Box Score

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. - In the second of three meetings between the teams this season, Villanova (15-20) rallied but could never quite find the equalizer in an 9-8 loss to Saint Joseph's (13-19) at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth on Tuesday afternoon. A big part of the Wildcats offense came from the 2-3-4 spots in the lineup, which combined for seven hits and five runs scored.

Sophomore second baseman Todd Czinege (Overland Park, Kan.) and junior first baseman Max Beermann (Tampa, Fla.) were each on base four times in the game. Czinege went 2-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored, while Beermann was 3-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and two runs batted in. Junior shortstop Eric Lowe (Arlington Heights, Ill.) added two hits, a walk and a run scored, while junior right fielder Emmanuel Morris (Willowbrook, Ill.) chipped in two hits and a run scored.

Villanova plated three runs in the bottom of the third inning to take what turned out to be a short-lived 3-1 lead. The visiting Hawks answered back with three runs of their own in the top of the fourth and broke the game open with four runs in the fifth to go in front by an 8-3 margin. A single run in the top of the sixth inning pushed the Saint Joseph's lead to 9-5 before the Wildcats shut the Hawks down over the final three innings.

Junior left fielder Adam Goss (Bellaire, Texas) hit an RBI triple to the wall in right-center field with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning and later scored on a wild pitch to pull Villanova to within 9-7. Beermann crushed an RBI double off the right field fence with one out in the bottom of the eighth to narrow the deficit further to 9-8, but the comeback bid stalled after that.

Saint Joseph's reliever Jack Stover escaped the jam in the bottom of the eighth inning and Lansing Veeder earned the save despite allowing two base runners in the ninth. Goss was hit by a pitch with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the ninth inning and Lowe followed with a line drive single to left field. Goss tried to go from first to third on the play but was thrown out at third to end the game.

The teams combined for 28 hits in the contest and the Wildcats finished the day with 12 hits to go along with seven walks and three hit batters. Eight of the nine batters in the Villanova starting lineup reached base safely at least once.

Over the final 2 1/3 innings, sophomore left-hander John Santoianni (Souderton, Pa.), sophomore righty Joe Siringo (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) and junior right-hander Kagan Richardson (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) combined to keep the Hawks off the scoreboard and give the Wildcats a chance to get back in the game.

Taylor Boyd, Deon Stafford, Charlie Coghlin and Brian Lau all had three hits for Saint Joseph's, which outhit Villanova by a 16-12 margin. Matt Haskins (1-0, 5.06 ERA) pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to get the win.

Freshman reliever Trevino Rodriguez (Chicago, Ill.) took the loss for Villanova, which will be back at home on Wednesday afternoon to host La Salle in a 3:15 p.m. matchup.