PISCATAWAY, NJ – For the second-straight day, Villanova
thrived in its role as the spoiler, edging Rutgers, 2-1, this afternoon at
the Class of ’53 Complex. OJ DeChristofano (Pequannock, NJ), making his
first start of the season, allowed just three hits and two runs in 7.2 innings
for Rutgers – one of which scored following his departure. His Villanova
counterpart, Mike Loree, was better however, taking a shutout into the ninth
for his sixth win of the season. RU’s loss, its fifth-straight in BIG
EAST play, drops its record to 30-22 overall and 13-10 in league action.
Neither team mustered much offense in the early going, as DeChristofano set
down the 11 batters he faced, fanning five, and Loree allowd just one single,
a walk and two hit batters as the hurlers completed four innings without allowing
a run. In the fifth, VU first baseman Adrian Schau turned on a fastball and
lofted a home run down the line in left, giving the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. From
that point, DeChristofano gritted his way through the next two innings, keeping
the score at 1-0.
Rutgers’ offense remained stagnant in the middle innings, putting the
leadoff hitter on in both the fifth and sixth inning, but failed to score.
In the sixth, Graig Badger (Union, NJ) led off with a single and moved to second
on a sacrifice by Jeff Grose (Iselin, NJ), but Loree struck out Jeff Frazier
(Toms River, NJ) for the second out and escaped the threat.
In the seventh, DeChristofano retired the first two hitters before issuing
a walk to leadoff hitter Kris Malloy. Already 3.2 innings further than he has
pitched all season, head coach Fred Hill called to the bullpen for Tom Malafronte
(Somerville, NJ), with RU trailing 1-0. Molloy stole second and moved to third
on a wild pitch before Angelo Petracca dumped a two-strike single into shallow
left field to make the score 2-0.
Rutgers’ Rich Canuso (Monroe, NJ) gave Rutgers hope in the ninth, leading
off with a monstrous home run, his ninth of the season, to cut the lead to
2-1 against a tiring Loree. He battled back to induce a flyout from Colin Gaynor
(Toms River, NJ), a well-struck lineout from Nick Cerulo (Woodbridge, NJ),
and a groundout from Tim Querns (Cherry Hill, NJ), who had entered the game
as a defensive replacement.
DeChristofano (0-1) allowed three hits and two runs in 7.2 innings, walking
two and striking out five. RU actually out-hit Villanova, 5-4, as five different
players reached safely. Cory Rodriguez (Bridgewater, NJ) was 1-for-2 with a
walk in three plate appearances for the Scarlet Knights.
RU now pins its long-shot hopes for a BIG EAST Tournament berth on senior
Shaun Parker (Mt. Holly, NJ) and the Pittsburgh Panthers. Rutgers needs a win
tomorrow over the Wildcats and a three-game sweep from Pittsburgh over St.
John’s to earn the fourth and final playoff spot for the BIG EAST Tournament,
which opens on Thursday in Bridgewater.
Rutgers and Villanova will wrap up their series, and the regular season, at
noon tomorrow. RU’s three seniors – Badger, Cerulo and Parker – will
be honored prior to the start of the contest, at approximately 11:45.
** 2004 RUTGERS BASEBALL **
Villanova at Rutgers
May 22, 2004 at Piscataway, NJ (Class of 53 Complex)
Villanova 2 (30-20-1,9-13) Rutgers 1 (30-22,13-10)
Player AB R H BI Player AB R H BI
--------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
Molloy, Kris cf............ 3 1 0 0 BADGER, Graig 2b........... 4 0 1 0
Petracca, Angelo 3b........ 4 0 1 1 GROSE, Jeff lf............. 3 0 1 0
Poydenis, Danny dh......... 3 0 1 0 FRAZIER, Jeff rf........... 4 0 0 0
Newbold, Brian lf.......... 4 0 0 0 CANUSO, Rich 1b............ 3 1 1 1
Schau, Adrian 1b........... 3 1 1 1 GAYNOR, Colin dh........... 3 0 0 0
Trotta, Brian ss........... 4 0 0 0 CERULO, Nick cf............ 4 0 1 0
Cirone, Frank rf........... 3 0 1 0 RODRIGUEZ, Cory 3b......... 2 0 1 0
Wendle, Andy c............. 3 0 0 0 QUERNS, Tim 3b............ 1 0 0 0
Cardillo, Mark 2b.......... 3 0 0 0 MILLER, Jeff c............. 2 0 0 0
Loree, Mike p.............. 0 0 0 0 GROVER, Jason ss........... 2 0 0 0
DECHRISTOFANO, OJ p........ 0 0 0 0
MALAFRONTE, Tom p......... 0 0 0 0
Totals..................... 30 2 4 2 Totals..................... 28 1 5 1
Score by Innings R H E
-------------------------------------------
Villanova........... 000 010 010 - 2 4 0
Rutgers............. 000 000 001 - 1 5 2
-------------------------------------------
E - Rodriguez 2. DP - VU 1; Rutgers 1. LOB - VU 4; Rutgers 6. 2B - Poydenis, D.. HR
- Schau; Canuso(9). HBP - Canuso; Gaynor. SH - Grose(8); Miller. SB - Molloy;
Cerulo(12). CS - Schau; Cirone.
Villanova IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB AB BF FO GO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loree, Mike W,6-2......... 9.0 5 1 1 2 5 0 0 2 0 28 34 10 10
Rutgers IP H R ER BB SO WP BK HP IBB AB BF FO GO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DECHRISTOFANO, OJ L,0-2... 7.2 3 2 2 2 5 0 0 0 0 26 28 4 12
MALAFRONTE, Tom ........... 1.1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4 5 1 1
WP - Malafronte. HBP - by Loree (Gaynor); by Loree (Canuso).
Strikeouts - Molloy; Petracca 2; Newbold 2; Wendle; Badger; Frazier; Gaynor 2;
Miller. Walks - Molloy; Poydenis, D.; Schau; Rodriguez; Grover.
Umpires -
Start: 12:00 pm Time: 2:10 Attendance: 300
