April 30, 2008

Box Score

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. - It may not have been the prettiest of games but Villanova (22-22) continued its streak of wins against in-state opponent Penn State (19-24) by outlasting the Nittany Lions 7-5 on Wednesday afternoon at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth. The Wildcats have won the last four meetings in the series between the teams.

This afternoon's game featured a combined 27 hits, 13 walks and 24 runners stranded on base. Villanova scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning and one in the third to take a 4-0 lead and provided just enough insurance in the late innings to come out on top after breaking up a Penn State rally in the ninth.

The Wildcats led 7-3 going to the ninth inning after plating two runs in the bottom of the eighth but the Nittany Lions put their first three hitters on base to start the ninth. Penn State had two runs in and runners at first and second with one out before Villanova escaped the jam.

Nearly three hours before that - the game was a marathon that lasted 3:12 and featured just two 1-2-3 innings - both teams had left a pair of runners on base in the first inning. The Nittany Lions then left the bases loaded in the top of the second along the way to stranding 11 runners through the first five innings.

In the bottom of the second, the Wildcats seemed to be continuing the base-to-base offensive trend after two singles and a sacrifice bunt led to a run-scoring groundout. One batter later, senior Ryan Arcadia (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) doubled down the left field line to plate two runs and open the lead to 3-0. Classmate Dan Terpak (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) scored on a wild pitch one inning later.

Redshirt freshman starter Chris Pack (Hinsdale, Ill.) pitched in and out of trouble to earn the victory for Villanova. In five innings of work, Pack (4-3, 4.59 ERA) allowed eights hits, two walks and a hit batter but put up a zero in the more important runs column. He struck out four and limited Penn State to just one hit with runners in scoring position.

Arcadia had two hits and drove in four runs in the game, as he added an RBI triple in the sixth inning and executed a successful safety squeeze to score a run in the bottom of the eighth. Terpak and senior James Dolbier (Lebanon, N.J.) also had two-hit games for the Wildcats, who won despite being outhit.

The Nittany Lions had 16 hits and drew five walks but wound up with 15 runners left on base. Lou Picconi was 3-for-3 with a run scored and Cory Wine went 3-for-5 with a run scored and one driven in. Penn State went in order just once in the game, going down 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh against junior southpaw Ryan Shockley (Seaford, Del.).

Pack was out of the game after five innings and the Nittany Lions finally did something with their hits other than leave runners on base in the top of the sixth. Penn State drilled three doubles in the inning to plate two runs, which were both charged to senior Ryan Wendler (Conshohocken, Pa.). After a leadoff two-base hit, Wendler struck out the next two batters before Joe Blackburn's double brought home the first Nittany Lions run.

Shockley was replaced with one out in the eighth inning by senior Gus Guida (Martinsville, N.J.), who recorded the final five outs for his second save of the season. Guida allowed three hits and two earned runs but his strikeout of Wes Borden in the ninth followed by a foul pop-up at first base ended the game.

Villanova has played seven of its last nine games on the road but will return home this weekend for a three-game conference series against Pittsburgh. The first game against the Panthers is scheduled for Friday at 3:15 p.m.

NOTES: The last win in the series for Penn State was a 23-8 margin on May 13, 2003 in University Park ... Seventh year head coach Joe Godri is 65-31-1 (.675) in his career against other teams from the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania ... Terpak has reached base safely via a hit, walk or hit by pitch in 22 consecutive games ... Senior Derek Shunk (Yardley, Pa.) tied the school's career record by playing in his 202nd career game.