VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova (10-25, 5-4) will take on Xavier (22-15, 4-2) for a three-game BIG EAST series starting on Friday, April 21 with first pitch at 3:00 p.m. Game two of the series will start at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday and the series will conclude Sunday with an 11:00 a.m. first pitch. Fans can watch all three games on FloSports and follow the live stats.
 

Projected Starters:
Friday, April 21| 3:00 p.m. | Live Stats
Villanova: Cade Udell
Xavier: Ethan Bosacker
 
Saturday, April 22 | 1:00 p.m. | Live Stats
Villanova: Devin Rivera
Xavier: Brant Alazaus
 
Sunday, April 23 | 11:00 a.m. | Live Stats
Villanova: TBA
Xavier:
 

Back To BIG EAST Ball: This series will mark the 24^th time that Villanova and Xavier have gone head-to-head dating back to 2012. The two teams have only played one non-conference game in their first competition on March 7, 2012, with the 'Cats taking a 7-2 win. The Musketeers lead the Wildcats 15-9 all-time and 15-8 in conference play. Villanova won the last matchup at home against Xavier on May 2, 2021, taking the 12-5 victory at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth. The Wildcats claimed the series from April 31 to May 2, 2021, winning the first and last game on the weekend.

Last Time Out: The Wildcats come off a 10-8 victory to take third place in the Liberty Bell Classic tournament in their midweek game with Lafayette. Villanova had a slow start at the plate with the Leopards building up a lead, but a six-run fifth inning allowed for the 'Cats to steal the lead from Lafayette. A resilient effort on the mound kept the Leopards off the board for the rest of the game while the Wildcats continued to further their lead with four more runs in the bottom of the eighth to ultimately claim the win and the third-place finish.

Stepping Up To The Plate: A hard hitting fifth inning for the 'Cats took a 6-5 lead over Lafayette due to strong performances from freshman infielder Collin Quintano, sophomore catcher Josue Valdez and graduate shortstop Craig Larsen. Quintano made his first start at third base for the 'Cats and had a 2-for-3 day with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the fifth to begin Villanova's explosive rally. Later in the same inning he had a two RBI single through the left side to score the go-ahead run for the 'Cats. Valdez shifted between first base and catcher and smashed a homer to bring in two runs in the bottom of the fifth. 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.


Monitoring The Musketeers

• Xavier enters the series after facing off with UConn over the past weekend losing the first game 7-6 and splitting the doubleheader with an 18-8 win and a 11-9 loss. The Musketeers took another loss on Tuesday, April 19 to Kentucky in a 13-2 defeat in eight innings.
• Graduate outfielder Andrew Walker, junior catcher Matthew DePrey and senior infielder Matt McCormick are leading the charge for the Musketeers offense. Walker and DePrey have both started in all 37 games on the season so far and McCormick has started 36.
• McCormick has primarily played at first and has gone 44-for-134 and is slashing the highest among his teammates with .328/.434/.582. The senior hit seven doubles and nine home runs, scored 26 runs and brought in 23 RBI. At first he has made 261 putouts, three assists and six errors.
• DePrey lends his efforts as the team's starting catcher and is slashing .314/.384/.562 and leads the team in home runs with 10. DePrey has gone 48-for-153 and hit eight doubles, scored 32 runs and 26 RBI on the season so far. Behind the plate he has caught 11 stealing, made 285 putouts, 24 assists and three errors.
• Walker makes most of his starts in left field and is slashing .323/.388/.462 and leads the Musketeers in hits (51), doubles (10), runs scored (33), RBI (35) and stolen bases (15). The fifth year also hit four home runs. In the outfield he has made 65 putouts and one error.
• Senior right-hander pitcher Ethan Bosacker and graduate left-hander Brant Alazaus headline the starting rotation for the Musketeers. So far this season, Bosacker has started all nine games he's appearance in yielding an ERA of 3.40 over 53.0 innings while batters are averaging .242 against him. Bosacker has struck out 60 walked 16 and allowed 47 hits and 21 runs. Alazaus has also started all nine of the games he has played in with an ERA of 5.29 over 51.0 innings while batters are averaging .234 against him. Alazaus has struck out 55, walked seven and surrendered 45 hits and 31 runs.

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