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Port Charlotte, Fla. – Villanova starting pitcher Hunter Schryver tossed seven shutout innings to hand the University of Iowa baseball team a 10-1 defeat in their opening game of the Snowbird Baseball Classic at North Charlotte Regional Park.
Schryver, the BIG EAST Preseason Pitcher of the Year, allowed three hits and struck out nine en route to his first victory of the season. Iowa falls to 7-5 overall; Villanova improves to 2-10.
“He pitched a heck of a game, give him credit,” said UI head coach Rick Heller. “We had chances, but we missed a lot of fastballs and chased with two strikes. We also had a couple of errors… it was a sloppy game for us.”
Villanova grabbed the early lead against UI starter Nick Gallagher in the third inning via a Todd Czinege three-run home run, giving the Wildcats a 3-0 lead. The scoring continued in the fourth when Doug DeMarrais blasted a two-run shot to center, pushing the advantage to 5-0.
The Wildcats tacked on another run in the sixth, three in the seventh, and one in the ninth. Villanova had 13 hits on the day.
“Villanova played great today,” said Heller. “They beat us in every phase.”
Iowa avoided the shutout, pushing its lone run across in the ninth. Pinch hitter Austin Guzzo led off the inning with a walk before sophomore pinch-hitter Luke Farley singled to left field, giving the Hawkeyes life. Iowa got on the board via a Zach Fricke sacrifice fly.
“We had some guys come in late in the game that gave us some good pinch hits,” said Heller. “Unfortunately there weren’t many positives today.”
Gallagher (2-1) suffered the loss, giving up five runs on eight eights over five innings. Four other pitchers saw action, including freshman Grant Leonard and senior Sam Norman, who made their Hawkeye debuts.
Iowa returns to action Saturday, facing Bucknell at 10 a.m. (CT).
