the seventh. After an intentional walk, Ryan Baker doubled home Cameron Satterwhite in an inning extended by a dropped foul ball behind the plate. Villanova went down in order in the eighth inning and the Bearcats put the game out of reach with six more runs in the bottom half.

The early lead for Cincinnati was due in part to a three-run rally in the bottom of the third that was fueled by a costly infield error. With a runner at second and nobody out, Adam Yeager hit a dribbler up the first base line that bounced away from first base and was thrown errantly back towards the bag. The ball was thrown off line again, this time in the dirt at second base as Yeager went two bases on the error. Tony Campana scored on the play and one batter later Neall French hit a two-run single to give the Bearcats a 4-0 lead.

Terpak and junior Ryan Arcadia (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) each had two hits for the Wildcats while junior Derek Shunk (Yardley, Pa.) singled in the seventh inning to extend his hitting streak to five games and register a hit for the 16th time in the last 18 games.

Shunk walked to lead off the top of the fourth and Villanova went on to load the bases with none out after singles by Terpak and senior Jim Gillin (Broomall, Pa.). The Wildcats managed just one run in the inning though, when a run scored on a fielder's choice ground ball by junior Gus Guida (Martinsville, N.J.).

Senior starting pitcher Mike Loree (Gillette, N.J.) worked 6 2/3 innings and was charged with his second loss of the season. Only four of the seven runs on his account were earned, while Loree walked two and struck out one.

On the other side of the ledger, Dan Osterbrock went the distance to improve to 8-1 for Cincinnati. He allowed 10 hits and two earned runs while retiring the final eight batters he faced. Osterbrock walked just one and had 11 strikeouts. Campana had four hits for the Bearcats, while Alvey and Josh Harrison had three hits apiece.

The three-game series continues on Saturday at 4 p.m. when junior Ryan Wendler (Conshohocken, Pa.) opposes sophomore Steve Blevins from Cincinnati.

NOTES: With his outing tonight, Loree moved up to third in school history with 290 2/3 innings pitched ... He needs just 6 1/3 innings more to tie the Villanova career record of 297.0 innings ... Shunk's hit in the seventh inning was the 195th of his career, moving him within five of becoming the ninth Wildcat player with at least 200 career hits.