Feb. 25, 2006

Team Records: Villanova (2-2), Texas (7-6)

Friday's Game: Texas 8, Villanova 0

The eight runs allowed by the Wildcats in Friday's game matched the total that the team had given up in its first three games of the season. Villanova took two out of three games from Norfolk State last weekend and allowed just eight runs (five earned) in the three games.

Villanova struck out 13 times against two Texas pitchers in Friday's game. That was just two strikeouts fewer than in the entire series against Norfolk State, when the Wildcats had a .379 on-base percentage as a team and struck out just 15 times in three games.

In the first three innings of the game, Longhorns starting pitcher Adrian Alaniz threw a total of 38 pitches, and the Wildcats swung at only nine of them. In those three innings, Alaniz allowed just a hit and a walk, while striking out five and benefiting from a double play turned behind him.

Villanova took a called third strike three times during Friday's game, while the Longhorns did so just once while striking out a total of six times. Through its first four games of the season, the Wildcats have struck out looking seven times, compared with five times for the opposition. Villanova has 28 strikeouts offensively and has gotten 26 from its pitching staff.

The home run hit by Drew Stubbs in the fifth inning was the first long ball allowed by a Wildcat pitcher this season. In 2005, Villanova pitchers surrendered just 21 homers in 429.1 innings pitched.

Texas scored at least one run in four different innings in the game, getting on the board in the second, fourth, fifth and eighth innings. In each of the other four innings, the Longhorns were retired in order. Starting pitcher Kevin Mulvey and reliever Bill Hoffman each registered two 1-2-3 innings.

Sophomores Ryan Arcadia and James Dolbier are the only two players on the team with at least one hit in all four of the team's games so far. Each went 1-for-3 with a walk in Friday's contest. Dolbier leads the team in the young season with a .417 batting average, .500 on-base percentage and .667 slugging percentage. His home run against Norfolk State last Sunday is one of just two extra-base hits the team has had among its 26 hits for the year.

Sophomore Gus Guida singled up the middle on Friday to mark his third straight game with a hit.

Despite the eight runs scored by the Longhorns on Friday, offense has generally come at a premium in Villanova's first four games this season. After managing just five hits yesterday, the Wildcats are batting just .228 with a .346 on-base percentage as a team on the season. Their opponents, meanwhile, are hitting .227 and reaching base at a .280 clip.