PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – The Butler baseball team took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning on Sunday afternoon, but the Wildcats would steal the win by scoring three runs during their final at-bats. The win moves Villanova to 13-19 overall (2-1 BIG EAST) while Butler falls to 9-22 (1-2 BIG EAST).

Chris Marras delivered the first big hit of the game for the Bulldogs as his single back up the middle of the diamond scored Michael Hartnagel and Drew Small. Butler would hold onto that 2-0 lead behind the strong start from pitcher Jeff Schank. Schank limited Villanova to just three hits over seven full innings. He struck out four and also walked four batters.

With the Wildcats on the ropes, Butler decided to put Zach Barnes on the hill for the six-out save opportunity. Barnes had some control issues early as he walked Max Beermann with one away and allowed the baserunner to move around to third after a wild pitch and passed ball. He found his groove however soon after by getting Kevin Jewitt to pop up and Donovan May to fly out.

Butler went down in order in the top of the ninth which quickly sent Barnes back to the mound. He faced a pinch hitter at the start of the inning and got him to ground out to the shortstop. The following batter would single up the middle and a costly BU error would put two on with just one out.

With the game starting to tighten up, Barnes would walk Adam Goss to load the bases and the game-changing play would follow as Emmanual Morris singled down the left field line to score two runs.

Butler decided to intentionally walk Preseason All-BIG EAST selection Todd Czinege, but they couldn't dodge Max Beermann's at-bat which resulted in the game-winning run. Beermann's fielder's choice to first base was muffed allowing him to reach safely and Goss to come around and score.

Two errors in the ninth inning led to the one-run setback in a game where Butler recorded one more hit than the home team. Six different Bulldogs came up with a single, highlighted by Marras and his two-RBI base knock.

The Bulldogs will look to bounce back during a midweek tilt at IPFW on Wednesday April 13. First pitch is scheduled for 3 PM.