Baseball Drops Series Against Rider

The+Wildcats+only+won+their+first+of+three+games+against+Rider+this+weekend.

Courtesy of Villanova Athletics

The Wildcats only won their first of three games against Rider this weekend.

This past weekend, the baseball team took on Rider University in a three-game series, going 1-2 in the series. 

The Wildcats started off strong on Friday, winning a tight, 7-6 game. This ended an 11-game losing streak for Villanova, as it moved to 2-14 in the season going into Saturday’s games. 

In the win, junior SS/2B Cameron Hassert had a huge day at the plate. He finished the day 4-for-4, with a walk, four RBI and two runs. 

This standout performance included a unique inside-the-park homerun for Hassert, as well as a 2-RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning, which helped send the game to extra innings. 

The next inning would go on to finish in walk-off fashion, as senior catcher John Whooley hit a double to drive in the winning run. 

“Timely hitting,” coach Kevin Mulvey said. “Guys came through in the clutch when we needed it.” 

Villanova also impressed on the mound as senior pitcher Chic DeGaetano was able to throw a strong 5.1 innings in order to keep the Wildcats competitive in the game. 

DeGaetano finished with six strikeouts and no walks while allowing five hits and two earned runs. 

However, it was graduate pitcher Zach Camp who helped bring home the win, as he came in during the 10th inning to shut out Rider with a 1-2-3 inning, paving the way for the walk-off finish in the bottom half of the 10th.

While the win started off Villanova’s weekend strong, it struggled to carry the momentum from Friday’s win into the rest of the games, as it fell to Rider, 11-3, on Saturday in the second game, and 4-0 in the final game of the weekend. 

On Saturday, the standout player on offense was sophomore OF Shane Solari, who went 2-3 with one RBI. 

The only pitcher to allow no earned runs was freshman Luke Matta, who came in during the last inning and threw one strikeout and allowed one unearned run on one hit. 

These offensive woes continued in the Wildcats’ last game of the weekend, where they were shutout, despite Hassert continuing his hot streak for the offense going 2-3 with a walk. 

On the mound, junior Devin Rivera led the way with a strong start. He finished with one strikeout and one walk while allowing four hits and three earned runs across 5.1 innings.

“We had some good individual performances, we just need to link it up with others,” Mulvey said. “When we have opportunities to score, we have to cash in.” 

With the weekend against Rider now behind them, Villanova only has four more games before the Liberty Bell Classic, where they face off with the other teams in the Big East conference. 

Before the Classic, the Wildcats will head into this upcoming week of play with a 2-16 overall record, where they will take on Bucknell, followed by a three-game set at home this weekend against Iona.