Villanova’s early momentum vanished quickly Saturday afternoon.
After jumping out to a three-run lead, the Wildcats surrendered 13 unanswered runs and fell to Florida International, 13-3, at FIU Baseball Stadium in the second game of the season-opening series.
Villanova (1-1) scored first for the second straight day and showed the same early energy that fueled Friday’s win.
Freshman Jack Roventini set the tone immediately. The center fielder worked a walk, stole second and third, and scored on a sacrifice fly by redshirt sophomore Austin Lemon in the opening inning. Roventini’s aggressiveness on the bases forced pressure on FIU’s defense and gave the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
An inning later, Villanova extended the advantage. Carter Richey singled to right, and senior Collin Quintano followed by driving a two-run home run over the wall, his first of the season and ninth of his career. The blast gave the Wildcats a 3-0 edge after two innings.
From there, the momentum shifted decisively.
FIU answered in the bottom of the second, beginning with a solo home run by Reyes. A two-run single by Rivera tied the game, and the Panthers continued to string together quality at-bats, scoring five more runs in the inning to take a 6-3 lead.
The Panthers broke the game open in the fourth. A three-run homer by Trivella highlighted a seven-run inning as FIU pushed its lead to 13-3. All 13 Panther runs came in the second and fourth innings.
Villanova managed just five hits and struck out 13 times but did not commit an error defensively. The Wildcats turned a double play and received steady relief work after the early damage.
Graduate right-hander Jack Kelley (0-1) took the loss, allowing six runs in 1 2/3 innings. JP Podgorski and CJ Furey followed in relief before sophomore Matthew Kahn steadied the game. Kahn struck out four over 2 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and no runs. Conor Smith and freshman Ryan Conrad, who made his collegiate debut, each added a scoreless inning to close the afternoon.
Roventini continued to provide a spark atop the lineup, drawing two walks and stealing three bases. Brayden Leonard added a stolen base as Villanova finished with four on the day.
Whooley and Lemon each collected hits, while Quintano accounted for two of the Wildcats’ three RBIs with his home run.
The loss evened the series at one game apiece and set up a rubber match Sunday at noon.
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