Baseball Hits the Road for Non-Conference Game Against Villanova

Tuesday, April 14

Villanova, Pa.

3:30 p.m.

Bucknell University

Villanova

Photo by: Alisa Mitchell

Baseball Hits the Road for Non-Conference Game Against Villanova

4/13/2026 2:10:00 PM | Baseball

Bucknell (20-14, 13-3 PL) at Villanova (11-20, 0-6 Big East)
When: Tuesday 3:35 p.m.
Where: Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth | Plymouth Meeting, Pa.
Watch: ESPN+
Stats: Villanova.com

The Bucknell baseball teams begins a six-game road stretch beginning with a non-conference game at Villanova on Tuesday at 3:35 p.m. at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth.

Bucknell is coming off a four-game series split against the reigning Patriot League Champions Holy Cross. With the series split, the Bison maintained a three-game lead in the standings over the second-place Crusaders.

The Bison have been hot over the last month, going 16-4 since conference play began on March 13. During that stretch, the Bison won 10 games in a row to match their second-longest winning streak set back in 1914-15.

Bucknell (13-3) holds a three-game lead in the Patriot League standings over Holy Cross (10-5). Army (9-7) and Navy (9-7) both got back within one game of Holy Cross and Lehigh (4-12) and Lafayette (3-13) sit at the bottom of the standings.

Bucknell's 11-1 start in the Patriot League is its best start to Patriot League in program history. The Bison began the season 1-7, but have gone 19-7 since the rocky start and are six games over .500. The Bison are 12-5 at Depew Field and are 8-9 on the road.

Over the last 20 games, Bucknell is batting .283 as a team and are scoring just under 6.9 runs per game. The Bison are outscored opponents 137-109 over that span and pitchers have a 4.55 ERA. The Bison have hit 62 extra-base hits and 14 home runs.

Over those 20 games, Michael Chiaravallo (10-for-24, .417), Billy Fluharty (29-for-83, .349), John Calabrese (16-for-48, .333), Michael Trommer (25-for-78, .321) and Lleyton Coupe (16-for-51, .314) are batting over .300. Garrett Mathias is 19-for-64 (.297) with five home runs and 26 RBIs over that span.

Last Time Out vs. Holy Cross

Bucknell split a four-game series with the Crusaders this past weekend at Depew Field at Marren Park. The Crusaders led the series 2-1 and got back within two games in the standings, but the Bison dominated the series finale to restore its three-game lead in the Patriot League.
Holy Cross used two home runs to jump out to an early 5-0 lead, but the Bison cut the deficit to 5-4 headed to the seventh. The Crusaders responded with a five-run seventh and scored four more to run away with a 14-5 win in game one.
Bucknell earned a gutsy 5-4 win in game two as the Bison fended off a comeback effort by the Crusaders. The Bison took a 5-0 lead after two innings off of the reigning Patriot League Pitcher of the Year, Jaden Wywoda. Jake Schultz pitched four scoreless innings in his start before the Crusaders got back in the game with a four-run fifth off of Liam Jones. Hadley Maxwell came into the game to strand the bases loaded and hold the lead. He pitched two more scoreless innings to close out the 5-4 win and his eighth save of the year.
Holy Cross did nearly the same to the Bison in game three. After taking a 7-0 lead, the Bison scored one in the seventh and four in the eighth to cut the deficit to two runs. Holy Cross pitcher Marco Citro stranded the bases loaded, and tossed a 1-2-3 inning to take the 7-5 win.
Bucknell dominated the series finale, winning 12-4 behind a quality start from Brady Hoar and home runs by Michael Trommer and Brady Green. The Bison took a 9-0 lead before the Crusaders got on the board, and Bucknell closed out the win to even the series back up.

Bucknell at a Glance

Bucknell is hitting .254 at the plate and pitchers have posted a 5.95 team ERA. Opponents are hitting .270 against the Bison and pitchers have a 5.42 ERA.
In conference play, the Bison lead the Patriot League with a .289 batting average and rank second to Navy with a 4.70 ERA.
Left fielder Michael Trommer is hitting .326/.432/.574 for a 1.002 OPS and leads the team with 42 hits. He has seven home runs, 18 RBIs and 30 runs scored along with 13 multi-hit games. The senior has 11 doubles and 18 extra-base hits. Trommer has drawn 18 walks and seven hit-by-pitches. Trommer has reached base safely in 14 consecutive games. The left-handed hitter is 7-for-23 (.304) off of left-handed pitching
Freshman DH and first baseman Garrett Mathias is hitting .302/.427/.521 for a .948 OPS to begin his collegiate career. He is 29-for-96 at the plate and leads the team with 32 RBIs. Mathias has six home runs on the season, including a home run in his first collegiate at-bat. He currently has a 32-game on-base streak for the Bison. Mathias, a left-handed hitter, is 5-for-16 (.313) against left-handed pitching.
Right fielder John Calabrese is hitting .300 in 30 games with 21 starts. Calabrese has 11 RBIs and eight of his 21 hits have been doubles. Calabrese has drawn 11 walks and struck out just 11 times in 70 at-bats.
Outfielder Michael Chiaravallo is hitting .333 (17-for-51) with 12 RBIs in 27 games with 12 starts. Chiaravallo has been excellent in pinch-hit scenarios, going 4-for-11 (.364) at the plate. He's also been clutch for the Bison, hitting .409 (9-for-22) with runners in scoring position. He is also 7-for-20 (.350) with seven RBIs when hitting with two outs.
Centerfielder Billy Fluharty is batting .298 at the plate and is second on the team with 39 hits. The leadoff hitter has 13 RBIs, 27 runs scored and eight extra-base hits.
Zach Selfon is hitting .248 with 31 hits and 13 RBIs. He has walked 13 times and was hit by six pitches compared to just 18 strikeouts in 125 at-bats.
Ty Lagoni is batting .241 and is second on the team with 26 RBIs. Lagoni played as Bucknell's emergency catcher against Holy Cross, throwing out three runners on the basepaths. That included throwing out CJ Egrie, who was 33-for-33 on stolen base attempts before Lagoni threw him out. Lagoni has been named a Patriot League Player of the Week twice this season.
Brady Green made his fourth career start and his first start at shortstop on Sunday. He notched his first career RBI with a single in his first at-bat, then launched his first career home run, a three-run shot, in his next at-bat. He is 4-for-15 this season with two extra-base hits.
The Bison have hit 26 home runs. Trommer, Chiaravallo and Mathias all homered in their first at-bats of the season. Bullock homered in his second at-bat of the year.
Jonathan Adelmann has a 3.00 ERA in five starts for the Bison in his new role for the Bison. He's pitched 27.0 innings, going five innings or more in three starts. He's gone seven innings in each of the last two games, giving quality starts against both Saint Joseph's and Lafayette. He's struck out 25 batters compared to three walks the last two starts.
Everett Garber has a 4.93 ERA in 45.2 innings over nine starts. Garber is 3-3 on the mound and has six outings of at least five innings or more. He has one complete game against Lafayette this season. He has allowed 25 earned runs on 47 hits and has 47 strikeouts compared to 25 walks.
Freshman Brady Hoar has a 5.16 ERA in nine starts and is 5-2 on the season. Hoar has four starts of at least five innings where he allowed one run or less. He has pitched four quality starts this season, including a seven-inning performance against Holy Cross in the series finale. Hoar has been named a Patriot League Rookie of the Week twice and Pitcher of the Week once.
Hadley Maxwell has a 1.65 ERA and is 8-for-8 in save opportunities this season for the Bison. Among the NCAA rankings, Maxwell's eight saves are tied for fifth. He's allowed three earned runs on 16 hits with 20 strikeouts in 16.1 innings. He is tied for third in program history for single-season saves (8) and fifth in career saves (11).
Jake Schultz has 3.77 ERA in six appearances with four starts. He made his return to the mound in over a year against No. 15 North Carolina. He's allowed six earned runs on 15 hits over 14.1 innings. He threw four scoreless innings with a career-high seven strikeouts in Bucknell's 5-4 win over Holy Cross.
Mikey Myro has a 5.03 ERA in 34.0 innings over 12 appearances with two starts. He has allowed 19 earned runs on 31 hits with 25 strikeouts. Myro has eight appearances of two innings or more in relief.
Senior Ryan Facinelli was named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team and was a Second Team All-Patriot League selection in 2025.
Bucknell posted an 18-27 overall record with a 10-15 mark in the Patriot League last season. The Bison finished fifth in the PL missed the playoffs after making the postseason the previous three seasons.
Holy Cross won the 2025 Patriot League Championship, ending Army's six-year run as champions.
Head coach Scott Heather is in his 14th season at the helm, and he is the third-longest tenured coach in program history. Heather's 259 career wins are second-most in team history, trailing only Hall-of-Famer Gene Depew (591).
Coach Heather is assisted by Jason Neitz (16th season), Brett Smith '17 (6th season) and Josh Kieffer (5th season).

Villanova at a Glance/Series History

Villanova is 11-20 with an 0-6 mark in the Big East this season. The Wildcats finished 22-28 last season with a 6-15 record in the Big East.
The Wildcats were most recently swept by Xavier over the weekend and are 1-10 over their last 11 games. The Wildcats and Bison have had several common opponents. Villanova took two of three games from Charleston Southern, who swept the Bison. The Wildcats and Bison both defeated La Salle this season, and the Wildcats fell 11-1 to Lafayette who the Bison are 6-0 against in 2026.
Villanova is hitting .260 as a team this season and pitchers have a 7.22 team ERA. Opponents are hitting .299 and opposing pitchers have a 5.41 ERA.
Collin Quintano leads the team with a .327 batting average. He is slashing .327/.421/.604 for a 1.025 OPS in 29 games with 27 starts. He leads the team with seven home runs and 30 RBIs.
Brayden Leonard is batting .294 in 30 games with 29 starts. He leads the team with 35 hits and is second on the team with 22 RBIs. Leonard is 10-for-12 on stolen base attempts.
John Freitag is hitting .280 with 23 hits and 13 RBIs. Mark Gialluisi is hitting .277 with 15 RBIs.
Michael Whooley is second on the team with four home runs and 22 RBIs.
Jack Kelley has a 5.88 ERA in nine starts this season. He has allowed 27 earned runs on 35 hits and has 41 strikeouts and 22 walks in 41.1 innings.
Graham Moore has a 3.79 ERA in 14 relief appearances with two saves. He has surrendered eight earned runs on 13 hits in 19.0 innings with 21 strikeouts.
Jack Chavez has a 5.68 ERA in 12 appearances with three starts. He has allowed 12 earned runs on 20 hits in 19.0 innings with 19 strikeouts.
Villanova leads the all-time series 24-10 dating back to 1899 when the Wildcats won 15-5.
The Wildcats beat the Bison 11-1 last season in Plymouth Meeting.

Looking Ahead

Bucknell continues Patriot League action with a four-game series on the road at Army. The series begins on Friday at 3:35 p.m. and continues with a doubleheader on Saturday followed by the series finale on Sunday.