JAMAICA, N.Y.—Sophomore second baseman Pat O'Neill (Eagleville, Pa.) clubbed his first collegiate home run to break through in a scoreless game in the top of the seventh inning and Villanova (10-24, 3-4 BIG EAST) rode six scoreless innings from freshman starting pitcher Nick Lorusso (Monroe, Conn.) to a 5-1 win over St. John's (20-14, 3-4 BIG EAST) at Jack Kaiser Stadium on Thursday afternoon. 
 
Lorusso (1-2, 4.73 ERA) scattered just five hits – all singles – while walking two and striking out three to earn his first collegiate victory on the mound.  The first-year, do-it-all player for the Wildcats continued his strong pitching of late.  Lorusso has allowed just two runs while striking out 15 over his last three starts (17.0 innings pitched), and he also lowered his ERA in BIG EAST games to 0.66 spanning 13 2/3 innings.
 
The opener of a three-game series between the longtime conference rivals turned out to be a terrific pitchers' duel between Lorusso and Red Storm left-hander Joe LaSorsa (4-3, 1.73 ERA) which stayed scoreless through six full innings.  LaSorsa retired the first 12 batters he faced before allowing a single to senior first baseman J.P. Radvany (Lawrenceville, N.J.) leading off the top of the fifth inning.  Freshman shortstop Dylan McNary (Jefferson, Mass.) walked with two outs in the sixth; he and Radvany were the only two Villanova base runners before the offense got to LaSorsa for three runs in the top of the seventh.
 
Lorusso matched LaSorsa zero for zero, meanwhile.  He allowed the leadoff batters to reach base in each of the first two innings, but each time the Wildcats turned an inning-ending double play to prevent a St. John's rally.  After giving up consecutive singles to open the bottom of the third, Lorusso retired 11 of the final 14 batters he faced the rest of the way.  Only two Red Storm base runners reached as far as second base from the fourth through eighth innings. 
 
With his pitching outing likely done after throwing 96 pitches over the first six innings, Lorusso helped himself leading off the top of the seventh inning with a double to right-center for what was then the game's first extra-base hit for either side.  Senior catcher Doug deMarrais (Bernardsville, N.J.) walked with one out and O'Neill stepped in against LaSorsa with two men on and the potential go-ahead run in scoring position. 
 
O'Neill did more than simply give Villanova the lead.  He jumped on the first pitch from LaSorsa and drove it over the fence in left field for a three-run home run and his first collegiate long ball.  It was the first home run allowed all year by LaSorsa, who was facing his 239^th batter of the season.  The veteran lefty entered the game with a 1.08 ERA and had allowed just six earned runs over 50.0 innings pitched in his first nine outings. 
 
There was more to come after O'Neill's blast.  McNary walked with one out in the top of the eighth inning and sophomore center fielder Chris Rotondo (Redding, Conn.) followed with a triple to the gap in right-center to extend the lead to 4-0, and Lorusso's run-scoring groundout against relief pitcher Sam Lara made it a five-run advantage for the visitors.  LaSorsa wound up being charged with four hits and five earned runs while walking three and striking out seven in 7 1/3 innings.
 
O'Neill finished the day 2-for-4, while Rotondo, Lorusso and Radvany had one hit apiece.  McNary was on base twice with a pair of walks, while junior right fielder Ryan Toohers (Florham Park, N.J.) drew a ninth inning walk to extend his career-best on-base streak to 22 consecutive games. 
 
The tone of the game was set in the early innings by the Wildcats early double plays and later by Lorusso escaping a jam in the bottom of the third.  St. John's had runners at the corners with only one out in the third inning after singles Sean McGeehan and Ryan Hogan, followed by a flyout to left-center by Brandon Bossard which advanced the lead runner to third.  That turned over the batting order for the Red Storm, but Lorusso struck out leadoff batter Mike Antico and number two hitter Carson Bartels in succession to end the inning and the scoring threat. 
 
Lorusso has been a fixture in the Villanova lineup this season and has worked his way into an increased role on the mound early in the BIG EAST season.  He has started 18 games at third base, three at first base and nine as the designated hitter this season, while also batting in the lineup and staying in as the designated hitter in all four of his starts on the mound. 
 
The victory for the Wildcats was their third straight in BIG EAST series openers.  Villanova previously won the first game of its home series against Seton Hall and Georgetown in the last two weeks.  This season marks the first time since 1995 that the Wildcats have won the opening game of each of their three series against league opponents. 
 
Sophomore reliever Cameron Mathes (Broomall, Pa.) struck out two in a scoreless seventh inning in relief of Lorusso, while staff ace Jimmy Kingsbury (Phoenixville, Pa.) recorded the last six outs to close out the win.  Kingsbury allowed an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth inning on an RBI single by Hogan, but then got Bossard to foul out to first to end the game.
 
This week's series is being played from Thursday through Saturday to accommodate the Easter holiday, and Friday's game will be played at SUNY College at Old Westbury beginning at 1 p.m.  The teams return to Jack Kaiser Stadium on the St. John's campus for the series finale on Saturday afternoon.