MERION STATION, Pa.—In the 141^st all-time meeting between the teams, Villanova (10-2) held on by the slimmest of margins in a back-and-forth contest and edged Saint Joseph's (5-3) by a final score of 8-7 at Smithson Field on Thursday afternoon. Sophomore closer Danny Wilkinson (Scotch Plains, N.J.) recorded the final five outs for his sixth save of the season and stranded the bases loaded in both the eighth and ninth innings to preserve the win. The result makes it 10 wins in a row for the Wildcats, whose last 10-game winning streak came in 1995.
 
Fifth-year senior Ryan Toohers (Florham Park, N.J.) went 4-for-5 and was one of five hitters in the Villanova lineup to have multi-hit games. The run-scoring single by Toohers with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning extended the Wildcats lead to 8-5 and ultimately wound up being the game-winning run when the Hawks tacked on two runs in the bottom of the ninth and had the potential tying and winning runs in scoring position before Wilkinson finally shut the door. Saint Joseph's stranded 13 runners on base in the game, including nine over the last four innings.
 
Senior center fielder Chris Rotondo (Redding, Conn.) had two hits and drove in three runs, including a go-ahead two-run double in the top of the second inning and later a go-ahead RBI triple in the sixth inning. Junior third baseman Nick Lorusso (Monroe, Conn.), junior shortstop Dylan McNary (Jefferson, Mass.) and junior catcher Will Reiner (Darien, Conn.) had two hits apiece and Villanova finished the day with a season-high 13 hits to go along with seven walks. Nine different hitters reached base safely at least once on the day.
 
This was one of those games that was destined to come down to the final out. The two times combined to send 93 batters to the plate, strand 24 runners on base and throw 352 pitches in a contest that lasted for nearly three-and-a-half ours. Wilkinson got Luca Trigiani to pop up to second on a 1-2 pitch to end the game. He leads the BIG EAST in saves this season and his sixth of the year tied him for fourth nationally pending the results of other games played Thursday afternoon and evening.
 
Wilkinson entered the game with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the eighth inning and the Wildcats clinging to an 8-5 lead. The first batter he faced was the same hitter he ended the game, as Wilkinson retired Trigiani on a shallow fly to center which prevented any of the three base runners from advancing. He then struck out Andrew Cossetti on five pitches to end the inning. Cossetti drove in four runs and had hit a go-ahead three-run homer back in the fifth inning when the Hawks took the lead (4-3) for the second time in the game.
 
Leadoff singles by Luke Zimmerman and Nate Thomas in the bottom of the ninth inning immediately set the table for Saint Joseph's and brought the potential tying run to the plate, but Wilkinson struck out Brandon Drapeau and Tim Cavanaugh in succession to get the Hawks down to their final out. Liam Bendo then lofted a double to left-center which brought home one run, pinch hitter Travis Rinker walked to load the bases and leadoff hitter Jake Artz walked to force in a run and make the score 8-7 before Trigiani made the final out.
 
Wilkinson was the second Villanova pitcher of the game to inherit the bases loaded with one out. Senior reliever Mike Schwartz (Merrick, N.Y.) came on with the bases full in the bottom of the sixth inning and the Wildcats leading 5-4 at that point. He retired two straight batters on fly balls to end the inning, although the first was a sacrifice fly by Artz which tied the score at 5-5.
 
Freshman starting pitcher Devin Rivera (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) made his first collegiate start and looked sharp over 4 2/3 innings. He scattered seven hits to 20 batters faced but walked none and struck out four, including Trigiani with two men on in the bottom of the fifth inning. He departed the game with a 3-1 lead before Cossetti's three-run homer turned the tables and gave the Hawks a short-lived lead.
 
There were two outs and nobody on in the top of the sixth inning when sophomore AJ Hansen (Collegeville, Pa.) pinch hit, walked and stole second to start what wound up being a two-run rally. He advanced to third on Reiner's infield single to second, then scored the tying run (4-4) when the ball got away from the second baseman. Rotondo followed with an RBI triple to right to give the Wildcats the lead.
 
Saint Joseph's pushed home a run against Rivera in the bottom of the first inning to grab an early 1-0 advantage, but McNary and freshman left fielder Anthony Schooley (Marlton, N.J.) delivered consecutive one-out singles in the top of the second inning to get the Villanova offense going. Schooley's single up the middle was the first hit of his collegiate career and Reiner followed with a groundout to first that advanced the runners to second and third with two away. A double to left-center by Rotondo put the Wildcats in front 2-1, while an RBI triple by Toohers one inning later made the score 3-1 in the third.
 
After the Hawks tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, Monroe walked and Toohers singled to open the top of the seventh. Freshman left fielder Cameron Hassert (Longmont, Colo.) bunted into a fielder's choice, but the runners were safe all-around on a muffed throw at third base and the bases were loaded with nobody out. Consecutive bases-loaded walks to senior second baseman Pat O'Neill (Eagleville, Pa.) and McNary forced in two runs which restored the Villanova lead at 7-5. A called third strike and then a line drive double play prevented what could have been a much bigger inning.
 
Ian McCole started for Saint Joseph's and allowed five runs on nine hits while walking one and striking out seven over 5 2/3 innings. Three relivers for the Hawks combined to walk six and strike out two over the final 3 1/3 innings, with Mike Falco (1-1, 1.69 ERA) going 1 1/3 innings in relief of McCole and taking the loss.
 
The teams meet against on Friday at 3 p.m. at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth before returning to Smithson Field for a Saturday afternoon contest.
 
NOTES: Villanova leads the all-time series with Saint Joseph's by a 94-43-4 margin … The teams first played each other in 1920 and had faced each other every season from 1954 through 2019 before not meeting for the first time in 67 years during the abbreviated 2020 season … Thursday's contest was the 22^nd one-run game in the all-time series and the teams are 11-11 in such games … Villanova is 7-8 all-time at Smithson Field … Rotondo's triple was the 10^th of his career and ties him for fourth place on the Wildcats career list with Tyler Sciacca (2009-13) and Todd Czinege (2014-17) … Ahead of that trio are James Dolbier (2005-08) and Matt Fleishman (2010-12) who are tied for second in school history with 11 career triples … Wilkinson recorded the 10^th save of his career in only his 14^th career appearance … The 10 saves are tied for eighth in school history with Matt Meurer (2012-14), one behind Chris Haggarty (2011-15) in seventh place … Wilkinson's six saves this season are tied for 12^th on the program's single-season list.