ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Villanova University baseball team tallied 16 hits – tied for its most since 2015 - in a 10-4 win over Winthrop on Friday (Feb. 21) at Founders Field.
 
Graduate senior Jason Neff had two hits, a home run and three RBI, Aidan Barry and Brayden Leonard each recorded a career-best three hits, and three more Wildcats pieced together multi-hit games in the win. On the defensive side, righty Bobby Olsen had another solid outing, going 6.0 innings allowing two runs (one earned), three hits and three walks while striking out eight.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a scoreless first inning and a half, Winthrop (3-2) got on the board first with as Dusty Vala singled and later scored on a groundout. However, the Wildcats (2-2) quickly answered in the top of the third, when Connor Hale scored in the same way to tie the game at one run apiece.
 
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Eagles broke the tie once again, scoring an unearned run off of an RBI single by Jaylen Hernandez. And, once again, the Wildcats answered in the next half inning by scoring Hale on a groundout.
 
The Wildcats broke the game open in the top of the seventh inning. Leonard got things started with a leadoff solo shot to left field, his second home run of the season. Austin Lemon and Tyler Shaw each tallied two hits, leaving two men on base for Neff, who drove them home with a double. Then, Barry hit a double of his own, scoring one more for Villanova. The four-run spurt put the 'Cats ahead, 6-2, in the middle of the seventh inning.
 
After Winthrop got one run back with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh, Villanova tacked on two more runs after a pair of hits by Hale and Lemon.  
 
The Eagles used a sacrifice fly to cut the Wildcats' lead to four in the bottom of the eighth. The Blue and White responded in the top of the ninth, as Neff hit his first home run of the year and Leonard drove in one more to extend the Villanova advantage to 10-4.
 
In the bottom of the ninth, Alec Sachais held Winthrop scoreless to secure his first save of the season and the 10-4 win for Villanova. Olsen (1-0) was credited with the win, while Quinton Hall (0-1) was given the loss for the Eagles.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Villanova's 16 hits is tied for the team's most since the Wildcats tallied 25 in a win over Mount St. Mary's in 2015. Overall, the Blue and White hit .400 (16-for-40) on the day. With two hits in today's game, freshman John Freitag's batting average sits at .667 (4-for-6) through three games. Meanwhile, Olsen's ERA sits at 1.50 and his WHIP is an exceptional 0.83 through two games (12.0 innings).
 
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will face Winthrop in the second of three games on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 22) at 2 p.m. ET. The game will be played at Founders Field in Rock Hill, S.C. Follow @villanovabaseball on Instagram and @VUBaseball on X (formerly Twitter) for more coverage.