The Huskies get on the road one final time this regular season.
When:
Friday, May 2, 3 p.m. ET
Saturday, May 3, 2 p.m. ET
Sunday, May 4, 1 p.m. ET
Where: Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth, Plymouth Meeting, PA
Radio: Mixlr
TV: FloSports
Projected Starters
Friday: LHP Oliver Pudvar (4-1, 3.51) vs. RHP Luke McCullough (4-2, 4.40)
Saturday: RHP Thomas Ellisen (3-3, 7.27) vs. RHP Jake Francis (5-2, 4.29)
Sunday: LHP Charles West (3-0, 3.07) vs. RHP Bobby Olsen (1-4, 5.24)
Series History
UConn and Villanova first faced off in 1947 and the Huskies have a 46-26 edge in the all-time series. The Huskies enter on a six-game winning streak and have only lose three times to the Wildcats since 2009. That includes a three-game sweep in last season’s series by a combined score of 29-11, as well as two wins in Plymouth Meeting in 2023 before the Sunday finale got washed out by rain.
The Huskies first played at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth in 2004 and have a 14-6 record at the venue.
What to Watch For
Villanova comes into the weekend on a four-game losing streak and a 2-8 record in its last 10 games. Creighton and Xavier helped the Wildcats to 16 runs over six games the last two weekends, never scoring more than three in a game, while St. Joseph’s got the crosstown victory on Tuesday.
Kevin Mulvey’s team has an outside chance at getting back to the Big East Tournament for the first time since 2008. Coincidentally, that’s the last time UConn missed a conference tournament, as the Wildcats beat the Huskies by a game for the final spot, even though they took two of three in the regular season series. However, it’ll probably need a win this weekend and at least a series victory over St. John’s next weekend to do so.
That will be a tough ask for Villanova, which has not done well offensively all season. Despite a strength of schedule in the bottom half of the country, it’s outside the top 200 in runs and scores 6.2 per contest. The Wildcats’ .272 batting average (No. 180) and .386 on-base percentage (No. 147) aren’t tremendous, but aren’t nearly as big of a problem as the slugging percentage, which sits at .393. That’s No. 239 in the country, with only two qualified hitters above .450 in Jason Neff (.313/.424/.646) and Michael Whooley (.318/.429/.522). That pair are the only two with more than 10 extra-base hits and Neff has 22 on his own, which is more than one-quarter of the team’s total.
The Wildcats work plenty of walks and are patient, but have proved that they can’t do significant damage on pitches in the zone. Half of the team’s 10 qualified hitters have a slugging percentage below .300.
Villanova is in the back end of the top 200 in ERA, at 6.37. While none of the starters have top-end numbers, they’ve kept their teams in games, as Jake Francis (5-2, 4.29) and Luke McCullough (4-2, 4.40) have eaten innings and prevented too many runs from crossing the plate. However, they deal with tons of traffic on the bases, as both have a batting average against above .280, which is where UConn can blow these games open and force the Wildcats to go to the bullpen.
There, once Alec Sachais (4-4, 3.86) gets burned, the going will get a bit easier. He’s one of eight primary relievers with more than 10 innings pitched and the only one with an ERA below 4.50 and a WHIP below 1.50. Of that eight, three WHIPs are above 2.00. Opposing offenses slash .291/.387.459, with 40 home runs in 41 games. UConn showed St. John’s how much it can score and if it can do so again, has a chance to take another weekend sweep.