Box Score

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. - Senior starting pitcher Josh Harris (Streamwood, Ill.) pitched into the ninth inning, sophomore second baseman Todd Czinege (Overland Park, Kan.) had three hits and Villanova (8-12) opened a three-game series with a 3-1 win over Hofstra (7-12) at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth on Friday afternoon. Four different players had multi-hit games for the Wildcats and senior closer Chris Haggarty (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) worked out of an inherited bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning to finish off the win.

Harris (2-2, 5.61 ERA) and Pride counterpart Chris Bonk (2-3, 5.60 ERA) were so locked in for the majority of the day that the entire game was played in a crisp 1 hour and 58 minutes. Hofstra left runners at second and third in the top of the first inning, had a runner picked off in the second and stranded two more runners in the third inning. Harris shut things down for good from then on.

Villanova scored a single run in the bottom of the first inning after junior left fielder Adam Goss (Bellaire, Texas) doubled with one out and moved to third on a wild pitch. On a cold afternoon and with the wind blowing in, the Pride brought the infield in even in the first inning. Czinege singled up the middle past the drawn-in infield to drive in Goss and the Wildcats never looked back.

Junior third baseman Kevin Jewitt (West Chester, Pa.) and senior designated hitter Jeff Courter (Maple Glen, Pa.) each had run-scoring singles in the bottom of the sixth inning to extend the lead to 3-0. Czinege doubled down the left field line to start the frame, took second on a well-executed grounder to the left side by junior first baseman Max Beermann (Tampa, Fla.) and then scored on Jewitt's 100th career hit.

Jewitt took off for second on the very next pitch and Villanova stayed out of a double play when junior shortstop Eric Lowe (Arlington Heights, Ill.) grounded out to short. Courter lined an RBI single to right field two pitchers later to give the Wildcats the three-run cushion.

After a two-out walk in the top of the third inning gave Hofstra runners at first and second with two away, Harris retired 16 of the next 18 batters he faced. He needed just five pitches to retire the side in order in the fourth inning and later threw a grand total of just 10 pitches between the seventh and eighth innings combined.

Steven Foster led off the ninth inning against Harris with a seeing-eye single up the middle. Brett Johnson followed with a single to left and David Leiderman walked to put the potential tying runs on base with nobody out. Haggarty entered into that situation and retired Eric Ferguson on a sacrifice fly to center field. Villanova was happy to trade the run for the out at that point in the game, and freshman center fielder David Gulati (Collegeville, Pa.) got the ball in quickly to keep the other two runners at first and second.

The game was over seven pitches later. Johnson moved from second to third on a foul out down the right field line by Brad Witkowski for the second out of the inning and pinch runner Jake Fallon went from first to second on a wild pitch with two outs. Haggarty got a called third struck on Ryan Donovan to end the game and earn his second save of the season.

Czinege went 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI in the game, while Goss, Lowe and Courter each had two hits. Junior catcher Emmanuel Morris (Willowbrook, Ill.) was on base twice with a hit and a walk as the Wildcats outhit the Pride by an 11-6 margin.

The second game of the series is on Saturday at 1:15 p.m. Villanova sophomore left-hander Hunter Schryver (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) matches up against Hofstra righty Bowie Matteson.

NOTES: Harris picked Ferguson off of second base for the second out of the second inning and also ended the sixth inning by picking Leiderman off of first ... He nearly had a third pickoff in the third inning when he caught Dalton Rouleau leaning off first base, but Rouleau beat the throw to second on an attempted 1-3-6 putout ... Jewitt has reached base safely in all 20 games this season ... Goss has reached base in 15 straight contests ... The eight-plus inning stint matched the second-longest of Harris' career ... He went 8 1/3 innings at Georgetown on the final day of the 2013 season (5/18/13) and also logged eight-plus innings that season (4/7/13) in a win at Notre Dame.