Collin Quintano
Sideline Photos
3
Villanova VU 21-26, 5-13 BIG EAST
6
Winner St. John's SJ 27-21, 11-7 BIG EAST
Villanova VU
21-26, 5-13 BIG EAST
3
Final
6
St. John's SJ
27-21, 11-7 BIG EAST
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Villanova VU 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 4 1
St. John's SJ 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 X 6 11 0

W: Batuyios (2-0) L: Olsen, Bobby (1-5)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Late Comeback Effort Falls Short as Wildcats Drop Series Finale to St. John’s

QUEENS, N.Y. – The Villanova University baseball team dropped its series finale at St. John's, 6-3, on Sunday (May 11) at Jack Kaiser Stadium.
 
Shortstop Michael Whooley drove in a run on a sacrifice fly and extended his on-base streak to 27 games with a base hit in the sixth inning. Meanwhile, first baseman Collin Quintano accounted for most of Villanova's runs with a two-run double in the ninth.
 
JP Podgorski and Alec Sachais were solid out of the bullpen for the Wildcats (21-26, 5-13 BIG EAST), allowing a combined five hits and no earned runs over the game's final six innings.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
For the third straight game of the series, St. John's (27-21, 11-7 BIG EAST) scored at least four unanswered runs in the first two innings of play. This time, the early spurt for the Red Storm came by way of a three-run home run by Jared Beebe in the first inning. Jackson Tucker tacked on an RBI single in the second, bringing the St John's lead to 4-0 after two frames.
 
To lead off the top of the third, JoJo Montgomery drilled a single through the left side, representing Villanova's first baserunner of the game. Montgomery advanced to third behind a hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice bunt, setting up Whooley to drive him in on a sacrifice fly and cut the deficit to 4-1.
 
The Johnnies immediately answered in the bottom of the third with a sacrifice fly of their own, bringing the score to 5-1.
 
Both teams were held scoreless over the next four and a half frames. As Podgorski and Sachais held St. John's in check, the Wildcats' offense could muster only two hits against the Red Storm starter Chris Batuyios and reliever Louis Marinaro.
 
In the bottom of the eighth inning, St. John's tacked one more run on to its lead. Jayder Raifstanger advanced to third on an error and later scored on a wild pitch, accounting for his team's lone unearned run of the day.
 
Villanova attempted to mount a comeback against St. John's closer Jed Boyle in the top of the ninth. Second baseman Brayden Leonard reached on a hit-by-pitch to lead off the inning before designated hitter John Freitag drove a double down the left field line. The hit put runners on second and third for Quintano, who doubled into left to score both baserunners and cut the Wildcats' deficit to 6-3.
 
However, Villanova's comeback bid would end there as the next three batters were retired in order, sealing the 6-3 win for St. John's. Batuyios improved to 2-0 with the win, while Villanova starter Bobby Olsen fell to 1-5 with the loss.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
  • Whooley's active on-base streak of 27 is the longest by a Villanova player since Jeremy Hunt in 2006.
  • Whooley and Leonard are the only two Wildcats to start and play in all 47 games this season.
 
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will host Saint Joseph's in the team's final midweek contest of the season on Tuesday (May 13) at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth. First pitch is scheduled for 3:25 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on FloSports.
 
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