THE SERIES: Penn (6-15-1, 2-3-1 Ivy) vs. Villanova (5-14, 0-0 Big East) | Apr. 3 | Meiklejohn Stadium

Projected Starter (Penn vs. Villanova)
LHP Brendan Bean (0-0, 2.08 ERA) vs. RHP Jon Rosero (0-3, 5.64 ERA)


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PHILADELPHIA - After closing out a dramatic home weekend against Dartmouth with a pair of back-to-back extra innings games in Sunday's doubleheader, Penn shifts focus to the midweek matchup against fellow Big Five member Villanova, hosting the Wildcats Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. The Quakers played Dartmouth close all weekend, falling on Saturday in a tight 5-4 loss before rallying in both of the Sunday contests, clawing from three runs back to lock up an 8-7 victory in the morning game before doing the same in the late matchup to force a 4-4 tie.

Offensively, Penn has shifted from an individual-centric showcase to a team-powered effort, as production has begun to distrubute up and down the batting order. In the matchups with the Big Green, the usual slew of juniors - Sean Phelan (.338 BA), Matt McGeagh (.276 BA) and Matt O'Neill (.215 BA) - hit below their usual numbers, leaving freshmen Eduardo Malinowski (.337 BA) and Kyle Cronk (.333 BA), not to mention senior Andrew Murnane (.234), to pick up the slack. And while both Phelan and McGeagh proved the heroes of the Sunday rallies, jacking a walk-off sacrifice fly and a two-run homer for the ninth-inning tie, respectively, the Quakers have begun to showcase a more balanced attack with the meat of their schedule quickly approaching.

Following another strong weekend on the mound, Penn's starting rotation looks solid, with senior Gabe Kleiman holding down the top spot and the sophomore duo of Mitchell Holcomb and Christian Scafidi managing the other two matchups. Out of the bullpen, the Quakers have also settled into a competent staff, now featuring seven guys with significant experience this season. The freshmen trio of Bean, Robby Cerulle and Cole Sichley has been critical in tight situations, usually taking over for starters for a frame or two in the middle of a game. Meanwhile, juniors Grant Guillory and John Alan Kendrick have recovered after tough starts, and now serve as reliable long-relief pitchers out of the pen. Sophomores Dylan Mulvihill and Jacob Sadowitz have slotted in nicely to the closer spots, wrapping up games consistently since taking over that role during the spring break road trip.


SCOUTING VILLANOVA
The Wildcats enter the midweek battle with Penn owning a 5-14 record, and recently knocked off Bucknell to snap a seven-game losing streak. On the year, Villanova's five victories have come against two opponents, as the team swept Norfolk State to open the season and defeated Bucknell in two matchups thus far. The offense has leaned on a trio of athletes, with Ryan Toohers (.344 BA), John Heilenbach (.311) and David Gulati (.272) all combining for 39 hits, 15 doubles and 30 RBIs.

As for the pitching rotation, Villanova has looked to Ryan Doty (2-4, 3.10 ERA), Jimmy Kingsbury (0-4, 5.26 ERA) and Rosero for a heavy majority of the starts (15 of 19 games), with the trio compiling 69 strikeouts with 77 hits and just three home runs across 88 and two thirds innings. Primary relief has come from Ryan Pfutzenreuter (0-1, 2.35 ERA) and Conor McCarthy (0-0, 1.93 ERA), who have racked up 25 strikeouts with just 17 hits over the course of 24 and two thirds frames.