Connor Hale
Greg Carroccio/Sideline Photos
7
LIU LIU 12-15
17
Winner Villanova VU 14-11
LIU LIU
12-15
7
Final
17
Villanova VU
14-11
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
LIU LIU 0 0 2 0 5 0 0 7 12 4
Villanova VU 2 1 5 1 2 1 5 17 15 2

W: Finn, Bobby (1-1) L: Nicholas Finarelli (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Wildcats Post Season-High 17 Runs in Win over LIU

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – The Villanova University baseball team scored a season-high 17 runs in a 17-7, seven-inning win over LIU on Saturday (March 29) at Villanova Ballpark.
 
The Wildcats (14-11) have been impressive at the plate as a team recently, recording 56 runs and 54 hits in their last five games. The 'Cats have hit 10 home runs over that stretch, averaging two per game.
 
Connor Hale, Michael Whooley and Jason Neff scored nine of Villanova's 17 runs. Hale went 2-for-3 with a home run and four runs scored. Whooley reached base five times, going 2-for-2 with three runs scored and two RBI. Neff hit a double and a home run in a four-RBI performance.
 
Reliever Bobby Finn threw 2.1 innings of one-run ball. He struck out three Sharks (12-15) and earned his first win of the season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
A two-RBI single by Brayden Leonard and a solo homer from Hale gave the Wildcats a 3-0 lead after the second inning.
 
LIU scored two runs in the top of the third to shrink the VU lead to 3-2, but the Wildcats answered with a huge bottom half to add to the advantage. Five separate RBI singles put the Blue and White ahead, 8-2.
 
After Villanova tacked on another run in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single by Hale, LIU put together a solid run in the top of the fifth to get back in the game. Chandler Ketchup hit a solo home run, which was followed by a three-run round-tripper by catcher Joseph Durso. An RBI single made it a five-run inning for the Sharks, cutting Villanova's lead to 9-7.
 
Neff hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth, bringing the Wildcats' advantage to 11-7. Then, Whooley drove home Hale with a sacrifice fly in the sixth, putting Villanova ahead by five runs.
 
Villanova sealed the game in the bottom of the seventh, using three bases-loaded walks and a two-RBI double to trigger a 10-run rule, ending the game in a 17-7 Wildcat win.
 
Finn improved to 1-1 with the win, while LIU starter Nicholas Finarelli took the loss.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
  • Hale's home run in the bottom of the second inning was his first of the season and the fourth of his career.
  • Neff now has five games with four-or-more RBI this season.
  • Neff's home run was his 10th this season, matching his career-high season total (2023 at Richmond).
  • Over his last nine appearances and 17.1 innings pitched, Finn has a 2.08 ERA. He has 18 strikeouts to just eight walks over that span.
  • The Wildcats have scored seven or more runs in five straight games for the first time since 2010.
 
UP NEXT
Villanova will face LIU in a rubber match on Sunday (March 30) at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on FloSports.
 
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