Villanova was a swing away from forcing extra innings. Instead, it left Florida with a series loss.
FIU edged the Wildcats, 4-3, on a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth Sunday, closing out the three-game set at FIU Baseball Stadium.
Villanova (1-2) and FIU traded momentum throughout a tightly contested finale that contrasted sharply with the first two games of the series.
Both teams were quiet early in what developed into a pitchers’ duel. Graduate left-hander Carsten Finnvold made his Villanova debut and struck out three over three innings, allowing one run on four hits. Senior Graham Moore entered in the fourth and worked out of a jam, limiting the damage and keeping the Wildcats within striking distance.
The scoring began in the fourth inning.
Senior Aidan Barry singled to left, driving in Brayden Leonard to give Villanova a brief 1-0 lead. FIU answered in the bottom half to tie the game at 1-1.
The back-and-forth continued into the late innings. After the Panthers tied the game again, senior Collin Quintano delivered another big swing off the bench. Pinch-hitting in the seventh, Quintano launched a home run to left field, his second in as many games, putting Villanova back in front, 2-1.
FIU responded once more, connecting on a two-run homer later in the inning to claim its first lead of the afternoon at 3-2.
Villanova showed resilience in the ninth. With FIU holding a one-run edge, Michael Whooley put the ball in play and reached on an error that allowed Mark Gialluisi to score and tie the game at 3-3.
But the Panthers had the final answer.
In the bottom of the ninth, FIU loaded the bases and secured the win on a sacrifice fly by Doeschot, handing the Wildcats a 4-3 defeat and the series loss.
Villanova finished with five hits and drew six walks but stranded nine runners. Quintano’s homer accounted for the Wildcats’ lone extra-base hit. Roventini added a hit and a stolen base, while Barry recorded his 24th career RBI with his fourth-inning single.
On the mound, Jack Chavez allowed two runs in 1 1/3 innings, and Jeremiah Holder (0-1) was charged with the deciding run after tossing 2 1/3 innings in relief.
Despite the loss, the Wildcats saw encouraging signs from their pitching staff. They held FIU to four runs and 10 hits in a game that was tied for six innings.
Villanova will look to regroup Friday when it travels to Nashville to face Lipscomb in a three-game series at Dugan Field.
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