Box Score PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – Villanova scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to rally for a 5-4 victory against Saint Peter's in non-conference baseball action at the Big Five Baseball Bash on Saturday.
Jon Kristoffersen (Jefferson, N.J./Jefferson Township) paced the Peacocks (2-11) with a hit, two RBIs and a run scored. Jim Smith (Hatfield, Pa./North Penn) and Nick Henriquez (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) each added a hit and an RBI in the loss.
Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth, Adam Goss led off the inning by being hit with a pitch and came around to score on Max Beermann's RBI triple to right field to tie the game. Beermann then scored on a wild pitch to give the Wildcats (5-11) the victory.
Connor Jones fueled Villanova with two hits, two RBIs and a run scored. Beermann added two hits, two runs scored and an RBI in the winning effort.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early 3-0 advantage only to see Saint Peter's take the lead with four runs in the eighth before Villanova won the contest with two runs in the last frame.
Jones got the Wildcats started in the first with a two-run homer. Eric Lowe plated the third run in the opening frame on an RBI bunt base hit for a 3-0 advantage.
Villanova maintained the three-run lead until the Peacocks posted four runs in the eighth to take a one-run margin. Saint Peter's loaded the bases after Sean Henry (Brick, N.J./Brick Township) walked, Nick Cardamone (Freehold, N.J./Freehold Township) singled to left center and Ariel Ramirez (San Domingo, Dominican Republic/Babeque) was hit by the pitch to load the bases with no outs. Kristoffersen plated Henry and Cardamone on a two-run single to center. Kyle Grimes (Iselin, N.J./John F. Kennedy Memorial) singled to load the bases for the second time in the inning before Smith plated Ramirez with an RBI single up the middle to tie the game at 3. Henriquez gave the Peacocks a 4-3 lead with a sacrifice fly to center to bring home Kristoffersen with the first out of the inning. The Wildcats got out of the jam with a pop up and a groundout and then won the contest with two runs in the bottom of the ninth.
Frank Morris (Levittown, Pa./Harry S. Truman [Seton Hall]) allowed three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts in six innings of work. Eric Mozeika (Secaucus, N.J./High Tech) came in the ninth and took the loss.
Saint Peter's returns to action on Sunday with a doubleheader against Temple in the final day of the Big Five Baseball Bash. The two teams will play a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. at the Caravel Academy in Bear, Del.
