ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Villanova University baseball team will take on Winthrop this weekend (Feb. 21-23) in its first three-game series of the season. The games will be played at Winthrop's Founders Field.
Quick Hitters
- Villanova will continue the early portion of its season with a three-game series at Winthrop.
- Friday will be the first-ever game between the Wildcats and the Eagles.
- Villanova enters the weekend at 1-2 after Wednesday's game against Saint Peter's was cancelled due to inclement weather.
- The 'Cats picked up a 10-6 win in their season-opener over Rice. Right-handed pitcher Bobby Olsen shined, giving up only three hits, no runs and no walks over 6.0 innings. He also struck out seven in the win.
- Villanova drew 15 walks in the win, its most in a single game since 2012.
- The following day, Villanova fell in a close 3-1 loss to No. 2 Virginia. RHP Luke McCollough tossed five strong innings, giving up only one run and posting seven strikeouts.
Homecoming for Olsen
Right-handed pitcher
Bobby Olsen will return to his home state of South Carolina in the Winthrop series. The Powdersville native was excellent in the Wildcats' season opener against Rice, pitching six innings of one-run ball in the 10-6 win. He allowed only one run, three hits and no walks, while striking out seven. Olsen was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for his efforts.
Freshman Phenoms
A handful of first-year players put their talents on full display in their collegiate baseball debuts at the Puerto Rico Challenge. Infielder
Brayden Leonard tallied a pair of hits over the weekend, including his first career home run. Additionally, Leonard made two exceptional diving plays at second base which proved to be pivotal in the back-and-forth win over Rice (Feb. 14).
John Freitag also had two hits over the weekend, most notably a two-run pinch hit single against Rice to give the Wildcats the lead in the ninth inning.
JoJo Montgomery and
Brayden Yasuzawa recorded their first career hits on Sunday (Feb. 16) against Michigan. Out of the bullpen,
Jack Chavez allowed only one hit and no runs over 1.2 innings against No. 2 Virginia (Feb. 15) posting his first-career strikeout in the process.
Winthrop at a Glance
The Eagles sit at 3-1 after a series sweep of Merrimack and a midweek loss to South Carolina to start the season. Outfielder Koby Kropf was named preseason Big South Player of the Year and already has four hits and one home run on the young season. Meanwhile, sophomore Max Sarna was named to the preseason Big South All-Conference team.
Where to Watch
Sunday's game will be available to stream on ESPN+, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. ET. Follow
@villanovabaseball on Instagram and
@VUBaseball on X (formerly Twitter) for more coverage.
