PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – The Villanova University baseball team secured a 14–10 victory in a high-scoring contest on Tuesday afternoon, defeating La Salle in its home opener at Villanova Ballpark.
  EARLY FIREWORKS
The contest featured offense from the opening inning. After a sacrifice fly gave La Salle an early 1–0 lead, Justin Szestowicki launched a three-run home run to left field to put the Explorers ahead 4–0.

Villanova answered in the bottom half of the frame when senior Michael Whooley connected on a solo home run, cutting the deficit to 4–1.

La Salle extended its lead in the third inning when Alec Welshans hit a home run and the Explorers added another run to take their largest lead of the afternoon at 6–1.

The Wildcats quickly responded. Whooley came through again with a two-run double to right field that scored Brayden Leonard and Austin Lemon, trimming the deficit to three.

Villanova completed the comeback in the fourth inning. After a run scored on a fielder's choice, Leonard delivered a clutch two-run double into the left-center field gap to even the game at 6–6.
  BACK-AND-FORTH BATTLE
The Explorers reclaimed the lead in the fifth inning when Welshans hit his second home run of the night, a two-run shot.

Villanova answered again in the bottom half of the inning. Freshman Larry Hotaling singled to bring home John Freitag, cutting the deficit in half. Later in the inning, freshman Jack Roventini laid down a bunt single that forced a La Salle error, allowing Hotaling to score and tie the game once again.

La Salle regained a one-run lead in the sixth, but Villanova responded when Lemon came around to score on a wild pitch, keeping the Wildcats within one run heading into the seventh inning.
  CLUTCH LATE INNINGS
Villanova tied the game again in the seventh when Mark Gialluisi lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home the tying run.

On the mound, Graham Moore delivered a crucial scoreless inning out of the bullpen. The senior struck out three of the four batters he faced to keep the game tied.

Villanova took control in the eighth inning. Freitag delivered an RBI single to center field to give the Wildcats their first lead of the afternoon. Roventini followed with another well-executed bunt single that also brought home a run, and Gialluisi capped the inning with a two-run single to push the Villanova lead to 14–10.
The game ended after eight innings due to darkness.
  STRONG START ON THE MOUND
Graduate student Will Parkinson made his first start of the season and gave the Wildcats a solid outing. Parkinson tossed four scoreless innings, allowing five hits while striking out five and walking just one.

The Villanova defense backed him throughout the early frames, helping keep La Salle off the scoreboard during his appearance.
  UP NEXT
Villanova returns to the road on Friday, March 13, beginning a three-game series against Charleston Southern.
  INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• 14 – Most runs scored by Villanova in a game this season
• 13 – Hits recorded by the Wildcats offense
• 4 – Lead changes in the back-and-forth contest
• 3 – Home runs from Whooley during the game
• 8 – RBIs on the season for Gialluisi
• 2 – Wins for Moore after earning the victory in relief
• 1 – Inning where neither team scored in the high-scoring matchup