Box Score

CINCINNATI, Ohio - In its final game of the 2016 season, Villanova (20-32, 5-13 BIG EAST) was held to five hits and dropped a 9-0 decision to Xavier (27-28, 14-4 BIG EAST) at Hayden Field on Saturday afternoon. Junior second baseman Todd Czinege (Overland Park, Kan.) reached base three times in the loss, going 1-for-2 with a single and two walks.

The game was broken open in the bottom of the second inning when the Musketeers batted around and plated six runs to quickly establish an insurmountable lead. Consecutive run-scoring singles by Matt Fallon and Rylan Bannon got the scoring started but it was a two-out grand slam by Joe Gellenbeck which was the big hit of the inning.

Czinege was the only Wildcats hitter to reach base multiple times, as he walked in the top of the first inning, singled in the sixth and drew another walk in the eighth inning. Senior left fielder Adam Goss (Bellaire, Texas) and senior third baseman Kevin Jewitt (West Chester, Pa.) also had singles in their final collegiate games, while junior right fielder Donovan May (Newark, Del.) and sophomore center fielder David Gulati (Collegeville, Pa.) had the other two Villanova hits.

Sophomore starting pitcher Ryan Doty (Rye, N.Y.) worked the first five innings and was charged with seven runs allowed, including the big second inning and a single run in the bottom of the fifth on Will LaRue's sacrifice fly to center. He walked two and struck out two.

Gellenbeck closed the scoring with his second home run of the game, a two-run shot, against freshman right-hander Jonathan Rosero (Middle Village, N.Y.) in the bottom of the sixth inning. Rosero bounced back to pitch a scoreless seventh and junior lefty Woody Bryson (Cambridge, Mass.) had two strikeouts in a scoreless bottom of the eighth.

Freshman right-hander Jonathan Rosero (Middle Village, N.Y.) allowed two runs in the sixth inning but recovered to pitch a scoreless seventh. Junior lefty Woody Bryson (Cambridge, Mass.) had two strikeouts in a scoreless bottom of the eighth.

Xavier got at least one hit from every hitter in the lineup and finished the day with 13 hits total, including the two home runs by Gellenbeck and doubles by LaRue and Andre Jernigan. Musketeers starting pitcher Trent Astle pitched seven scoreless innings and allowed four hits while walking two and striking out four. Greg Jacknewitz allowed a single and a walk over the final two innings.

With the win, Xavier clinched at least a share of the BIG EAST regular season title and secured the No. 1 seed for next week's conference tournament. Villanova is co-hosting the BIG EAST Championship, which will be held at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Md. From May 26-29.