VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova (6-24, 2-4) takes a trip down the mainline and into the city for a midweek game with Penn (16-11, 6-3 Ivy League) on Wednesday, April 12. First pitch is set 3:00 p.m. Fans can watch the game on FloSports and follow the live stats.
 

Projected Starters:
Wednesday, April 12 | 3:00 p.m.
Villanova: Patrick Montfort
Penn: John Cerwinski

 
Big 5 Ball Is Back: This will be the second meeting of the season between Villanova and Penn after the Quakers secured a 15-5 win over the Wildcats in mid-March. After taking a two-run lead in the top of the fifth, the Quakers made a large come back in the bottom of the sixth scoring a total of 10 runs to take the advantage away from the 'Cats. Villanova could not recover from the massive deficit and lost 15-5 in seven innings.

Last Time Out: Villanova traveled to Omaha, Neb. to take on Creighton in a three-game BIG EAST series. The Wildcats lost the first game 6-0 and the second in a close 2-0 defeat but rallied to win the third game 8-6 in extra innings to snap a 24-game all-time losing streak against the Bluejays in dramatic fashion.

What's All The Fusco About: Graduate pitcher Sal Fusco started the third game of the series against Creighton and pitched for a total of 3.2 innings. He struck out four and only allowed one hit and no runs to be scored while he was on the bump to hold the Bluejays off and earn the win on the day. Due to Fusco's efforts, he was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll this past week.

Freshman Fever: Freshman second baseman Michael Whooley had a standout performance in the series finale at Creighton making a key contributes to the Wildcats win. Whooley had three hits and four RBI including the batting in the winning runs in the top of the tenth. In the field he had two putouts and two assists at second. Freshman Jake Bollin had his first career start for the Wildcats as the designated hitter in the same game and ignited the Villanova offense with his first career home run in the top of the fifth. Their efforts helped lead the Villanova to its first win since 2014 over Creighton.

A Reunion To Remember: Graduate shortstop Craig Larsen reunites with his old team, this time on the other side of the field for the second time this season. Larsen graduated from Penn in the spring of 2022 and transferred to Villanova for his fifth year. At Penn, he excelled on the field as their starting shortstop as well as a power hitter earning an All-Ivy Honorable Mention his senior season. At Villanova, Larsen has continued to start and show up on the field and at the plate with 41 putouts, 53 assists and only two errors this season. He is also slashing a .256/.318/.372 leading the team in hits (31), doubles (9) and RBI (22) while scoring 14 runs of his own for the 'Cats. Recently Larsen went 2-for-5 in the Liberty Bell Classic semifinal game versus Creighton hitting a base clearing triple in the bottom of the second to bring in three batters and ran in a run himself to help the 'Cats in their early lead.  


Quick Notes on The Quakers

• Penn enters the midweek matchup after hosting Princeton for a weekend Ivy League series. The Quakers took the series winning two of the three games on the weekend scoring a total of 15 runs over the three competitions. Penn took the first game of the series 10-5 in the double header on April 8 and lost the second double header game 5-0 to the Tigers. The Quakers rallied on April 9 to take the final game 5-2 to win the series.
• Junior third baseman Wyatt Henseler his still proven to be the Quakers leading man offensively. As the season has progressed, he shares the burden with senior catcher Jackson Appel and senior first baseman Ben Miller.
• Henseler has started all 27 games this season and has gone 34-for-116 slashing .293/.339/.552 and leads the team in RBI (34) and home runs (7) while hitting seven doubles, one triple and 17 scored runs. At third he made 14 putouts, 51 assists and six errors. The last time Villanova faced Henseler he had two hits and one run.
• Appel has also started all 27 games this season shifting between catcher and various positions the field. He has gone 39-for-113 slashing .345/.420/.593 leads the team in runs (31), doubles (9) and triple (4) while hitting two home runs and 26 RBI. In the field he has made 221 putouts, 18 assists and five errors. In the previous game with Villanova, Appel had a day going 4-for-4 clipping a double, batting in four and scoring two runs.
• Miller has also started all 27 games this and is currently slashing among the highest .330/.424/.536 and leads the team in hits (39). Miller has hit eight doubles, one triple, six home runs and 26 RBI and 28 runs scored. At first he has made 173 putouts, 15 assists and two errors. Last facing Villanova, Miller had two hits, one run and one RBI.
• Freshman pitcher John Cerwinski will start on the hill for the Quakers. The last time the Wildcats faced Cerwinski, he tossed for 4.0 innings and allowed five hits, two runs and struck out two to 19 batters faced. This game marked his longest outing on the mound so far this season. Since the last encounter Cerwinski he has appeared in three more games, most recently earning the win on April 5 at Saint Joseph's when he came in as relief and pitched form 3.0 innings on the rubber. He struck out one and didn't allow a run in to help the Quakers to an 18-6 win over the Hawks.

 
Keep up with the Villanova University Baseball program through social media by following on Twitter (@VUBaseball) and Instagram (@villanovabaseball) and 'liking' on Facebook (/VillanovaBaseball).