May 15, 2008

Box Score

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. - Visiting St. John's (40-11, 19-6 Big East) collected nine extra-base hits and defeated Villanova (27-25, 11-14 Big East) by a 16-2 count on Thursday at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth. The Wildcats magic number to clinch a berth in the BIG EAST Tournament remains at two.

The Red Storm broke the game open with a seven-run fourth inning and added five more runs in the sixth inning along the way to the victory. The team had eight doubles and a triple among 17 hits overall and also drew nine walks in the game. The top eight hitters in the starting lineup all reached base multiple times for St. John's.

Villanova trailed 2-0 after allowing single runs in each of the first two innings but got something going in the bottom of the third when it loaded the bases with one out behind two walks and a hit batter. However, a ground ball double play ended the inning and the Red Storm put the game out of reach with a big fourth inning.

Senior Derek Shunk (Yardley, Pa.) had two hits for the Wildcats and junior Wesley Borden (State College, Pa.) drove in the team's only two runs with a one-out double in the bottom of the fourth inning. Shunk and senior Dan Terpak (Yardley, Pa.) each extended their current hitting streaks to nine games and Terpak reached base safely for the 30th consecutive contest.

Starting pitcher Jordan Ellis (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) was lifted with one out in the fourth inning and four of the seven runs in the frame crossed the plate after he came out. Ellis (3-5, 4.95 ERA) was charged with six hits, five walks and eight earned runs while striking out two. After Carlos Del Rosario doubled with one out in the fourth, the next five batters reached base via a walk or hit by pitch as Ellis was plagued by a particularly tight strike zone.

Scott Barnes (7-3, 3.89 ERA) faced a similar battle and threw 96 pitches over five innings of work, during which he walked five, struck out four and allowed two earned runs on three hits. Relievers Nick Cenatiempo and Justin Gutsie combined to pitch four scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

The Red Storm received three-hit games from Gino Matias, Paul Karmas and Del Rosario and the trio each had a pair of doubles. Karmas scored three times and drove in four while Rosario had three runs scored and two RBI.

The second game of the series is on Friday with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. In the event of inclement weather in the area during the day on Friday, stay tuned to www.villanova.com or call the Villanova Athletics Scoring Hotline at 888-400-NOVA for updates on the status of the game.

The Wildcats began the day tied with South Florida for seventh place in the BIG EAST standings, one game ahead of Rutgers and three games ahead of Connecticut. The only team in that group that Villanova owns a tiebreaking advantage with is the Scarlet Knights, who had the first game of their series at Louisville postponed due to rain on Thursday evening. Rutgers will play a doubleheader against the Cardinals beginning at 2 p.m. on Friday.