PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – Villanova hosted Lafayette on Tuesday afternoon to decide the Liberty Bell Classic third-place winner. The Wildcats had a late comeback to take the lead and in the bottom of the fifth and a big eighth inning to earn the 10-5 win over the Leopards.
 
Freshman third baseman Collin Quintano had a strong day going 2-for-3 with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the fifth begin the 'Cats run on the scoreboard. Quintano also had a two RBI single through the left side later in the fifth to pull the Wildcats ahead of the Leopards. Sophomore catcher Josue Valdez began the game at first and moved to catcher in the top of the fifth and hitting a two RBI bomb down the left field line in the bottom of the inning.
 
Graduate shortstop Craig Larsen was one of the only regular starters in the lineup in this competition after coming off a big week and earning his way onto the BIG EAST Honor Roll. Against the Leopards, Larsen went 3-for-3 scoring two runs and hitting a triple in the bottom of the first.
 
Junior left hand pitcher Patrick Montfort earned the win on the day after pitched for 2.1 innings and not allowing a hit and only one run to be score while striking out four. This marks Montfort's second win on the season.
 
The Leopards kicked things off in the top of the first by getting two runners on and scoring off a sacrifice fly to left field. Villanova attempted to match with Larsen crushing a triple to right center but could not rally a run trailing by one to end the inning.
 
Neither team scored in the second with a highlight play by freshman catcher Jake Bollin catching a runner stealing second from behind the plate. Lafayette extended their lead with two runs in the top of the second off a fielding error by the first baseman and on a wild pitch for the 3-0 lead. In the top of the fourth the Leopards added on two more runs both off of wild pitched for the 5-0 result.
 
The Wildcats adjusted in the field and had a 1-2-3 top of the fifth with Montfort fanning one to enter the bottom of the inning. Quintano cranked a leadoff homer deep over the left field wall to get the 'Cats on the board. After two batters walked, sophomore left fielder Connor Hale stole third and a poor throw by the catcher had Hale score for the second run for the 'Cats. With one on, Valdez smashed a bomb down the left field line and over the wall for a two RBI homer. With Villanova only trailing by one the Wildcats loaded up the bases and Quintano pushed a hard-hit ball into the right side for a two RBI single to take the lead 6-5 over the Leopards.
 
Nothing came across on either side in the sixth and seventh inning. Lafayette attempted to steal the lead back in the top of the eighth but couldn't manage to rally any runs. Villanova on the other hand were not done for the day and tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the inning to secure their lead 10-5. The Wildcats scored off of two RBI fly outs, Valdez took home on a wild pitch and freshman Aidan Barry hit an RBI double into right center.
Graduate pitcher Stephen Turzai closed on the game on the rubber for the 'Cats with two punchouts and a ground out for the Villanova win 10-5 over Lafayette.
 
"Great win midweek. A lot of guys got in there today that haven't been getting the same opportunity that the other guys have been and they made the most of it. I'm happy with the result today," said Head coach Kevin Mulvey. "We're getting ready for the biggest weekend of the year versus Xavier coming up. We are looking forward to it."

UP NEXT: The 'Cats return to action on Friday April 21 to host Xavier for a BIG EAST three-game series. First pitch is set for 3 pm.
 
 
Player Quotes
"I felt great today. Great team effort by the cats. Overall, in the box, I felt great in the first at bat, and then fell into a little bit of a struggle, seeing pitches, and then just had to kind of reset a little bit and, and focus up. Then obviously got a hanging slider and put a good swing on it and gratefully it left. But overall, moving around positions and stuff I just had to remain focused all throughout the game and trust my teammates." #24 Josue Valdez (Catcher)
 
"Today I felt great at bat in the field, and I give the credit for that to my teammates and all the confidence they gave me. Today all the starters weren't in the lineup, and they just gave confidence to all the guys in the field. We played great one through nine. We did well on the field and especially while hitting, and it's showed on the scoreboard." #22 Collin Quintano (Third Base)
 
"With midweeks it's always tough to bring that same focus as the weekend. Things didn't go our way early on. It's really easy to just fold and say 'oh we'll just focus up for conference games', but I liked how we really battled back and scored a bunch of runs towards the end of the game. I thought that was awesome to see." #16 Craig Larsen (Shortstop)
 
 
Mini Feature
Graduate shortstop Craig Larsen was just named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll this past week after a strong performance at bat. Larsen really exploded at the plate in the three-game series at Butler playing a crucial role that led to the 'Cats BIG EAST sweep. In game one of the Butler series Larsen had three hits, three runs and three RBI. In game two of the series, he had a 4-for-6 performance with a double, two runs and two RBI. In the final game of the series, Larsen went 4-for-5 with four RBI and momentum altering two run homer in the top of the eighth which stole the lead away from the Bulldogs making it an 13-12 game. Larsen has also played a strong role in the field with seven putouts and 12 assists on the week.
 
"It's definitely awesome to be recognized for a nice performance, but I think the sweep feels much better," said Larsen. "Getting three wins in the Big East Conference, it puts us right in the hunt for the tournament spot. So it feels great for both."