Despite splitting Saturday’s double header, this weekend proved to be one of the more productive in Villanova baseball history as the team took a three game series from Seton Hall and earned national recognition for its success.

In game one, the ‘Cats rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the bottom of the sixth to take the game 8-2.

Starter Nick Allen struck out seven and gave up only two hits in his six innings of work. The win was his fifth of the season, which leads the team.

‘Nova’s bats came alive in the bottom of the sixth. The ‘Cats loaded the bases on two walks and a base hit. Senior Alan Day tied the game on a single and from there the flood gates opened.

When the dust cleared, the Wildcats led 8-2 and junior Kris Molloy and freshman Derek Shunk each had two RBIs.

Senior closer Mike Grodecki came in to seal the win for the ‘Cats.

In game two, the Pirates got some vengeance at the expense of Villanova starter Mike Loree.

Two four-run innings proved to be more than enough for the Pirates as the Wildcats couldn’t get anything going offensively.

In the rubber match, solid pitching by Kevin Mulvey and Ted Aust combined with timely hitting by the offense spelled victory for the Wildcats.

Mulvey struck out a career-best nine batters while allowing only four hits in seven plus innings.

After trailing 1-0 in the second, the ‘Cats tied the score in the bottom of the second on an Andy Wendle single.

With the game tied at two in the sixth, the Wildcats plated two unearned runs on a throwing error and a Derek Shunk single.

This proved to be more than enough as the Seton Hall bats were held silent the rest of the way.

Aust pitched two plus scoreless innings for his second save of the year. Mulvey recorded the win to move to 4-0 on the season.

“Being from New Jersey, it tastes a little bit sweeter to beat a Catholic school from New Jersey like Seton Hall,” said Mulvey, a native of Parlin, N.J, and product of New Jersey Catholic high schools.

The win moved the ‘Cats to 19-8-1 on the season (6-4 Big East) and earned them a No. 5 ranking in this week’s Northeast Regional, the highest ranking in school history.

This weekend the team travels to Pittsburgh for a three-game series.