OMAHA, Neb.—In the final game of the 2019 season, freshman first baseman Nick Lorusso (Monroe, Conn.) and junior third baseman John Heilenbach (Western Springs, Ill.) each drove in runs as Villanova (13-38, 4-13 BIG EAST) fell 8-2 to Creighton (35-11, 14-4) at TD Ameritrade Park on Saturday afternoon.  Lorusso hit safely in all three games of the series, including a solo home run on Thursday night, and finished his rookie collegiate season with a .302 batting average. 
 
Sophomore center fielder Chris Rotondo (Redding, Conn.) and freshman catcher Will Reiner (Madison, Conn.) had two hits apiece for the Wildcats in Saturday's finale.  The host Bluejays built a 4-0 lead in the first three innings and later stretched the advantage with four runs in the bottom of the seventh.  Villanova scored its runs on an RBI double by Heilenbach in the top of the seventh and a run-scoring groundout by Lorusso in the eighth inning. 
 
There were a number of superlatives for the Wildcats before the curtain came down on the program's 154^th season of varsity baseball.  Senior starting pitcher Jonathan Rosero (Middle Village, N.Y.) worked the first three innings of the game and was one of five members of the Villanova senior class who appeared in the game.  Rosero put a wrap on his collegiate career with 210.0 career innings pitched spread across 64 appearances, including 36 starts.  Each of those three totals rank in the top 20 in school history. 
 
Later in the game, senior reliever Jason Applegate (Columbus, N.J.) recorded the final out of the seventh inning and moved into sole possession of second place in school history with his 81^st career appearance.  Applegate finishes just one game shy of all-time record holder Mike Francsico, who pitched in 82 games from 2008-11.  Over the past four years, Applegate appeared in more than 40 percent of the Wildcats games (81 of 198) and stranded nearly 80 percent of the runners he inherited (67 of 84) coming out of the bullpen.    
 
The senior pitching quartet of Rosero, Applegate and fellow right-handers Zach Lutner (Sicklerville, N.J.) and Jake Esp (Sugar Grove, Ill.) combined for 280 career appearances.  Lutner pitched in 77 career games and ranks fourth in the Villanova record book, while Rosero is tied for 11^th with his 64 appearances. 
 
The rest of the Wildcats senior class – Heilenbach, catcher Doug deMarrais (Bernardsville, N.J.) and designated hitter JP Radvany (Lawrenceville, N.J.) were in Saturday's starting lineup.  deMarrais is Villanova's career record holder with 54 runners caught stealing and Radvany closed his career by leading the team with 32 runs batted in this season.  He also tied for second on the team with 25 walks and was tied for third in both doubles (eight) and home runs (three). 
 
As for the younger members of the Wildcats roster, Lorusso authored a compelling case for BIG EAST Rookie of the Year consideration in his first taste of collegiate competition.  He led the team with a .302 batting average, a .408 on-base percentage and a .425 slugging percentage while also amassing team highs with 54 hits and 28 walks.  His four home runs and 29 RBI were second in the Villanova offense, while his eight doubles and 26 runs scored were third.  Lorusso batted .290 in BIG EAST play, the best batting average against conference pitching by a Wildcats newcomer in 10 years.  He also pitched in 16 games, including six starts, on the season and had 32 strikeouts over 41 2/3 innings pitched.
 
Other bright spots for Villanova during the 2019 season included the development of sophomore pitcher Jimmy Kingsbury (Phoenixville, Pa.) and freshman Gordon Graceffo (Cranbury, N.J.).  Kingsbury went 5-5 with a 4.13 ERA and a .239 opponent batting average in 19 appearances.  His five wins, 66 strikeouts and 85.0 innings pitched all led the pitching staff.  Kingsbury also punctuated the season with a one-hit shutout in a 1-0 victory over La Salle on March 17, the first solo one-hitter in by a Wildcats pitcher in 30 years. 
 
Graceffo had a staff-high 13 games started and was at his best versus BIG EAST opponents.  He started all six of his appearances in conference games and was 2-3 with a 2.70 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP and a .226 batting average against him.  Graceffo entered the final day of the regular season ranked fifth in the BIG EAST in innings pitched during conference play, while also ranking seventh in opponent batting average and eighth in ERA.  His figures in all three of those categories were the best among BIG EAST rookies. 
 
Villanova concluded the season with this weekend's road trip to Creighton after playing its final home games of the year versus Xavier last week.  During that series, the Wildcats celebrated their senior class at a graduation ceremony in the Connelly Center and during the team's annual end-of-year banquet in Finneran Pavilion.