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Wildcats Ride in BIG EAST Championship Ends in 13-6 Loss to Louisville
May 23, 2008
CLEARWATER, Fla. - A pair of rallies during the game kept the margin close but a four-run seventh inning effectively marked the end of a good ride for Villanova (30-28) in the BIG EAST Championship, as its season ended with a 13-6 loss to No. 4 seed Louisville (40-19) in a semifinal game on Friday at Bright House Field. The Cardinals advance to Saturday's championship and will face either Cincinnati or South Florida.
The Wildcats were quickly in a precarious position after Louisville put up five unearned runs in the top of the second inning. Villanova battled back with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to pull to within 5-3. Freshman Dain Hall (Barrington, Ill.) had a run-scoring single to plate the first run and senior Ryan Arcadia (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) doubled home the third run and represented the tying run at second base before the inning ended.
Two more runs in the top of the fourth inning extended the Cardinal lead to 7-3 but in the bottom of the fifth senior James Dolbier (Lebanon, N.J.) hit a two-out, two-run double to cut the margin back to two runs at 7-5.
The Wildcats never had a chance to cut into the margin any further, as Louisville answered with a run in the sixth inning and then four in the seventh to put the game out of reach. Justin McClanahan hit his second home run of the game leading off the sixth inning and then singled in a run ahead of a three-run blast by Chris Dominguez in the seventh.
Hall finished the day with two hits and two RBI and juniors Joe Cotter (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) and Wesley Borden (State College, Pa.) also had two hits apiece. Villanova generated 10 hits and batted .328 in its four tournament games.
Junior Josh Eidell (Norristown, Pa.) made his first start in nearly three months after being shifted to the closer role early in the season. Eidell (4-6, 4.63 ERA) matched a season high by going five innings and only two of the seven runs charged to him were earned. An error prolonged the second inning and all five runs that scored in the frame were unearned. Eidell allowed eight hits, walked four and struck out three in his third start of the season.
Senior Derek Shunk (Yardley, Pa.) singled to right field with two out and nobody on in the bottom of the first inning. He finished 1-for-5 on the day with three fly ball outs that all carried to the warning track or the base of the fence. His single in the first inning extended his career-best hitting streak to 15 games and was the 291st of his career. Shunk ends his spectacular collegiate career with 49 more hits than the previous school record. He batted .556 (10-for-18) in four tournament games. Classmate Dan Terpak (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) drew a walk leading off the eighth inning and finished the season reaching base safely in 36 consecutive games.
A Louisville offense that has averaged a nine-run margin of victory in its three tournament games thus far put up 13 runs on 14 hits in the game. McClanahan had five hits and seven RBI and Josh Richmond, Andrew Clark and Drew Haynes all had two hits each.
The Cardinals received a solid outing on the mound from freshman Thomas Royse, who entered in the third inning and pitched six innings of relief. Royse (4-0, 4.41 ERA) allowed four hits and three runs (one earned) in his stint, while walking one and striking out four. Gabriel Shaw pitched a scoreless ninth to close out the game.
The Wildcats end the season with a 30-28 record and their first semifinal appearance in the BIG EAST Championship since reaching the championship game in 1997. This marks the fifth straight season and sixth time in seven years under head coach Joe Godri that Villanova has won more than 25 games and finished with at least a .500 record.
This year's berth in the BIG EAST Championship was the 11th for the Wildcats and their second straight postseason appearance. It was also the sixth time in the 11 appearances that Villanova won at least two games in the tournament. The Wildcats became the second No. 8 seed in as many years to advance at least to the semifinals.
The loss in today's game to Louisville marked the end of a collegiate career for 12 seniors who carved out a special place for themselves in the school record books. Villanova won 114 games over the past four seasons, finished with at least a .500 record every year and made consecutive trips to the playoffs.
During the season, the Wildcats tied or broke the following records:
TEAM
58 games played is new record, breaking the mark of 56 set in 1995 and tied in 1997 INDIVIDUAL
Derek Shunk and Dan Terpak - 58 games played (single season record)
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