Baseball Drops Midweek Matchup at Miami (FL)

Box Score CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Villanova University baseball team fell, 12-2, in eight innings against Miami on Wednesday night (March 5) at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Villanova (6-5) was held scoreless in the top of the first, Miami (11-3) posted four runs behind a pair of two-run home runs.
 
Reliever Graham Moore set the Hurricanes down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the second inning. Then, in the top of the third, freshman JoJo Montgomery reached on a infield single and came around to score, cutting Miami’s lead to 4-1.
 
The ‘Canes responded with a two-run bottom of the third inning, which included a solo home run by Bobby Marsh. Then, after the Wildcats were set down 1-2-3 in the top of the fourth, Miami added another run in the bottom half of the inning, growing its lead to 7-1.
 
Aidan Barry led off the fifth inning by getting hit by a pitch and stealing second. He then advanced to third on a groundout and scored on an infield single by Austin Lemon, cutting Villanova’s deficit to 7-2.
 
Both teams were held scoreless in the sixth inning. Freshman Jack Chavez made a strong appearance out of the bullpen, going 2.2 scoreless innings with just two hits and one walk. He also struck out three, including preseason All-American Daniel Cuvet.
 
When Chavez was replaced in the bottom of the seventh by CJ Furey, Miami added to its lead with a two-run home run by Derek Williams.
 
Then, in the bottom of the eighth, Dorian Gonzalez Jr. hit a three-run home run to give Miami a 10-run lead and end the game early. The Hurricanes won, 12-2.
 
Starter Reese Lumpkin earned the win for Miami, improving to 2-0. JP Podgorski received the loss, moving his record to 0-2 on the season.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• With a single in the top of the fifth inning, Lemon has reached base in 11 straight games to start the season.
• With two hits, shortstop Tyler Shaw posted his first multi-hit game as a Wildcat.
• Chavez’s strong outing was his second scoreless appearance of the season. He threw 1.2 innings against then No. 2-ranked Virginia on Feb. 15, giving up only one hit.

 
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will remain in the Sunshine State for a three-game series against South Florida at the USF Baseball Stadium in Tampa, Fla this weekend. Friday’s game (March 7) will start at 6:30 p.m., Saturday’s game will begin at 2 p.m. and Sunday’s game will start at 1 p.m. All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+.