QUEENS, N.Y. – Villanova made its way to the Big Apple to take on St. John's in game one of three in a BIG EAST series. A very back-and-forth game between the two teams with the lead consistently being stolen away from one another. The Wildcats rallied and ended up running away with the late 10-9 victory.
 
Graduate shortstop Craig Larsen and senior first baseman Jack O'Reilly lead the offensive charge for the 'Cats. Larsen went 3-for-5 with four RBI on the day. He hit a two RBI double in the top of the fourth to take the 3-2 lead for Villanova and a two RBI single in the top of the sixth to tie the score at 5-5. O'Reilly went 3-for-5 as well on the day hitting a double in the top of the first and the game winning two RBI single up the middle in the top of the ninth.
 
The combined efforts of senior pitcher Cole Vanderslice and graduate pitcher Sal Fusco saved the day on the mound for the Wildcats. Vanderslice tossed for one inning in the bottom of the eight striking out one and not allowing any hits or runs in to earn the win. Fusco came in to close the game out and struck out one to hold the Red Storm off for the team win.
 
The Red Storm struck first in the bottom of the first on an RBI sacrifice fly hit by Tate Ballestero.
 
Villanova answered back in the top of the second with the RBI double equalizer hit by Paul Cooke to score Will Reiner from third for the 1-1 score. St. John's reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the inning off a bases loaded RBI walk for the 2-1 advantage.
 
After a scoreless third inning Villanova stole the lead back in the top of the fourth. Collin Quintano kicked things off with a single up the middle followed by AJ Hansen and O'Reilly both walking to load the bases up. Larsen crushed a two RBI double for the 3-2 result.
 
St. John's was unwilling to give up the lead and took it back with a two RBI double of their own in the bottom of the fourth hit by Aaron Mann. Mann was brought in on the following play off an RBI single by Ballestero to extend the lead to 5-3 over the Wildcats.
 
No runs scored in the fifth with Villanova's bats getting hot in the top of the sixth. Hansen walked to get on followed by O'Reilly hitting a single to center field to move Hansen all the way to third. Larsen hits a rocket through the left side to score both Hansen and O'Reilly to tie the game at 5-5. John Whooley singled through the left side to advance Larsen to second and Larsen was scored by Solari off a short shot to left field for the 6-5 lead. The Villanova lead was short lived with David Glancy cranking a leadoff homer to begin the bottom of the inning to once again drive the score into a deadlock 6-6 score. The Red Storm regained the advantage scoring on a throwing error by the shortstop in a double play attempt to trail by one going into the seventh.
 
Villanova continued to fight back in the top of the seventh by bringing it to a 7-7 game with Quintano blasting long ball out to the left field wall, the left fielder made a great effort but couldn't make the catch, and Cooke scored on the play. The Red Storm forced their way back in the lead with Austin Machado hitting a single into right field to score one and another scoring due to an error by the right fielder on the same play for the 9-7 result.
 
The 'Cats battled back in the top of the ninth to once again pull ahead of the Red Storm. Michael Whooley and Quintano both walked, and Hansen was hit by pitch to load up the bases. M. Whooley scored on a wild pitch to make it a one run game. O'Reilly crushed a hard-hit ball up the middle to roll into the outfield and both Quintano and Hansen scored to take the lead back for the 10-9 result. The Wildcats held off the Red Storm to end the game with the 10-9 win.
 
"Great series win for the Wildcats on the road against a great opponent in St. John's. Feel great for the guys. Looking forward to tomorrow and hoping we can keep it rolling and collect another 'W' tomorrow," said head coach Kevin Mulvey. "Very impressed with the team's resiliency, to come back like that late and hold on to it was very exciting. Overall, very happy."

UP NEXT: The 'Cats return for the BIG EAST series finale at St. John's on Sunday May 7. First pitch is set for 1 pm.
 
 
Player Quotes
"Great game. It was great to have the big hit, but I want to shout out our whole lineup. We got tough outs, top to bottom, one through nine today, and we battled. That was an ugly game, but we love ugly games. Those are the ones that we need to win. So, it was a great team win. Onto the next." #36 Jack O'Reilly (First Baseman)
 
"I feel like I kept my composure pretty well. I can definitely always approve upon that. I'm glad that we, as a team, could secure the win. It was a big team effort, we battled back, always answered back when they scored." #47 Sal Fusco (Pitcher)
 
"Honestly, it just feels great to get the 'W'. We struggled early on there and it just feels so much better coming out on top." #16 Craig Larsen (Shortstop)