April 27, 2008

Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. - Six straight batters reached safely after there were two out and nobody on in the seventh inning and Villanova (21-22, 6-12 Big East) scored four runs in the frame to go ahead for good in a 9-7 victory over USF (24-20, 10-11 Big East) on Sunday afternoon at Red McEwen Field. In an emotionally charged game both ways, the Wildcats had the final answer and for the second straight weekend avoided a three-game sweep by rallying to win a Sunday afternoon game on the road.

Senior James Dolbier (Lebanon, N.J.) and junior Kyle Carver (Aldan, Pa.) drew walks to start the seventh inning rally just when it seemed that the Bulls would go into cruise control despite nursing a tentative 6-5 advantage. Following the two walks, Villanova tallied four straight hits to score the four runs. Pinch hitter Tim Poydenis (Vero Beach, Fla.) singled to tie the game and the Wildcats took the lead when Carver scored on a wild pitch.

The Wildcats continued to pour it on with the lead back in their hands, as freshman Dain Hall (Barrington, Ill.) doubled home a run and junior Joe Cotter (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) followed with a run-scoring single to give Villanova a 9-6 advantage.

USF chipped away with a run in the bottom of the seventh but did little else against junior Josh Eidell (Norristown, Pa.), who pitched the final four innings to earn his second win of the season. Defying the idea that closers only enter with a lead in the ninth inning, Eidell (2-4, 5.90 ERA) entered in the sixth inning with the Wildcats down 6-5 and took it the rest of the way. He allowed one run on four hits while walking three and striking out one.

Unlike the first two games of the series, in which the Bulls took an early lead and ran with it, Sunday afternoon's affair was a back-and-forth battle in which Villanova trailed only briefly in the middle innings. The Wildcats scored a single run in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly by senior Derek Shunk (Yardley, Pa.) and then broke a 1-1 tie with four runs in the top of the fourth inning.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, USF got one of those runs back to get within 5-2. Tempers flared an inning later when Stephen Hunt hit a grand slam that gave the Bulls the lead. However, it proved to be the only advantage of the game for USF, which saw seven pitchers combine to walk 12 batters and strike out just four.

Villanova was outhit 10-7 in the game but took advantage of the free passes and ran free on the base paths with six stolen bases in as many tries. Cotter had three steals, Hall two and Dolbier one. Hall reached base four times and had a sacrifice bunt in his five plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with two runs scored, two driven in and a pair of walks. Cotter also had two hits, while Dolbier and Carver scored two runs apiece.

Dolbier drew a one-out walk to start the fifth inning rally and Carver doubled down the left field line to drive him in. One out later, Hall and Cotter delivered back-to-back singles up the middle to score runs and senior Dan Terpak (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) eventually drew a bases loaded walk to bring home the fourth run.

Starting pitcher Derrick Stultz went the first 3 2/3 innings and allowed three hits and five runs (four earned). He walked five and struck out two. Reliever Matt Stull (3-2, 5.01 ERA) took the loss for the Bulls, as he was charged with the tying and go-ahead runs in the seventh inning rally. Stull went three innings and allowed two earned runs on no hits, while walking three and striking out two.

Hunt went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and drove in five for USF to finish the weekend with 11 RBI in the series. Ryan Lockwood had two hits and two runs scored in Sunday's game.

The Wildcats play their final home non-conference game against Penn State on Wednesday at 3:15 p.m.

NOTES: The 12 walks and six stolen bases were both season highs for Villanova ... Terpak saw a 12-game hitting streak come to an end while Shunk ended his 11-game hitting streak ... The streaks were the longest by Wildcat hitters this season ... Both reached base safely via walks in the game ... Terpak has reached base via a hit, walk or hit by pitch in 21 consecutive games ... With the victory, Villanova moved into a three-way tie with Connecticut and Pittsburgh for ninth place in the Big East standings ... The Wildcats are currently two games behind Rutgers for the final playoff spot and have nine games remaining, including three each against Pittsburgh and Rutgers.