May 4, 2008

Box Score

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. - On a day made for the hitters, Villanova (25-22, 9-12 Big East) completed a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh (15-28, 6-15 Big East) with a 16-10 victory on Sunday afternoon at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth. The victory moved the Wildcats into a tie for eighth place in the league standings with Rutgers - their next opponent -- with six games remaining on the regular season conference schedule. The top eight teams in the Big East qualify for the conference tournament later this month.

The gaudy offensive totals from the two teams included a combined 23 hits, 18 walks, three hit batters and 26 runs on a sun-splashed afternoon at the ballpark. The pitching and defensive parts of the equation fell victim to the offensive outburst, as the teams combined to make 10 errors that led to 13 unearned runs. In addition, eight different pitchers threw 361 pitches before the final out was made.

Through all of that, Villanova trailed just briefly in the first two innings before cruising the rest of the way. The Panthers took advantage of errors on the first two plays of the game to score a pair of unearned runs in the top of the first, but the Wildcats plated five runs in the bottom of the second and never looked back.

Junior Wesley Borden (State College, Pa.) went 3-for-4 with four runs scored and three RBI and senior Derek Shunk (Yardley, Pa.) had three hits, a run scored and two driven in. The three runs batted in for Borden came on one swing in the bottom of the fourth inning, when his three-run home run to right-center field stretched the Villanova lead to 9-3.

During the five-run second inning that established the Wildcats lead, Villanova had its small-ball offense working to perfection. With runners at the corners and one out, senior Gus Guida (Martinsville, N.J.) laid down a bunt on a safety squeeze play. The ball was thrown past home plate in an effort to force out the runner trying to score, allowing one run to come in and leaving runners at second and third. Junior Joe Rosati (Havertown, Pa.) followed with a roller that hugged the first base line until bumping into the bag for a hit that scored another run. Junior Joe Cotter (Yardley, Pa.) reached on an error and senior Ryan Arcadia (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) bunted for another infield single to bring home two more runs and Shunk singled home the final run of the frame with the first of his three hits.

Cotter and seniors Dan Terpak (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and James Dolbier (Lebanon, N.J.) scored two runs each for the Wildcats, while Arcadia, Shunk, Guida and Rosati all drove in two. The 16 runs scored by Villanova matched the team's highest figure in a conference game since a 16-4 victory against Georgetown on April 16, 2000.

All of the offense supported senior Bill Hoffman (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.), who allowed six hits and just one earned run (four runs total) in five innings to earn his fourth win of the year. Hoffman (4-1, 7.78 ERA) struck out four and walked three in his third conference start of the season.

Pittsburgh trailed 12-4 after six innings of play before collecting six more runs over the final three innings. The Panthers got three in the seventh inning, two in the eighth and one in the ninth to hang around until the very end. Dan Williams drew three walks, had a single and scored four times in the game, while Chris Warner had three hits and was one of four players with two RBI on the day.

The Wildcats scored nine of their 16 runs with two outs despite going 3-for-13 at the plate in with two men away. Four sacrifice flies - one each by Arcadia, Terpak, junior Kyle Carver (Aldan, Pa.) and Rosati - and six errors committed by Pittsburgh helped lead to that stat.

Freshman starter Corey Baker (2-4, 4.55 ERA) went 5 2/3 innings for the Panthers and was charged with the loss. He allowed eight hits and walked seven in his outing but just two runs out of 12 on his account were earned due to the mistakes in the field. Relievers Anthony Rossi and Ricky Breymeir each allowed a pair of unearned runs in their stints.

Villanova has the coming week off for final exams before opening a three-game series at Rutgers on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. The Wildcats also take on Rutgers next Saturday and Sunday with games at 1 p.m. each day.

NOTES: The bunt single by Arcadia in the bottom of the second inning was the 200th hit of his career ... He became the 10th player in school history with at least 200 hits ... Arcadia also drew his 100th career walk in the first inning to become the seventh in school history to reach that mark ... Rosati stole his 21st base of the season and 47th of his career to tie for fourth place in school history in steals ... Terpak has reached base safely via a hit, walk or hit by pitch in 25 consecutive games.