INDIANAPOLIS – The Villanova University baseball team won by its largest margin of victory since 2009 in Sunday's 21-2 victory over Butler at Bulldog Park (April 13). The win clinched the series in favor of the Wildcats, who have now won six series-deciding Sunday games in a row.
Freshman
Brayden Leonard starred at the plate, going 5-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. Catcher
Jason Neff hit his second grand slam of the season during the Wildcats' (19-14, 4-2 BIG EAST) 12-run fourth inning.
Austin Lemon and
Michael Whooley each tallied three hits, three runs and three RBI, comprising of a productive tandem at the top of the order.
Alec Sachais pitched 4.2 scoreless innings after relieving starter
Bobby Finn in the first inning, who exited the game due to injury. Sachais threw a career-high seven strikeouts and earned the win, allowing only three hits and one walk.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bulldogs (12-23, 1-4 BIG EAST) scored two runs in the first inning behind a pair of sacrifice flies.
After a scoreless second inning, Whooley hit a two-run triple to tie the game at two runs apiece in the top of the third. Leonard and
JoJo Montgomery each followed Whooley's triple with RBI singles, giving Villanova a 4-2 lead.
Tyler Shaw and
Connor Hale each flied out to begin the top of the fourth. From there, the Wildcats put together a remarkable two-out rally, scoring 12 runs on seven hits. The incredible inning was highlighted by a grand slam from Neff. The spurt gave Villanova a 16-2 lead.
The 'Cats kept pouring on the offense in the fifth inning, scoring four more runs on five hits. The frame included an RBI double from Shaw, who had an extra base hit for the third straight game. The inning increased Villanova's lead to 18.
A wild pitch scored one more run for the Wildcats in the seventh, securing the 21-2 win. Sachais improved to 4-2 on the season with the win, while Butler starter Nate Rosser fell to 1-2 with the loss.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Leonard is the first Wildcat to have five or more hits in a game since Ryan Toohers in 2018.
- Whooley has extended his hitting streak to nine games. He now has two separate hitting streaks of at least nine games this season.
- With 12 home runs on the season, Neff is tied for ninth most in a single season by a Villanova player.
- 21 runs is the highest single-game run total for a Villanova team since 2015, and the highest run total for the 'Cats in a BIG EAST game since 2012.
- 19 is the highest BIG EAST margin of victory for a Villanova team since 1991, when the Wildcats defeated Georgetown 24-5 (March 28).
- With a season-high of 18 hits, Villanova now has at least 11 hits in five straight games.
- The 'Cats have already exceeded their 2024 win total (18), and have won their most games in a season since 2021 with 18 games left on the schedule.
UP NEXT
Villanova will host Xavier in a three-game series Thursday through Saturday (April 17-19) at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth. All three games will be available to stream live on FloSports.
