Will Reiner finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, and Pat O'Neill chipped in with two hits, but The Citadel scored two runs in the ninth for a walk-off 8-7 victory over Villanova on Friday.
Danny Wilkinson surrendered four runs over five innings for Villanova. He also issued five walks while scattering four hits, though he did collect eight strikeouts.
O'Neill scored Villanova's first run of the afternoon in the opening frame, scampering home on an errant throw. The Bulldogs answered in the bottom of the first with three runs and added another run in the second.
The Wildcats moved ahead with a 7-5 lead in the eighth via a four-run frame highlighted by a two-run double by Reiner and a Chris Rotondo RBI-single. The Bulldogs battled back, scoring a run in their half of the eighth and a pair in the ninth to secure the walk-off victory.
Brandon Siegenthaler entered the game with a runner on first and one out in the ninth, but he surrendered three hits allowing the winning run to score. Jonathan Cole was saddled with the loss.
The loss knocked the Wildcats to 0-4 on the season, and the club is hitting just .191 for the season.
The two clubs will resume their three-game set with another contest on Saturday. Cole Patten will start for the Wildcats, aiming to build off a solid outing last weekend against Pepperdine where he tossed 7 2/3 innings while not surrendering an earned run while collecting six strikeouts.
