VILLANOVA, Pa. – For the first time in over two weeks, Villanova gears up for a home game, hosting St. John's for a BIG EAST series on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth.

Villanova (15-20-1, 5-7) currently sits tied for fourth with Georgetown in the conference standings with three BIG EAST series still on the docket, including this weekend. St. John's (16-24-1, 2-6-1) is tied for the last spot on the table with Butler. The top four teams will make it to the BIG EAST Championship set for the end of May at Prasco Park.

Home games have been kind to the Wildcats this season, going 6-2 on the home field and winning four of the last five. They have outscored opponents 36-22 in that stretch where they had a 22-18 scoring advantage in a series win over Butler.

Villanova's last conference tilt saw it take a game from No. 14 UConn over the weekend, winning the Saturday game 4-1.

The Wildcats have gone to battle with St. John's 106 times since 1908, trailing the overall series 45-61 with a 24-51 standing in BIG EAST contests. Villanova has gone 14-21 when hosting the Red Storm overall. Villanova has won two its last five games in the series with St. John's, taking the first two games of last year's series at St. John's, 5-4 and 7-2, before falling in the last game, 1-6. The 'Cats have not seen a home win against the Red Storm since April 15, 2016, 7-2.

PROJECTED STARTERS:
Friday, April 29 | 3 p.m.
St. John's: RHP Joe Joe Rodriguez (2-4)
Villanova: RHP Cole Patten (2-6)
Saturday, April 30 | 1 p.m.
St. John's: RHP Brandon Backman (1-1)
Villanova: LHP Tyler Arella (3-2)
Sunday, May 1 | 12 p.m.
St. John's: TBD
Villanova: RHP Chic DeGaetano (3-0)
 
Whooley Delivers: After a season-high four-RBI day in the win over UConn, John Whooley now leads the team in runs driven in during BIG EAST contests with 10. In that game alone, he was 2-for-2 from the plate, reaching in all four at bats on a single, double, walk and a hit by pitch.

Strong Effort On the Mound: In this past weekend's trip to No. 14 UConn, Villanova's pitching staff allowed just seven runs on 20 hits from a UConn team that leads the league in runs and hits. Batters were hitting at a .222 clip against the Wildcats and were struck out 17 times.  Six of those strikeouts alone came from Danny Wilkinson who earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. Wilkinson, Chic DeGaetano and Cole Vanderslice all went throughout the weekend without giving up a run in less than an inning pitched.

Scouting the Red Storm: This is the first road trip for the Red Storm after an eight-game homestand. This season, St. John's has gone 2-15 on the road with both wins coming in non-conference affairs. In league play, the group has seen one series win, taking two from Butler last weekend, 8-6 and 8-7 in 10 innings, before closing the series with a 12-12 draw. Before that St. John's was swept by Creighton and then-No. 25 UConn. The group comes in with a five-game unbeaten streak. As a team, St. John's is batting .264, led by a .340 hitting clip from Tate Ballestero. Kevin Michaels has driven in the most runs for the group at 37 while reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week David Glancy leads the team with nine home runs. Defensively, the Red Storm is second in the league for double plays, turning 28 this season. In 16 appearances on the hill this season with five starts, Dylan Johnson has a team-best 4.22 ERA and a 2-1 record, scattering 45 hits with 20 earned runs and sitting down a team-high 37 batters. Chuck Sanzio has successfully shut the door for six saves this season, good enough for third-most in the league. With 24 appearances on the year, Tim Cunningham leads the conference and is in the top 10 nationally, pitching 30 1/3 innings.