March 26, 2003

Final Stats

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA. - On Wednesday, March 26, at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth, the Villanova baseball team behind the pitching of sophomore left-hander James Baxter braved the heavy winds and blew by Bucknell, 4-2. Baxter struck out a career-high 10 batters and junior shortstop Brian Trotta sparked a four-run fourth inning with a two-run double as the `Cats won a seven-inning, rain-shortened affair. The Wildcats improved to 6-11 on the year with the victory. The Bison fell to 8-5 with Wednesday's loss.

Baxter was dominant through the first four innings of the contest striking out seven Bucknell hitters to keep the game scoreless.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, junior Danny Poydenis led off the inning with a triple into the right-center field gap. Junior designated hitter Adrian Schau followed with a single through the left side to score Poydenis and give Villanova a 1-0 lead. After a single by senior Mitch Mitchell, Trotta doubled to the wall in left field scoring both runners to extend the Wildcat advantage to 3-0. Villanova added one more run later in the inning on a sacrifice fly by freshman first baseman Freddie Thon as the `Cats opened up a 4-0 lead after four innings.

The Bison chipped away at the Villanova lead in the top of the fifth inning, putting two runs on the board to cut the margin to 4-2. Bucknell leftfielder Kyle Walter knocked the first run across with an RBI double, and catcher Austin Barrett added an RBI single to cut the Wildcat lead in half.

Baxter was too strong for the Bison on this day, however, shutting down the Bucknell offense in the sixth inning and giving way to junior lefty Mike Ciccotelli in the seventh. Ciccotelli pitched a scoreless seventh inning striking out one to earn his second save of the season. Baxter (1-1) earned the win, allowing two runs on four hits in six innings, walking one and striking out a career-high 10 batters.

Taking the loss on the mound for Bucknell was Tim Peacock (0-1). Peacock gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits in six innings, striking out six and walking one.

At the plate for Villanova, Trotta led the way once again going one-for-two with a double and two RBI. He is nine-for-16 with five doubles and three RBI in the last five games. Other offensive contributors included Poydenis who went one-for-three with a triple and a run scores, Schau who went one-for-three with a run scored and one RBI, Mitchell who was one-for-three with a run scored, and Thon who went one-for-two with a sac fly and an RBI.

For the Bison on offense, Barrett was two-for-three on the day with one RBI.

Villanova will get back into action this weekend traveling to Storrs, Conn., to take on the UConn Huskies in a three-game series. The two teams will face off in a Saturday doubleheader beginning at noon, and will wind down the series with a single game on Sunday at noon.