March 18, 2005
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. - The Fairfield University baseball team fell to Villanova University 6-3, on Friday afternoon at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth Meeting, in the opening game of this weekend's Villanova Baseball Bash.
Villanova (8-4-1) received a solid start from Nick Allen (3-0) who pitched seven strong innings to notch his third win of the season. Allen had a no-hitter heading into the sixth inning, but junior Doug Anderson (Randolph, N.J./Delbarton) beat out a throw from shortstop for Fairfield's (0-9) first hit of the afternoon.
Anderson's infield single got things going for the Stags who were trailing 6-0 at that point of the game. Junior Jim Girolamo (Wayland, Mass./Wayland) started the rally for the Stags, after getting hit by an Allen pitch. Then Anderson's single put runners on first and second for the Stags.
That brought junior John Scaife (Ansonia, Conn./Ansonia) to the plate, where he laced a single up the middle scoring Girolamo. The next hitter for the Stags, was senior David Soucy (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) who singled to left plating Anderson.
Junior Tom Arpino (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) was the next batter up for the Stags, and he kept the hit parade going with a single up the middle of the infield, scoring Scaife. The rally ended when junior Dewey Raymond (Norwalk, Conn./Trinity Catholic) struck out.
The runs charge against Allen were the first earned runs he has given up this season, as he had a personal best 27-inning streak, without an earned run, including a no-hitter earlier this season.
Fairfield was able to load the bases in the top of the eighth inning, as Girolamo singled, and then Anderson walked, followed by a Scaife walk. But following a pitching change, Villanova was able to stop the rally, by retiring the next three hitters.
Villanova scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning, one in the second, one in the fourth, and two in the fifth.
Scaife finished the afternoon, 1-for-3 with a run batted in and a run scored, while Anderson went 1-for-3 with a run scored, for the Stags. Arpino and Soucy were both 1-for-4 with a run batted in.
Angelo Petracca, led Villanova at the plate going 3-for-4 with a run scored, and Jeremy Hunt went 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Alan Day was 1-for-2 with two runs scored, and a RBI.
The Villanova hitters got the better of junior Steven Tyburski (Feasterville, Pa./Holy Ghost Prep) (0-2), who gave up six runs, five earned on 11 hits and one walk in five innings of work. However, junior Dan Breen (Troy, N.Y./Troy) held the Wildcats scoreless for three innings of relief. He yielded one hit and two walks, while striking out one hitter.
In other action in the Villanova Baseball Bash, Saint Joseph's defeated Albany, 4-2, and Temple fell to Savannah State 12-9. Fairfield will travel to Norristown, Pa. for a 12 p.m. first pitch with the Hawks. Villanova will meet Savannah State on Saturday afternoon. Fairfield will close out their trip to the Philadelphia area, with Temple on Sunday at Ambler, Pa.
According to the Villanova website, snow is in the forecast for Sunday, and any changes to this weekend's schedule will be made available by calling the Wildcat Sports Hotline at 888-400-NOVA.
Villanova 6, Fairfield 3 (Mar 18, 2005 at Plymouth Meeting, Pa) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Fairfield........... 000 003 000 - 3 6 1 (0-9) Villanova........... 210 120 00X - 6 12 3 (8-4-1) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pitchers: Fairfield - Tyburski; Breen(6). Villanova - ALLEN; WENDLER(8); JANKOWSKI(8); GRODECKI(9). Win-ALLEN(3-0) Save-GRODECKI(3) Loss-Tyburski(0-2) T-2:43 A-111 WENDLER faced 3 batters in the 8th. Game: FFD318
