VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova (3-19) travel to Bethlehem, Pa. for the first game of the Liberty Bell Classic at Lehigh (11-13) on Tuesday, March 28. First pitch is set 3:00 p.m. Fans can watch the game on ESPN+ and follow the live stats.
 

Projected Starters:
Tuesday, March 28 | 3:00 p.m.
Villanova: Cole Vanderslice
Lehigh: Rafe Perich
 

Head-To-Head With The Mountain Hawks: This game will mark 55^th time that Villanova and Lehigh have faced off with one another dating back to 1898. The Wildcats lead the Mountain Hawks 43-12 all-time. At Lehigh the 'Cats are 24-7 and have won the last away matchup at the J. David Walker Field at Legacy Park. The last meeting between the 'Cats and the Mountain Hawks was in 2016 at home where Villanova took a 8-6 victory adding to the Wildcat's now two-game all-time winning streak over Lehigh.

Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Baseball: The Liberty Bell Classic dates back to 1992 with Delaware taking the inaugural crown. The Wildcats have earned the title five times since the event was created most recently in 2022 with a victory over Delaware 6-5. The idea behind the competition was to get local Division I teams to battle it out a tournament and to get the opportunity to play on a big league field. The original eight school to participate in the Classic were Penn, Delaware, Saint Joseph's, Drexel, Villanova, Temple, West Chester, and La Salle. Since then, West Chester has moved to Division II and Drexel's baseball program was dissolved in 2003 and was replaced by Rider, Lehigh, and Lafayette. The Championship game originally took place at Veterans Stadium and now is held at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Rivera On A Roll: Junior pitcher Devin Rivera pitched a season high of six strikeouts over 7.0 innings pitched in game one of the doubleheader versus Iona. He only allowed two runs in during the top of the third and held the Gales scoreless for six innings, four of which were in a row.

Oh, Oh, Oh, O'Reilly: Senior captain and first baseman Jack O'Reilly started all four games on the week again Bucknell in a midweek game and during a home three-game series versus Iona. Over the week he had five hits, one run, one double, six walks, and one RBI. Jack stole one base on one attempt over the games. At first, he had a total of 27 putouts and two assists.
 

Taking A Look At Lehigh

• Lehigh enters the midweek matchup after facing off in a double header with Bucknell. The Mountain Hawks lost both games to the Bison with a close 6-4 game one loss and a 16-6 defeat in game two on Sunday, March 26.
• Graduate first baseman/pitcher Casey Rother, sophomore outfielder Andrew Kohl, and sophomore third baseman/pitcher Rafe Perich are the combined power leading Lehigh's offense.
• Rothers is also a two-way player who has started in all 24 games on the year in the outfield. He has gone 31-for-96 slashing .323/.430/.646 and hitting 11 doubles, one triple, six homers, 28 RBI, and scoring 19 runs. At first, he has made 148 putouts, 17 assists, completed 12 double plays, and made one error so far on the season. Rothers has appeared on the mound six times this season, four times as the closer and twice in relief. He owns a record of 0-2 with two saves over 7.0 innings pitched with an ERA of 9.00. He has struck out seven batters, hit one by pitch, walked 10, and allowed five hits and nine runs in.
• Keys has gone 30-for-87 slashing .345/.436/.678 and hitting four doubles, two triples, seven home runs, with 23 RBI, and scoring 18 runs. In the outfield he has made 47 putouts so far on the season.
• Sophomore pitcher Rafe Perich is a two-way player that will start on the hill for the Mountain Hawks. Perich has appeared on the mound four times this season, twice as the closer and twice in relief. During his time on the bump he has earned one loss and two saves over 1.2 innings pitched with an ERA of 10.80. He has struck out two batters, throw one wild pitch, walked five, and allowed one hit and five runs. In the field, Perich has started 23 of the 24 games this year at third base for the Mountain Hawks completing seven putouts, 28 assists, and making eight errors. A strong force at bat, he has a slashed .327/.352/.433 with 34 hits, 22 runs, eight doubles, one home run, with 23 RBI and has gone 3-for-3 on stole base attempts.

 
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