Plymouth Meeting, Pa. – Villanova (9-2) extended their winning streak to nine games following a walk-off 3-2 win over Penn (0-3) on Sunday afternoon at Villanova Ballpark.
 
Trailing by a run in the bottom of the ninth, the Wildcats rallied three hits and capitalized on a defensive miscue to extend the streak. Pat O'Neill (Collegeville, Pa.) opened the inning with a double to left field before Sam Margulis (Pennington, N.J.) dropped down a sacrifice bunt. A groundout to shortstop would hold O'Neill at third and two outs. Will Reiner (Madison, Conn.) stepped up and smoked a single to right center plating the tying run. Ahead in the count 3-1, Chris Rotondo (Redding, Conn.) singled to right center and Reiner was cruising to third when the centerfielder misplayed the ball bringing the winning run across the plate.
 
Prior to the late inning heroics, the bats were held in check for both squads as neither offense picked up a hit until the third inning. Tyler Arella (East Northport, N.Y.) picked up his fourth start of the season for the Wildcats and was flawless tossing a season-high seven shutout innings while surrendering three hits. The veteran picked up nine strikeouts en route to his third consecutive quality start.
 
Villanova threatened to score in the second inning after Ryan Toohers (Florham Park, N.J.) and Lucas Latrenta (Greenwich, Conn.) opened up the inning with walks. The Quakers starter would not budge as he retired the next three Wildcat hitters stranding runners in scoring position.
 
The Wildcats jumped on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning when Ryan Toohers launched his first homerun of the season to center field. The solo shot would give Villanova a lead, but Penn did not shy away.
 
In the top of the ninth, the Quakers rallied two hits and plated two runs to regain the lead. A leadoff single followed by a one-out double gave Penn runners in scoring position. A fielder's choice to third base plated the tying run. Villanova turned to Cameron Mathes (Broomall, Pa.) and the Quakers worked a walk before scoring their second run on a balk. Mathes turned the page and struck out the final batter to minimize the damage and set up the walk off victory.
 
The Wildcats showed their veteran leadership in the comeback victory despite tallying five hits on the day. Pat O'Neill led the offensive charge with two hits while Chris Rotondo, Ryan Toohers, and Will Reiner each contributed a base hit. On the mound, Arella led the charge and dominated the Quaker offense through seven frames. Danny Wilkinson (Scotch Plains, N.J.) made his seventh appearance on the season striking out two in a clean frame.
 
Villanova will return to the diamond on Thursday, April 1, when they travel to Saint Joseph's to open a weekend series. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 ET. The Wildcats will host the Hawks at Villanova Ballpark on Friday, April 1. First pitch for that game is 3:00 ET.
 
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