MERION STATION, Pa. – The Saint Joseph's baseball team extended its winning streak to six games with an 8-6 win over Villanova at Smithson Field on Tuesday afternoon.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Saint Joseph's (24-23) took the lead in the bottom of the first.  Joey Gale led off the game with a single, stole second base, and then scored from second on a wild pitch to get the Hawks on the board.
 
• Later in the inning, Dean Bergmann was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to force in a run before Carter Jagiela followed with a walk to extend the lead to three.
 
• Villanova (16-32) drew back within a run in the second on a two-run home run by Aidan Barry.
 
• Gale then reached with one out in the second on a dropped third strike, stole second, and came in to score on a single by Paul Kokol to make it a 4-2 game.
 
• Barry singled in another run for the Wildcats in the fourth before a two-out, two-run, ground-rule double by Jason Neff put Villanova on top, 5-4, after five.
 
• The Hawks nosed back in front in the bottom of the sixth after Ryan Picollo led off the inning with a titanic home run to left center.  Jagiela would later be hit by a pitch before Max Hitman singled and Nick Senior hit into a fielder's choice that scored Jagiela with the go-ahead run.
 
• The lead would be short-lived, as Josue Valdez hit into a fielder's choice of his own in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 6-6.
 
• SJU answered immediately, however, as a bases-loaded single by Jagiela scored Ryan Weingartner and a sacrifice fly by Hitman scored Picollo to put the Hawks on top, 8-6, through seven.
 
• Villanova brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but Sam Davies and Alec Rodriguez combined to erase the threat and seal the win.
 
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Noah Tincher struck out two in an inning and a third of hitless shutout relief to earn the win, while Stephen Turzai ceded two runs on two hits and a walk in one inning to take the loss.  Rodriguez retired the only batter he faced to notch the save.
 
• Brandon Drapeau was the only Hawk with multiple hits, while Jagiela drove in a pair of runs on the day.  Gale, Weingartner, and Picollo each scored twice.
 
• Neither Bergmann nor Kokol had been hit by a pitch in their careers; both were hit twice in the game.  Bergmann also made his first start and notched the first RBI of his career.
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks close out the regular season with a three-game series against George Washington.  The opener is set for 3:00 p.m. Thursday at Smithson Field.