Big East: Stretch Time Surprise

By Grant Tunkel - May 23, 2007

It's stretch time here at Keyspan Park with the score still 3-2 in favor of Villanova. Notre Dame pitcher David Phelps has struck out 8 Wildcat hitters, but his throwing error nearly cost his team another run. Phelps threw wildly to first on a pickoff attempt, allowing the runner to go to second. However, nifty defensive work by the Notre Dame shortstop saved a run. On a groundball deep in the hole and to his right, shortstop Brett Lilley fielded the ball cleanly and threw ahead of the advancing runner to gun him down for the second out. The next batter doubled, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd, but no runs scored.

We also had an impromptu military flyby with 1 out and Villanova at the plate, when what appeared to be 2 military helicopters flanked by 2 regular helicopters flew over the beach beyond the right field fence. The crowd was excited by this unexpected occurrence, and should get even more enjoyment out of the final 2.5 innings of this game.

3-2 Villanova, middle 7.