PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania baseball team begins a nine-game homestand on Wednesday afternoon, hosting main-line foe Villanova at Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium at 3 p.m.
 
The Quakers (4-8) are coming off a long 12-game road trip to begin the 2024 campaign, going 2-3 last week with victories over Charleston Southern and the College of Charleston. The Wildcats (5-8) have won three straight games after sweeping Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif. over the weekend.
 
GAME 13: Penn (4-8, 0-0 Ivy) vs. Villanova (5-8, 0-0 Big East)
March 13 | Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats | Program (PDF)
 
Home, Sweet Home!
They're home! After a 12-game road trip to begin the 2024 season, the defending Ivy champion Quakers are back at home for the first time this year. TLFAMJS has been a safe haven for Penn the last couple seasons, going 32-10 during that span including 15-5 a year ago.
 
Rookie of the Week (Again)
Freshman infielder Nick Spaventa was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week on Monday for the second consecutive week. In a five-game week at Charleston Southern and College of Charleston, he batted .381 (8-for-21) with a home run, four RBI and five runs scored. Through 12 games this year, Spaventa is ranked eighth in batting average and tied for third in homers (4).
 
Home Run Henseler
Speaking of long balls, senior Wyatt Henseler hit his Ivy-leading sixth home run of the season over the weekend at Charleston, further adding to his Ivy record 38 career dingers as a member of the Quakers.
 
At The Plate
It's been the three amigos leading the way for the Quakers at the dish this season as Spaventa (.388), Connor Chavez (.370) and Davis Baker (.346) are all hitting north of .300 through 12 games. Spaventa leads the team with an OPS of 1.077 while Henseler has a team-high six home runs and 14 RBI.
 
On The Mound
It hasn't been the best start to the year on the mound for the Quakers, pitching to a team ERA of 7.80 over 98.1 innings. But senior right-hander Carson Ozmer continues to be a bright spot, totaling a 0.96 ERA over 9.1 innings in three appearances. He's struck out a team-high 13 batters with one earned run allowed.
 
Freshmen Andrew Miehe (1-0, 0.00 ERA) and Anthoni Kiafoulis (0-0, 3.38) have both seen their fair share of successes to begin their collegiate careers. Both have not surrendered a hit so far and Kiafoulis has totaled five strikeouts over 5.1 innings of work.
 
Returning All-Ivy
Led by 2023 Ivy League Coach of the Year John Yurkow, Penn has a returning major award winner in junior right-hander Ryan Dromboski. In 2023, he went 7-3 in 13 starts, recording an ERA of 3.32 with 97 strikeouts and just 35 walks.
 
The Quakers also return six All-Ivy selections, Dromboski (first team), Henseler (first), Zaffiro (first), Baker (second), Ozmer (HM) and Jarrett Pokrovsky (HM).
 
Preseason Favorites
Penn was unanimously voted No. 1 in the Ivy League Preseason Poll, announced on Monday. The Quakers received all 16 first-place votes, leading to 128 points in a poll voted on by the league's sports information directors and one member of the media that covers each school.
 
Columbia was ranked second (101), Harvard in third (97), Princeton fourth (87), Yale fifth (66), Cornell sixth (37), with Brown (35) and Dartmouth (25) rounding out the field.
 
Scouting Villanova
*The Wildcats enter their first local matchup Wednesday with an overall record of 5-8. Villanova reeled off three consecutive victories on the road at Pepperdine over the weekend, outscoring the Waves, 20-3, in the three-game set.
 
*VU started the year 1-7 after series defeats at Incarnate Word, Davidson, Loyola-Marymount, and dropping a single game at UC Santa Barbara.
 
*Only Jack O'Reilly (.296/.556/.406), Shane Solari (.294/.353/.458), and AJ Hansen (.256/.326/.414) are hitting above .250 at the plate through 13 games so far for Villanova. O'Reilly and Scott Shaw are tied for the team lead with three homers while the former has a team-high 14 RBI.
 
*Starters Devin Rivera (0-2, 6.91 ERA) and Rian Schwede (1-1, 7.13) head a staff with a combined ERA of 6.14. Reliever Alec Sachais (2-0, 2.53) has struck out 11 over 10.2 innings.

Series History
Wednesday marks the 112th all-time meeting between Penn and Villanova in a series that dates back to 1905. The Wildcats hold a 61-50 edge, but the Quakers have claimed the last two meetings, sweeping both games in 2023. 
 
Follow The Action
Wednesday's home opener will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Cory Nidoh on the play-by-play call. Live stats will also be provided.
 
For the latest on Penn baseball, follow @PennBaseball on X (formerly Twitter), @Penn_Baseball on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.