PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – The Villanova University baseball team tallied 11 hits while the Wildcats' bullpen allowed just one hit over the last six innings of play in a 5-2 win over Georgetown on Sunday afternoon (April 6) at Villanova Ballpark. With the win, Villanova has taken two of three games to clinch the series.
Third baseman
Michael Whooley went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, one run scored and a walk. Designated hitter
Josue Valdez also went yard, while second baseman
Brayden Leonard, left fielder
JoJo Montgomery and first baseman
Trent Toole tallied multi-hit games.
Out of the bullpen,
Bobby Finn and
Alec Sachais pitched three scoreless innings each. The two combined for eight strikeouts while allowing one hit and no walks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Villanova (17-13, 2-1 BIG EAST) starter
Bobby Olsen held the Hoyas (11-20, 1-2 BIG EAST) scoreless through the first three innings despite giving up three walks. In the top of the fourth, Georgetown finally got to Olsen, scoring a run off of a walk and a double. Finn replaced Olsen with no outs and got through the inning while only allowing one more run to cross.
Down by two runs in the bottom of the fourth, the Villanova offense got to work, beginning with a leadoff home run by Valdez. Later in the inning, a two-out RBI single by Toole scored Montgomery, evening the score at two runs apiece.
In the bottom of the fifth, Whooley launched a solo home run 365 feet over the left field wall to take the lead. Then, in the sixth, the 'Cats tacked on another run on a bases-loaded groundout by
Austin Lemon.
Sachais replaced Finn in the top of the seventh, setting the Hoyas down in order to maintain the two-run lead for Villanova. In the bottom half of the inning,
Brayden Leonard drove in
Jason Neff with an RBI single to bring the Blue and White's lead to 5-2.
Sachais put together two more 1-2-3 innings to earn the save and secure the 5-2 win for the Wildcats. Finn earned the win to improve to 2-1 on the season, while Georgetown starter Andrew Williams fell to 2-2 with the loss.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Michael Whooley is currently on a six-game hitting streak and a 10-game on-base streak. He is hitting .450 with a .556 on-base percentage, two home runs and six RBI over his last six games.
- Austin Lemon's 23-game on-base streak has come to an end. It was the longest such streak for a Villanova player since Chris Rotondo in 2022.
- Over his last nine appearances, Bobby Finn has posted a 1.08 ERA with 18 strikeouts to just eight walks.
- Just over halfway through the season, Alec Sachais has already tallied a career-high five saves this season.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will close out a nine-game homestand against Penn on Tuesday (April 8) at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth. First pitch is scheduled for 3:25 p.m.
