STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Stony Brook right-hander Sam Turcotte and Villanova left-hander Tyler Arella took a scoreless pitching duel into the sixth inning on Saturday.

The Wildcats then broke up Turcotte's shutout bid with a two-run frame and held on for a 2-1 win at Joe Nathan Field.

John Tuccillo's two-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth had pulled Stony Brook within a run.

And in the eighth, the Seawolves placed the tying run at third base with one out as Evan Fox singled and advanced two bases on a Johnny Decker sacrifice bunt when Villanova left third base unmanned.

However, Brandon Siegenthaler, who succeeded Long Island's Arella on the mound for the seventh, retired freshman Jack Carr via strikeout. And after an intentional walk to Matt Brown-Eiring, Siegenthaler also fanned pinch-hitter Brad Hipsley to preserve Villanova's one-run lead.

In the ninth, the Seawolves placed the tying and winning runs in scoring position. Leadoff batter Evan Giordano reached on a throwing error and advanced to second on John LaRocca's sacrifice bunt. After John Tuccillo reached via catcher's interference, both advanced on a passed ball. But they were stranded there.

Kyle Johnson tossed three scoreless relief innings for the Seawolves to keep them in position to win.

The matchup was a late replacement for a four-game weekend America East series against Maine, which was affected by COVID protocols.

The teams meet again on Sunday at 2 p.m., this time in Pennsylvania.