May 5, 2007

Box Score

Game 1: Villanova 6, West Virginia 4

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa..-- Junior Derek Shunk (Yardley, Pa.) singled home two runs in the first inning to get things started and senior Jim Gillin (Broomall, Pa.) hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning to pad the lead as Villanova (24-19, 9-11 Big East) completed a doubleheader sweep of West Virginia (24-18, 6-13 Big East) with a 10-5 victory on Saturday at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth.

After rallying for a 6-4 victory in the opener, the Wildcats had all the momentum in the second game and scored four times in the bottom of the first inning. The Mountaineers got two runs back in the top of the second but Villanova added two runs apiece in the fifth through seventh innings to put the game out of reach.

Sophomore Joe Rosati (Havertown, Pa.) had two hits and two runs scored in the game, while Arcadia and junior Dan Terpak (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) each scored twice. Gillin and junior Robert Parks (Brick, N.J.) drove in a pair of runs as the Wildcats had all nine hitters in the lineup get at least one hit.

Villanova jumped into seventh place in the BIG EAST standings with today's sweep, passing Cincinnati (8-11). The Wildcats remain in excellent position to content for a spot in the eight-team BIG EAST Tournament that begins later this month.

Arcadia walked to lead off the bottom of the first and Rosati bunted for a hit. After a successful double steal Shunk lined a single back up the middle that scored both runners. Arcadia and Rosati each had run-scoring doubles in the fifth inning against West Virginia pitcher Matt Yurish (2-5, 5.46 ERA), who went the distance despite allowing 10 hits and 10 runs (nine earned) on the afternoon.

On the mound for Villanova, junior Jordan Ellis (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) allowed five earned runs on six hits in seven innings, notching his fourth win of the year. Ellis (4-1, 3.83) walked four and had no strikeouts but made quick work of the Mountaineers in the middle innings to allow the Wildcats a chance to stretch their lead.

West Virginia trimmed a six-run deficit to 8-5 with three runs in the top of the seventh inning, but the rally did little to give the Mountaineers any momentum. After getting runners to the corners with none out and Ellis struggling to start the rally, West Virginia turned in a statistical oddity by scoring all three of its runs in the inning on outs. Chris Enourato hit a sacrifice fly and Justin Parks drove in a run with a groundout. Adam White then singled home a third run bat was thrown out at second base trying to take second on the throw in from the outfield.

Justin Jenkins was hitless in four at-bats and finished the afternoon 0-for-9 in the two games for the Mountaineers. On the flip side, Shunk's two-run single in the first inning was his only hit of the day as he went 1-for-7 in the twin-bill for Villanova. The pair of leading hitters were each named to the watch list for the prestigious Brooks Wallace Award this week, and both rank among the top five hitters in the BIG EAST.

Villanova goes for a sweep of the weekend series on Sunday at Noon.