DOVER, Del. – The Villanova baseball team returned to the win column in emphatic fashion, rolling to a dominant 20-10 victory over Delaware State in the second round of the Liberty Bell Classic on Tuesday, April 7.

Villanova wasted no time taking control, erupting for seven runs in the top of the second inning. Carter Richey sparked the rally with a leadoff double, and John Freitag followed with a double to right field to drive him in for the game's first run. With traffic on the bases, Larry Hotaling added a sacrifice fly, and Brayden Leonard drew a bases-loaded walk to extend the lead.

The Wildcats continued to capitalize, scoring on a wild pitch before Michael Whooley delivered a two-run single through the left side. Villanova tacked on one more run in the inning off a Delaware State error to take a commanding 7-0 lead.

Delaware State responded in the bottom half of the inning, plating five unearned runs on just one hit, aided by three Villanova errors to cut the deficit to 7-5.

Villanova answered in the fourth with aggressive baserunning, as Whooley and Richey executed a double steal, with Whooley swiping home to make it 8-5. The Hornets added a run in the bottom of the frame, trimming the lead to 8-6.

The Wildcats broke the game open again in the fifth. Austin Lemon launched a two-out, two-run home run—his first of the season—while Quintano followed with a two-run double to left-center. A wild pitch capped the five-run inning, pushing the advantage to 13-6.

In the sixth, Leonard brought home Jack Roventini with a sacrifice fly after a leadoff triple to extend the lead to eight. Delaware State threatened in the bottom half with the bases loaded and one out, but CJ Furey escaped the jam with a strikeout and a flyout to preserve the lead.

Freitag added to the offensive outburst with a solo home run in the seventh, his first of the season. Delaware State answered with a three-run inning to make it 15-9, but Villanova continued to pour it on.

In the eighth, Jake Bollin delivered the knockout blow with a three-run pinch-hit home run, giving the Wildcats a season-high 18 runs at the time. Bollin added a two-run single in the ninth to push the total to 20 runs.

Delaware State managed a late run, but Villanova's offense proved too much, securing the 20-10 win.

The 20-run performance marks the Wildcats' highest scoring output since a 21-2 win over Butler in April of last season.

Up Next: Villanova opens a three-game BIG EAST road series against Xavier on Friday, April 10 at 3:05 p.m.