April 23, 2008

Box Score

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. - Junior Kyle Carver (Aldan, Pa.) bashed two home runs over the left field fence and Villanova (20-20) avenged a loss earlier in the season to Saint Joseph's (14-24) with a 12-3 thumping on Wednesday afternoon at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth. The Wildcats had seven extra-base hits - the two home runs by Carver and five doubles - and brought their record for the season back to .500.

Carver led off the second and third innings with solo home runs to give himself long balls in three straight at-bats. He had also hit a game-winning home run in the eighth inning yesterday at Temple, a game in which he also earned the win with two innings of relief work. Carver joined teammate Joe Cotter (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) as the only players to have multi-homer games in the five-year history of Villanova's home field.

The Wildcats quickly put the game out of reach and both teams scored all of their runs in the first five innings before settling down. Cotter singled to start the bottom of the first inning, reached third on an errant pickoff throw and scored on a sacrifice fly by senior Ryan Arcadia (Upper Saddle River, N.J.).

The floodgates opened in the bottom of the second inning, as Carver's first home run was followed by Arcadia's run-scoring double, a fielder's choice groundout by senior Dan Terpak (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) that scored a run and a two-run double off the bat of senior James Dolbier (Lebanon, N.J.).

Dolbier and Carver each had three hits for Villanova, which was just two hits off its season high with 17 total. Carver had three runs scored and three RBI, while Dolbier scored a run and drove in two. Arcadia was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two driven in while senior Derek Shunk (Yardley, Pa.) had two hits and an RBI.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Wildcats scored four runs on three straight run-scoring hits by Carver, senior Robert Parks (Brick, N.J.) and freshman Dain Hall (Barrington, Ill.). The latter two hits were doubles to the fence in right-center field and a warm day where the ball seemed to have extra carry on anything hit into the outfield.

Senior Ryan Shockley (Seaford, Del.) pitched 1 1/3 innings and allowed just an unearned run to record his second victory of the season. He entered with two out in the fourth inning for classmate Ryan Wendler (Conshohocken, Pa.), who was charged with two earned runs on five hits in 3 2/3 innings.

In the top of the third inning Ben Wendle had a two-run double on a line drive that just did hit chalk on its path down the right-field line. Mike Boyland hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning but after that the Hawks were grounded by four scoreless innings of relief from junior Michael Mayer (Midland Park, N.J.), freshman Mike Francisco (Newtown Square, Pa.) and senior Gus Guida (Martinsville, N.J.). The trio allowed just one hit and Guida struck out three in the ninth to close out the game.

Villanova goes on the road this weekend to play a three-game series at the University of South Florida. The first game of the series is slated for Friday night at 7 p.m.