Villanova baseball game notes for Saturday's doubleheader featuring the Villanova Wildcats (22-15, 6-7) hosting the Boston College Eagles (21-13, 10-4) on Saturday, April 20, at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, beginning at 12:00 p.m. Click on the pdf link below for a complete version of Villanova's game notes.

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MEDIA INFORMATION

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THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES

* Senior third baseman Brendan Mannix was named Co-Big East Player of the Week on Monday, April 15.

* Junior centerfielder Chris Graziano owns a 12-game hitting streak, during which time he has 18 hits in his last 42 at-bats.

* Junior closer James Russell leads the Big East and is tied for second in the nation with 10 saves.

* Senior Rob Cafiero is just seven RBI away from breaking the Villanova record for career RBI held by Gary Scott, who recorded 183 RBI between 1987-89.

VILLANOVA NEWS & NOTES

MANNIX NAMED CO-BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK... On Monday, April 15, Villanova senior third baseman Brendan Mannix was named Co-Big East Player of the Week after helping lead the Villanova baseball team to a perfect 5-0 record last week including a 3-0 mark in Big East play. Mannix had a tremendous offensive week for the Wildcats, batting .526 overall (10-for-19) with nine runs scored, one double, four home runs and 13 RBI. In three Big East games, he was six-for-11 at the plate with five runs scored, two home runs and seven RBI. He finished the week with two two-home run games to his credit. Mannix has battled a number of injuries throughout his career, including a knee injury that kept him out 12 games earlier this season. Since coming back from that injury, he has been red hot at the plate. In 25 games this season, he is batting .347 (26-for-75) with 21 runs scored, eight doubles, eight home runs and 31 RBI. He has been even better in Big East Conference play. In 13 conference games thus far in 2002, Mannix is hitting .390 (16-for-41) with 11 runs scored, four doubles, six home runs and 23 RBI. He is among the Big East leaders in a number of categories for conference games. Mannix is first in home runs (6), RBI (23), slugging percentage (.927) and second in total bases (38).

HITTING STREAK REACHES 12 GAMES FOR GRAZIANO... Junior centerfielder Chris Graziano was batting .221 (19-for-86) following the Wildcats' series at Rutgers on March 30. That was before he began a 12-game hitting streak in which he has gone 18-for-42 to raise his batting average from .221 to .289. For the season, Graziano is 37-for-128 with 26 runs scored, five doubles, three triples, 16 RBI, 28 walks, and a .429 on-base percentage. He currently leads the Big East in stolen bases with 29 in 35 attempts and is sixth in the nation in stolen bases per game. Graziano is also among the Big East leaders in triples, walks and on base percentage.

SLOCUM THE CENTER OF ATTENTION... Every time junior right-hander Brian Slocum takes the mound, there is a group of scouts there to see him pitch and watch his every move. In eight appearances in 2002, seven of which were starts, Slocum is 2-2 with a 2.76 ERA. In 42.1 innings pitched, he has allowed only 18 runs (13 earned) on 31 hits, striking out 44 and walking just 18. Opponents are currently hitting .203 off of Slocum. A highly touted pitcher out of Iona Prep and Eastchester, N.Y., Slocum was drafted in the 14th round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft by the Minnesota Twins. He chose to come to school instead, and immediately made a name for himself as a freshman at Villanova. He went 4-4 with a 2.62 ERA as a rookie in 2000, and earned a number of honors including Baseball America Freshmen All-America third team accolades, Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-America honorable mention, and Big East All-Rookie Team honors. Slocum missed the majority of last season with a shoulder injury, but after a solid summer in the Cape Cod League and a tremendous fall season, he is back to his dominating form. Baseball America currently ranks him among the best draft eligible college prospects in the nation.

SEVERAL WILDCATS AMONG NCAA STAT LEADERS... In the NCAA statistics released on Tuesday, April 16, two Villanova players were ranked among the national leaders. Junior closer James Russell is tied for second in the nation in saves with 10. Junior centerfielder Chris Graziano currently rank sixth in stolen bases per game at 0.80 per game (28 in 35 games),

RUSSELL BREAKS SEASON SAVE MARK, CAREER NEXT... Junior 6-7 right-hander James Russell is quickly becoming one of the conference's top closers. Thus far in 2002, Russell leads the Big East leaders in saves with 10. In 15 appearances this season, he is 0-3 with a 2.50 ERA. Pitching 18.0 innings on the year, Russell has allowed just 14 hits, eight runs (five earned) and seven walks, while striking out 23 batters. On April 12 versus UConn, he broke the school record for saves in a season with his 10th. Russell is fourth in the Villanova record books in career saves with 12 He is only four shy of the career record of 16 held by John Klopp (1993-96).

7 AND COUNTING FOR CAFIERO... Senior first baseman Rob Cafiero entered the 2002 season with 148 career RBI. With 29 RBI through Villanova's first 36 games, Cafiero now has 177 for his career. On March 28 at Georgetown, he moved into second on the career RBI list, passing 2001 graduate Nick Piantek who finished his career with 164. In addition to RBI, Cafiero is also among the top 10 in the Villanova career record books in seven other categories: third in doubles (53), third in total bases (365), third in games played (186), fifth in at-bats (658), tied for fifth in hits (223), sixth in walks (94), and seventh in home runs (29). Cafiero needs only seven RBI to break the all-time Wildcat RBI mark of 183 held by former Villanova All-American and major leaguer Gary Scott. Averaging nearly 50 RBI per season over his first three years, Cafiero is well on his way to that record mark of 183.

Villanova Career RBI List (Top Five)
Name	Years		RBI
1. Gary Scott 	1987-89		183
2. Rob Cafiero 	1999-		177
3. Nick Piantek	1998-2001		164
4. Rick Welsh 	1995-98		161
5. Matt Longo 	1998-2001		158

THE SULTAN OF STEAL... On March 24, junior center fielder Chris Graziano stole the 62nd base of his career, breaking the Villanova career stolen base record held by 1997 grad Brian Fili, who stole 61 bases between 1994-97. Graziano is among the top stolen base threats in the country giving opponents a constant headache on the basepaths. Last season, Graziano stole 37 bases in 41 attempts and finished the 2001 campaign third in the nation in stolen bases per game. A strong all-around performer, he also batted .357 in 2001 with 40 runs scored and 17 RBI. Graziano was named to the All-Big East third team following the season. This season, he has picked up right where he left off. Through 37 games, Graziano is 29-for-35 in stolen base attempts giving him 72 thefts for his career. This season, he currently ranks sixth in the nation in steals per game.

2002 SEASON GODRI'S FIRST AS `NOVA HEAD COACH... On Saturday, Feb. 23, against Air Force, head coach Joe Godri earned his first Villanova victory as his Wildcats defeated the Falcons, 5-1. Godri began his first season at the helm of the Villanova baseball program in 2002. He took over for longtime Wildcat mentor George Bennett, who retired following the 2001 season after 16 years and a 463-324-6 record at the school. Godri, who has had two different stints with the Villanova baseball program totaling five years, had just finished up his first season as Associate Head Coach of the Wildcats in 2001. During his coaching career to date, he has also spent time as an assistant at Pittsburgh, New Mexico State, and Utah.

THIS SEASON'S WILDCATS HAVE BIG SHOES TO FILL... The Villanova baseball team must make up for the loss of an outstanding 2001 senior class that was lost to graduation. The biggest losses from last season are second baseman Matt Longo, designated hitter Nick Piantek, and left fielder Dave Pizzini. Longo ended his career among the school's all-time leaders in a number of statistical categories. He is first in Wildcat record books in games played (201), at-bats (719), hits (242), doubles (58), and total bases (407), second in runs (199), fourth in RBI (158) and fifth in home runs (31). Piantek ended his career batting .307 with 43 doubles, 25 home runs and 164 RBI. He also garnered All-Big East first team, as well as All-Region honors last season. Pizzini finished his tremendous Villanova career batting .358 with 226 hits and 41 doubles.

COLLEGIATE BASEBALL PRAISES FRESHMEN CLASS... Heading into the 2002 season, Collegiate Baseball released their annual list of the nation's top recruiting classes. The list includes the nation's top 30, as well as the next 50 best classes. The Villanova baseball team and head coach Joe Godri's Wildcat recruiting class was rated as the 67th best recruiting class in the nation by Collegiate Baseball. It was also rated as the third best in the Big East, behind only Notre Dame and Connecticut. Godri's 2002 Wildcats will include 10 newcomers. Included among those newcomers are Alan Day (RHP/OF, Lakeridge, Va./ Woodbridge Senior), Mark Cardillo (IF, Naples, Fla./ Barron Collier), Peter Riccio (IF/OF, Warren, N.J./ Watchung Hills), Matt Derr (OF, Pennsburg, Pa./ Upper Perkioman), Nick Allen (RHP, Green Lane, Pa./ Boyertown), Michael Grodecki (RHP, Northbrook, Ill./ Loyola Academy), Joe McCoy (RHP, Dallas, Texas/ Highland Park), Patrick Krieg (OF, West Chester, Pa./ West Chester East), James Baxter (LHP, Toms River, N.J./ Monsignor Donovan) and junior transfer Dustin Downs (SS/2B) from Manhattan College.

NEW VILLANOVA BASEBALL HOME ON TAP FOR `03... The Villanova baseball program will have a new home in 2003, as the Wildcats move from their current field in Philadelphia to a new baseball complex in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. Ground has already been broken for this future home of the Wildcats, which will be located just off Germantown Pike within Plymouth Township. The Villanova baseball program has been playing its home games at Richie Ashburn Field in Philadelphia since 1998 when the Wildcats field on campus was leveled to make room for new residence halls. Villanova's new field in Plymouth is approximately six to seven miles and just a 15-minute drive from the Villanova campus. "This complex will be a vital building block for the future of Villanova baseball," said head coach Joe Godri. "This will give Villanova baseball one of the top facilities in the northeast, and will enable us to continue attracting not only the top recruits in the northeast, but on the national level as well."

VILLANOVA PICKED 9TH IN BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL... In the 2002 Big East Conference Preseason Poll, the Villanova baseball team was picked to finish ninth. The 2001 Big East Regular Season Champion, Notre Dame, was once again chosen to win the conference. Last season's tournament champion, Seton Hall, was picked to place fourth. Below is the entire 2002 Big East Preseason Poll:

Team (1st Place Votes)	Pts.	2001 Record
1. Notre Dame (8)	98	49-13-1 (22-4 Big East)
2. Rutgers (2)	92	42-17 (18-8)
3. Virginia Tech (1)	78	29-28-1 (14-11-1)
4. Seton Hall	69	34-23-1 (14-11-1)
5. St. John's	65	31-22 (13-13)
6. Boston College	54	29-22 (11-13)
7. Connecticut	46	26-25 (13-13)
8. West Virginia	34	27-26 (12-14)
9. Villanova	31	25-25-1 (10-16)
10. Pittsburgh	26	18-27 (6-18)
11. Georgetown	12	17-39 (7-19)
As voted on by the league's head coaches.