Villanova closed out its weekend series on a positive note Sunday afternoon, defeating Florida A&M 4–1 at Moore-Kittles Field behind strong pitching and timely offense.
The Wildcats struck first in the second inning when Collin Quintano launched a solo home run over the left-field wall — his fourth of the season — to give Villanova a 1–0 lead. The advantage grew in the fourth when John Freitag reached base and Carter Richey was hit by a pitch before freshman Jack Roventini lined a two-run single through the right side to extend the lead to 3–0.
Graduate student Will Parkinson made his first start of the season and provided a steady outing on the mound, tossing four scoreless innings while allowing five hits and striking out five. Florida A&M broke through in the fifth on a balk after putting runners on the corners, but Villanova quickly regained control. Roventini delivered again in the sixth, singling home Larry Hotaling to push the lead to 4–1.
The Wildcats bullpen preserved the advantage from there. Graham Moore worked out of the fifth-inning jam before Jeremiah Holder closed the door, striking out three over 2.2 scoreless innings to earn his second save. Roventini finished with two hits and three RBIs as Villanova collected 10 hits and played error-free defense to secure the series finale victory.
In other action, La Salle grabbed early momentum Sunday afternoon but could not keep pace with No. 10 Clemson, falling 16–3 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
The Explorers (8–6) struck first when Chase Swain launched a solo home run to right field in the opening inning. After Clemson answered with two runs in the bottom half, La Salle briefly regained control in the second. Justin Szestowicki reached base ahead of Austin Rhue, who lined a two-run homer down the left-field line to give the Explorers a 3–2 lead.
Clemson responded quickly. The Tigers tied the game in the second on a sacrifice fly before Tryston McCladdie delivered an RBI single to push the hosts back in front. The game broke open in the third when Ty Dalley drove in two runs with a double before Jarren Purify followed with a three-run homer to extend the lead to 9–3.
La Salle managed just four hits on the afternoon but worked seven walks against the Clemson pitching staff. Swain and Rhue provided the offense with their home runs accounting for all three runs.
Clemson added three more runs in the fifth inning and ended the game in the seventh via the run rule when Nate Savoie launched a grand slam to center field.
Ryan Brown took the loss after allowing four runs over two innings, while Hudson Narke and Josh Beck combined to cover the final four innings out of the bullpen.
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