Villanova built an eight-run afternoon the hard way — and watched it slip away just as quickly.
The Wildcats erupted for six runs in the sixth inning to seize control, but Lipscomb answered with a furious rally and handed Villanova a 9-8 loss Saturday at Ken Dugan Field.
Villanova (—) trailed 2-0 after the first inning before gradually working its way back. The Wildcats scratched across a run on a Lipscomb error, and Mark Gialluisi delivered an RBI single to right field to score Collin Quintano and tie the game.
Jack Kelley steadied things on the mound after the rocky first, limiting damage over five innings while striking out four. Villanova’s defense helped hold the Bison scoreless from the second through the fifth, setting the stage for a breakout inning.
The sixth changed everything.
Gialluisi opened the frame with another RBI knock to give Villanova its first lead. Austin Lemon followed with a two-run double, and Brayden Leonard ripped a two-run double of his own to extend the surge. Carter Richey capped the rally with an RBI single, pushing the Wildcats in front, 8-2.
For a moment, it felt decisive.
It wasn’t.
Lipscomb responded immediately with five runs in the bottom half of the inning, three coming with two outs. A two-run double keyed the rally, and suddenly the margin shrank to one.
The Bison tied it in the seventh on a single to center, then manufactured the go-ahead run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly.
Villanova finished with nine hits, including multi-hit efforts from Lemon, Gialluisi and JoJo Montgomery. Lemon and Leonard each drove in two runs during the pivotal sixth.
But the bullpen couldn’t fully contain Lipscomb’s counterpunch. Will Parkinson took the loss after allowing two runs — one earned — over two innings.
After fireworks one night earlier in an extra-inning win, Villanova found itself on the other side of a late-inning swing Saturday — proof again that momentum in February can turn quickly.
The Wildcats head to Florida Atlantic next weekend looking to regroup.
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