May 2, 2008

Box Score |  Notes

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. - The first long fly ball brought to mind the idea of a walk-off home run and the second long fly ball on the very next pitch made it reality as junior Kyle Carver (Aldan, Pa.) drilled the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the ninth inning over the fence in left-center field to lift Villanova (23-22, 7-12 Big East) to a 4-3 victory over Pittsburgh (15-26, 6-13 Big East) in a stirring opener to a three-game series on Friday afternoon at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth.

Junior Matt McFolling (Chicago, Ill.) led off the home half of the ninth and hit a 1-and-0 pitch to the warning track in right field. A light breeze swirling around the field was blowing in from right and out to left by the ninth inning and Carver made program history with the first-ever walk-off home run in the history of the Wildcats' home venue. It was the 11th walk-off win of any kind in the facility for Villanova, which opened the stadium in 2003.

The Panthers scored a pair of runs with two outs in the top of the eighth inning to tie the score at 3-3 and set up the late heroics by Carver. The Wildcats led 3-0 after four innings but Pittsburgh scored a lone run in the top of the fifth before cashing in with a key two-out triple in the eighth.

Closer Josh Eidell (Norristown, Pa.) was the beneficiary of the game-winning home run and earned a win in his second straight appearance. He entered in the top of the eighth with runners at first and second and none out and appeared on his way to escaping the inning after a sacrifice bunt and called third strike. However, Nick Mullins hit a fly ball into the gap in left-center field that fell for a triple to tie the game. Eidell (3-4, 5.52 ERA) retired the side in order in the top of the ninth to preserve the tie score and allow Villanova the chance to win in dramatic fashion.

The Wildcats received a strong bounce-back performance from senior Jordan Ellis (Bryn Mawr, Pa.), who limited the Panthers to three hits over seven-plus strong innings. He cruised through the first seven innings but walked Dan Williams and Joe Leonard on a combined nine pitches to start the eighth inning. Ellis issued six walks and struck out five in his 11th start of the year and matched a season low with just three hits allowed for the third time during the year.

There were only 10 hits total in the game between the two teams, six of which went to the Villanova account. Senior Derek Shunk (Yardley, Pa.), playing in his record-breaking 203rd career game for the Wildcats, had two hits and drove in a run. Classmate James Dolbier (Lebanon, N.J.) singled home a run in the bottom of the fourth inning and scored himself on a stolen base and throwing error.

Ellis was matched line for line by Pittsburgh's sophomore southpaw Nate Reed, who scattered five hits and three runs (two earned) in eight innings of work. He walked three and struck out six before yielding to David Kaye (2-2, 2.09 ERA) in the ninth. Kaye threw three pitches in the bottom of the ninth inning, a first-pitch ball to McFolling and then the strikes to he and Carver that were each hit a long way.

Danny Lopez had two hits for the Panthers and drove in the team's first run with an infield hit in the fifth inning. That inning had been extended after there were two out and none on by an error, causing an unearned run on Ellis' ledger.

Villanova started the day in a three-way tie for ninth place in the Big East standings with both Pittsburgh and Connecticut. The three teams were each two games behind Rutgers and 2.5 games behind USF for the final spots in the Big East Championship later this month. The Huskies defeated Notre Dame 9-7 on Friday in the opener of a three-game series, while the Scarlet Knights were to visit Cincinnati later Friday night.

The Wildcats and Panthers continue their own series on Saturday at 12:15 p.m.