BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Villanova University baseball team fell to Florida Atlantic, 11-5, on Saturday afternoon at FAU Baseball Stadium. The Wildcats drop to 2-5 on the season following the defeat.
Despite multiple scoring opportunities and a pair of late pushes, a seven-run sixth inning by Florida Atlantic proved to be enough for the Owls. WILDCATS STRIKE FIRST
Villanova broke through in the top of the third inning with a two-run frame to grab early momentum.
JoJo Montgomery sparked the rally with a single through the right side and promptly stole second. Lawrence Hotaling followed with an RBI double to right field to plate Montgomery and give the Wildcats a 1-0 edge. After Austin Lemon moved Hotaling to third, Michael Whooley lifted a sacrifice fly to left to make it 2-0. OWLS RESPOND WITH THE LONG BALL
Florida Atlantic answered immediately in the bottom half of the third. After two hit batters reached, Nick Romano launched a three-run homer to right field to flip the score to 3-2.
The Owls added an unearned run in the fifth following a fielding error and an RBI single down the right field line, extending their lead to 4-2. SIXTH-INNING SWING
The game turned decisively in the bottom of the sixth.
Florida Atlantic capitalized on a string of singles, hit batters, a wild pitch, and a throwing error to plate seven runs in the inning. The Wildcats made a pitching change early in the frame, but the Owls strung together six hits during the rally to stretch the advantage to 11-2. LATE LIFE FROM VILLANOVA
Villanova showed resilience in the eighth inning.
Lemon singled and Whooley walked to set the table before John Freitag delivered a two-run double to right-center, trimming the deficit to 11-4. Freitag finished with two RBIs on the afternoon.
The Wildcats added one more in the ninth. Trent Toole worked a pinch-hit walk and eventually came around to score on Whooley's second sacrifice fly of the game.
Villanova finished with six hits on the afternoon. Hotaling, Quintano, and Freitag each recorded doubles, while Montgomery added a stolen base. INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2 – Michael Whooley sacrifice flies, driving in a pair of runs without recording a hit.
2 – John Freitag RBIs, including a two-run double in the eighth inning.
3 – Villanova doubles on the afternoon (Freitag, Hotaling, Quintano).
1 – Stolen base by JoJo Montgomery, who also scored the Wildcats' first run.