 |
| Jason Neff remained hot at the plate on Saturday. | PHOTO: Villanova Athletics |
Jason Neff put on a show at the plate Saturday afternoon, tying career bests with four hits and four RBIs while blasting a career-high two home runs to lead Villanova to a 10-3 win over Winthrop at Founders Field. The senior catcher has been on a tear, now with three homers and seven RBIs over his last two games.
On the mound, Luke McCollough delivered a strong outing, working 7.1 innings while allowing just three runs and striking out six. Jake Francis took care of the final 1.2 innings, inducing a double play to end the eighth before retiring the Eagles (3-3) in order in the ninth to lock down the Wildcats’ third win of the season.
Villanova (3-2) wasted no time jumping on Winthrop, as Austin Lemon opened the game with a single before Michael Whooley launched a two-run homer—his first of the season—to stake the Wildcats to an early lead. McCollough then set the Eagles down in order in the bottom half of the frame to keep momentum on Villanova’s side.
The Wildcats erupted for five runs in the second, starting with run-scoring hits from Tyler Shaw and Whooley. Neff followed with a two-run double before coming around to score on an Aidan Barry sacrifice fly, pushing the Villanova lead to 7-0.
Neff finished the afternoon 4-for-4, raising his season average to .500 (9-for-18) through five games. Whooley also had a standout performance, collecting a season-best three hits with three RBIs, while Lemon continued his hot start with two hits—extending his season-opening hit streak to five games and bringing his average to .412.
On the pitching side, Francis has now allowed just two hits and one run across 4.1 innings of relief work this season.
Villanova will look to claim the series in Sunday’s finale against Winthrop, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. ET at Founders Field. The Wildcats didn’t earn their third win of the season until March 9 last year, a sign of their early-season improvement.
Elsewhere, Penn fell to No. 9 Florida State, 9-3, on Saturday afternoon at Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium, dropping to 0-2 to start the season while the Seminoles remained perfect at 6-0.
The Quakers totaled nine hits, with every batter in the top seven of the lineup recording at least one. Connor Chavez led the way with a 2-for-4 effort, while Gavin Degnan and Davis Baker each notched their first home runs of the season.
Marty Coyne (0-1) took the loss for Penn, surrendering six runs (five earned) on five hits over 3.2 innings while striking out three. The Quakers will look to salvage the series finale against the Seminoles on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
