Villanova baseball went 2-1 against Long Island University (LIU) in a three-game weekend series from March 28 to March 30.
LIU took a 10-7 win in Friday’s series opener. But Villanova (15-11) won the series, with a dominating, 17-7 victory in seven innings on Saturday and a 3-1 win on Sunday.
“Great to get two wins,” head coach Kevin Mulvey said. “Proud of our guys and how they handled themselves, hopefully we can keep the momentum moving forward.”
Graduate pitcher Bobby Olsen got the start in game one. He went five innings, allowing five runs and striking out four.
LIU scored three runs in the first behind two doubles. The Sharks added two runs in the fifth and one in the seventh to lead, 6-0.
Villanova scored its first three runs of the game in the seventh on a double from freshman John Freitag, and sacrifice flies from freshman Brayden Leonard and freshman Austin Lemon.
In the eighth, LIU hit a three-run homer to go up, 9-3.
Mulvey called upon junior Colin Quintano as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the eighth. Quintano delivered, crushing his first home run of the year to make the score 9-7.
“Coach Eddie Brown and Jack O’Reilly are always making suggestions,” Mulvey said. “It was actually one of their suggestions to give him [Quintano] an opportunity there.”
LIU scored one in the ninth on a solo home run. The Wildcats kept battling, and managed to bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth but could not complete the comeback.
In game two, graduate Luke McCollough got the start and pitched 4.1 innings, allowing four runs. Junior Bobby Finn came out of the bullpen, threw 2.1 innings and picked up the win.
The Villanova offense put up 17 runs on 15 hits, with six different players recording multiple hits.
Graduate Jason Neff continued his power surge, hitting his 10th homer of the year and driving in four RBIs to lead the team, while junior Michael Whooley set the table all game, reaching base five times and scoring three times. Senior Connor Hale hit his first home run of the year.
The Wildcats won via mercy rule in the seventh inning, 17-7.
In the final game of the weekend series, Villanova got a great start from sophomore pitcher Jake Francis. He went six innings, striking out five and not allowing any runs, turning in his best performance of the season.
The Wildcats scored first in the second on a Lemon RBI single to go up, 1-0.
The game remained a tight pitchers’ duel until the seventh inning, when Freitag had an RBI single and Leonard crossed home on a wild pitch.
Junior Alec Sachais picked up his third save of the year, going three innings, allowing one run and striking out three to shut the door on the LIU offense.
“[Sachais] has shown a lot of toughness on the mound,” Mulvey said. “I couldn’t be happier with how he handled himself, not just striking guys out but his body language and leadership.”
LIU managed one run in the ninth, but it was not enough. Villanova won the game, 3-1, to take the series.
The Wildcats hosted Rider University on Tuesday, April 1, in their second game of the Liberty Bell Classic.
“I’m hoping we can continue to have team at-bats and make plays in the field,” Mulvey said. “Keep our confidence and keep rolling.”
Villanova will play its first conference opponent of the season when it hosts Big East foe Georgetown in a three-game series from April 4 to April 6.
