PHILADELPHIA – After a 382-day absence, the University of Pennsylvania baseball team was back on the field playing a game on Saturday.
 
Two, in fact.
 
Sporting spanking new pinstripe jerseys that had expected to debut about a year ago this time, the Quakers met Villanova for a doubleheader at Meiklejohn Stadium in weather conditions that perfectly matched the occasion.
 
GAME 1 – Villanova 3, Penn 0
Joe Miller was on the hill for the Quakers in Game 1 and established himself quickly by striking out the first two batters he faced. He had six K's without allowing a hit through the first three innings, but in the fourth inning he lost his command and the Wildcats took advantage. Chris Rotondo walked to open the frame and then Jack O'Reilly followed with a shot over the left-field fence for a 2-0 lead. Miller then loaded the bases with a trio of walks before giving way to freshman Danny Heintz, who needed just three pitches to strike out Dylan McNary and end the inning.
 
As it turned out, that was enough (although Villanova tacked on a third run in the ninth). Wildcats starter Gordon Graceffo pitched into the eighth inning and scattered just five singles while striking out eight. Danny Wilkinson came on for the final four outs to earn his fifth save of the season.
 
For Penn, Eduardo Malinowski recorded two singles while Tommy Courtney, Jackson Petersen and Wyatt Henseler had one apiece. Heintz went 1.2 innings and struck out three, while Brian Zeldin allowed one earned run across nearly four innings of work on the hill. Overall, Penn's pitchers collected 17 strikeouts.
 
Game 2 – Villanova 3, Penn 2
Jimmy Kingsbury was the story of this game, as the Wildcats starter went the distance and threw 121 pitches in getting the victory. Courtney singled to open the game for the Quakers in the first inning, but that would be the only hit for the Red and Blue until Malinowski curled a two-run homer just inside the left-field foul pole with one out in the bottom of the ninth. The four-bagger made the game interesting, getting Penn within a run, and the Quakers got another base runner when Ben Miller singled with two outs. However, Henseler's liner to right—the third hard-hit ball of the inning—was caught to end the game.
 
Villanova opened the scoring in the fourth inning. With one out, Penn starter Sam Bennett walked Pat O'Neill and then hit McNary, and that came back to bite him when Will Reiner singled to score O'Neill. In the fifth, the Cats doubled their lead when O'Reilly doubled and later scored on a Quakers error.
 
What would end up being the decisive run came in the top of the ninth when O'Reilly and Nick Lorusso hit consecutive singles, then moved to second and third on a groundout. After a walk that loaded the bases, O'Neill lofted a sacrifice fly to right that scored O'Reilly.
 
Bennett ended up going four innings in his Penn debut, striking out five and giving up just two hits. Brendan Bean went two innings out of the bullpen, while Owen Coady pitched the final three.
 
Penn and Villanova are scheduled to complete the three-game weekend series tomorrow at Villanova's home field in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. Click here for Villanova's crowd protocols.