PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania baseball team opens competition in the 2019 Liberty Bell Classic as the Quakers take a short trip to Plymouth Meeting to face Villanova.
 
Penn began conference play last weekend as the Quakers welcomed Harvard to Meiklejohn Stadium. The Red and Blue took one of the three games to move to 11-6 on the season.
 
GAME 18: PENN (11-6, 1-2 Ivy League) vs. VILLANOVA (5-18, 0-0 Big East)
March 27, 2019 | Plymouth Meeting, Pa. | Live Stats | Watch
 
PROJECTED STARTER
Joe Miller (2-1, 3.60 ERA, 15.0 IP, 19 K) vs. TBA
 
THE MATCHUP
Wednesday's Liberty Bell Classic game is Penn's 102nd time facing Villanova. The Philadelphia Big 5 rivals first met in 1905, with the Wildcats winning 3-2. Villanova holds the series advantage with a 58-43 record, but the Quakers have won the last three.
 
Villanova enters the game with a 5-18 record and are currently on a four-game losing streak. The Wildcats are 2-2 against fellow Philadelphia universities, winning two of three against La Salle before losing 4-0 to Saint Joseph's.
 
NEWS AND NOTES: PENN
*Penn ranks third in the nation in team batting average, improving to .331 on the season. The Quakers rank fourth in scoring (9.7 runs per game), fourth in slugging percentage (.518), second in on-base percentage (.440), and first in doubles per game (3.12).
 
*Craig Larsen ranks fourth in the nation in RBI per game (1.63). He leads the Quakers and the Ivy League with 26 this season. Larsen stayed hot at the plate last week, going 10-of-18 with seven RBI, four runs scored, and four doubles. The freshman posted a slash line of .556/.636/.778 and extended his hit streak to ten games.
 
*Freshman Josh Hood hit his first two collegiate home runs in Penn's game two victory over Harvard. In the game, he went 4-of-5 with five RBI and three runs scored. He now has three games this year with four or more hits.
 
*Phelan has reached base in all 17 of Penn's games this season. He leads the Quakers with a .506 on-base percentage.
 
*Seven of Penn's starting nine have a batting average greater than .300 through 17 games. Phelan leads the group (.408) followed by Larsen (.397), Hood (.380), Peter Matt (.329), Matt O'Neill (.328), Eduardo Malinowski (.315), and Jackson Petersen (.310).
 
*Petersen has developed into his role as Penn's designated hitter over the past few weeks. Since Penn's series against Fairleigh Dickinson starting on March 16, he has gone 9-of-21 with two doubles and three RBI.
 
*Freshman Andrew Hernandez hit his first collegiate home run with a solo shot in game one of Penn's series with Harvard.
 
*Through 17 games, seven Penn players have 20 or more hits. Phelan (29) leads the group, while Larsen (27), Hood (27), Matt (26), Malinowski (23), O'Neill (21), and McGeagh (21) follow.
 
*Six different Penn players have gone yard multiple times this season. Phelan and Larsen lead the Quakers with four each, followed by O'Neill (3), Hood (2), Malinowski (2), and Tommy Courtney (2).
 
PENN BY THE NUMBERS
.331 • Team batting average for Penn, fifth among all NCAA DI programs.
 
3 • Freshman pitchers with a win this season: Seth DeVries, Kevin Eaise, and Joe Miller.
 
4 • Triples by Malinowski this season, tied for fourth-most in the nation.
 
5 • Players with four RBI in a single game this season: Hood, Larsen, Matt, McGeagh, and Phelan.
 
8 • Seems to be the magic number for Penn this season. The Quakers are 9-1 in games where they've scored eight or more runs.
 
9 • Players with three or more hits in a game this season: Chris Adams, Courtney, Hood, Larsen, Malinowski, Matt, McGeagh, O'Neill, Phelan.
 
21 • Strikeouts for John Alan Kendrick this season—the leading number for Penn in the category.
 
22 • Hits for Phelan and Matt this season, the team's leading number in the category.
 
23 • Runs scored by Matt this season, most by any Ivy athlete.
 
26 • RBI for Larsen this season, most in the Ivy League.
 
78 • Extra-base hits for Penn through eight games, the most by any school in the Ivy League.
 
143 • RBI for the Quakers in 2019, the most combined mark among all Ivy League teams and 27 more than the next-best (Yale, 116).
 
144 • Games played by Phelan, 17 shy of the most in program history.