PENN (13-24-1, 7-10-1 Ivy) AT VILLANOVA (8-32, 0-12 Big East) | Wednesday, May 9 | Plymouth Meeting, Pa.

Projected Starter (Penn vs. Villanova)
LHP John Alan Kendrick (2-0, 5.73 ERA) vs. TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

FOLLOW ALONG WITH...

LIVE STATS

TWITTER


PHILADELPHIA - If Wednesday's matchup at Villanova looks familiar, flip the calendar back to when Penn defeated the Wildcats in an extra-innings affair just over a month ago, wrapping up the Liberty Bell Classic consolation round with a 2-1 decision. Following a venue shift to Plymouth Meeting due to inclement weather affecting Meiklejohn Stadium, junior co-captain Matt O'Neill notched a walk-off single in the 11th inning to chalk up the win, yanking a pitch into shallow right field to send freshman Eduardo Malinowski home with the winning run.

Offensively, Penn has continued to aim for a more balanced approach across the entirety of the line-up, prioritizing "small ball" and a slew of tough at-bats scattered around the batting order. Malinowski has emerged as a true threat after an incredible rookie campaign, owning the team's top batting average (.346 BA) behind 53 hits, five doubles and two homers. He is currently riding an eight-game hit streak. Junior infielders Matt McGeagh (.293 BA) and Sean Phelan (.291 BA) have served as the group's power hitters all season, with the former leading the squad in RBIs (39, best in the Ivy League), homers (7) and triples (2) and the latter boasting the top on-base percentage (.294 OBP). Sophomore Chris Adams (.299 BA) and senior Andrew Murnane (.287 BA) have also had crucial at-bats as of late, sparking the offense with a key steal (combined 11-of-18) or incisive single.

The midweek pitching rotation continues its constant shift due to the Quakers' numerous capable relievers, settling this week on junior John Alan Kendrick. The southpaw will earn his first start of the season on Wednesday, aiming to improve upon his perfect 2-0 record and 5.73 ERA. Kendrick has proven himself an invaluable member of the bullpen, pulling extended stretches on a number of the occasions to keep Penn close in tight games. The expectation is that multiple Penn relievers to have their chance against the Wildcats, including rookie big guns Robby Cerulle (4.30 ERA), Brendan Bean (1.64 ERA) and Cole Sichley (7.71 ERA) as well as sophomore closers Dylan Mulvihill (1.83 ERA) and Jacob Sadowitz (4.86 ERA), all of whom have contributed major innings this year.

SCOUTING VILLANOVA
The Wildcats enter the midweek rematch with Penn sporting a 2-13 record over the past 15 games, suffering sweeps in all four conference weekends thus far. Villanova's lone successes during that stretch came in back-to-back non-conference matchups at Plymouth Meeting, as the team knocked off La Salle and Army by a combined 17-6 mark. The offense has leaned on a trio of hitters, with Ryan Toohers (.294 BA), David Gulati (.275 BA) and John Heilenbach (.273 BA) all compiling strong numbers on the year, including a combined 122 hits, 52 RBIs and six home runs.

As for the pitching rotation, Villanova has primarily turned to Ryan Doty (2-9, 4.23 ERA), Jimmy Kingsbury (0-7, 5.71 ERA) and Jonathan Rosero (1-6, 5.36 ERA) for a majority of the starts (29 of 40 games), with the group compiling 133 strikeouts against 180 hits and ten home runs. Tyler Arella (0-1, 2.35 ERA) and Mike Sgaramella (0-0, 1.93 ERA) have clocked significant time as relievers, racking up 53 strikeouts with 86 hits over the course of 58.2 innings.