Villanova baseball had an exciting start to its preseason with a trip to Cooperstown, NY, home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The action-packed weekend, sponsored by a Villanova baseball alumnus, included a scrimmage at Binghamton University on Friday, a trip to the Hall of Fame on Saturday morning, and a preseason game against Le Moyne later in the day.
The weekend’s highlight was Villanova’s “Hall of Fame” performance in a 16-3 against Le Moyne. The game lasted 10 innings, despite the lopsided score, allowing both teams to unload their benches.
The Wildcats played their stars, along with testing out the new freshmen and transfers. Head coach Kevin Mulvey was generally satisfied with the team’s performance.
“It’s tough for me to single anyone out because of how well everyone played,” Mulvey said.
Villanova was strong on offense, recording 20 hits, including five home runs and five doubles. The defense and pitching dominated as well, allowing only three runs and collecting 18 total strikeouts on the day.
“We played very solid defense, and it was just an all-around great job by our guys,” Mulvey said.
The Wildcats are coming off a season in which they went 18-33 overall and 8-13 in conference, finishing fifth in the Big East. They finished last season with a series win against a competitive conference rival in Xavier.
Heading into the upcoming season, Villanova has lost some key players, including infielder Jack O’Reilly, who was dominant for the Wildcats in the past few years.
O’Reilly was one of the offensive leaders on the team last year. O’Reilly recorded nine home runs, 19 doubles and 43 RBIs with a .285 average while playing multiple positions on the field. He wrapped up his college career earning Philly-SIDA Academic All-Area honors: a prestigious award limited to 10 student-athletes that exemplifies his accomplishments on and off the field.
The Wildcats have lost several other core players, but Villanova is still in a promising position to start the fall. Graduate student catcher Jason Neff looks to be solid behind the plate. Neff is coming off a season where he batted .260 with 51 hits, nine home runs, and 43 RBIs.
Another returning player who will look to produce is junior infielder Michael Whooley. He batted .258 with five home runs and 31 RBIs last season.
Villanova also has recruited several freshmen along with players from the transfer portal. Some of these include freshman switch-hitter Austin Lemon and Holy Cross transfer Jake McElroy, who both played well in the outfield against Le Moyne. Some other new freshmen who have stood out are second basemen Brayden Leonard and pitcher JP Podgorski.
Although the Wildcats may be younger this season compared to recent years, there is much to look forward to this season. The ‘Cats will look to compete yet again in the tough Big East conference.
“I’m just excited for this group,” Mulvey said. “I think we have a lot of guys that have a team-first mentality. I think they’re hungry to win. I think they play together.”
Villanova’s next matchup is against Swarthmore this Saturday, Oct. 12, at its home field in Plymouth Meeting.
