Bucknell University Athletics
Tuesday, April 14
Villanova, Pa.
3:30 p.m.
Bucknell University
20-15
2
at
14
Villanova
12-20
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucknell | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Villanova | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2 | X | 14 | 13 | 2 |
Photo by: Alisa Mitchell
Baseball Drops Non-League Game at Villanova
4/14/2026 6:44:00 PM | Baseball
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – Villanova rode two big swings of the bat and some control issues from the Bucknell pitching staff to a 14-2 non-league win on Tuesday at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth. The Bison fell to 20-15 on the season and will now turn their focus to a big four-game Patriot League series at Army this weekend.
Coach Scott Heather used most of his bench and five different pitchers in the mid-week game, which was shortened to seven innings. Bucknell was limited to two hits by six Wildcat pitchers, although the Bison did draw six walks. Andrew Swenson tripled off the right-field wall and scored on a Billy Fluharty ground out to tie the game at 1-1 in the third inning. Swenson also drove in a run in the fourth on a bases-loaded walk.
Villanova took the lead for good in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly by Brayden Leonard and a three-run triple by Carter Richey. Right fielder John Calabrese saved a run by gunning down Richey trying to score on a fly ball to end the inning.
After the Bison got the run back thanks to four walks in the top of the fourth, the Wildcats broke it open with seven runs in the bottom half. Six of those runs scored after a key mental error in the field would have ended the inning, the last four coming on an opposite-field grand slam from Mark Giallusi to make it 12-2. Giallusi went 3-for-4 on the day, and he and Richey, the 7-8 hitters in the lineup, combined for eight RBIs.
Liam Jones was the most effective of Bucknell's five pitchers. Jones worked a scoreless fifth inning, allowing just a single. Ethan Firestein struck out two in the sixth, but a couple of runs scored on wild pitches in the inning.
Garrett Mathias drew one of Bucknell's six bases on balls and extended his on-base streak to 33 games. Mathias and Zach Selfon both saw action at catcher for the first time this season as the Bison moved players around the diamond throughout the day.
After splitting a four-game set with Holy Cross over the weekend, the Bison head to West Point for four more league games this weekend. The Bison are 13-3 in Patriot League play and have a three-game lead on Holy Cross and four on both Army and Navy.
Coach Scott Heather used most of his bench and five different pitchers in the mid-week game, which was shortened to seven innings. Bucknell was limited to two hits by six Wildcat pitchers, although the Bison did draw six walks. Andrew Swenson tripled off the right-field wall and scored on a Billy Fluharty ground out to tie the game at 1-1 in the third inning. Swenson also drove in a run in the fourth on a bases-loaded walk.
Villanova took the lead for good in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly by Brayden Leonard and a three-run triple by Carter Richey. Right fielder John Calabrese saved a run by gunning down Richey trying to score on a fly ball to end the inning.
After the Bison got the run back thanks to four walks in the top of the fourth, the Wildcats broke it open with seven runs in the bottom half. Six of those runs scored after a key mental error in the field would have ended the inning, the last four coming on an opposite-field grand slam from Mark Giallusi to make it 12-2. Giallusi went 3-for-4 on the day, and he and Richey, the 7-8 hitters in the lineup, combined for eight RBIs.
Liam Jones was the most effective of Bucknell's five pitchers. Jones worked a scoreless fifth inning, allowing just a single. Ethan Firestein struck out two in the sixth, but a couple of runs scored on wild pitches in the inning.
Garrett Mathias drew one of Bucknell's six bases on balls and extended his on-base streak to 33 games. Mathias and Zach Selfon both saw action at catcher for the first time this season as the Bison moved players around the diamond throughout the day.
After splitting a four-game set with Holy Cross over the weekend, the Bison head to West Point for four more league games this weekend. The Bison are 13-3 in Patriot League play and have a three-game lead on Holy Cross and four on both Army and Navy.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: CJ Furey (1-0)
L: Bilecki, Frankie (0-2)
Batting:
3B: Swenson, Andrew 1
RBI: Fluharty, Billy 1 ; Swenson, Andrew 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mathias, Garrett 1 ; Swenson, Andrew 1
Batting:
2B: Larry Hotaling 1
3B: Carter Richey 1
HR: Mark Giallusi 1
RBI: Collin Quintano 1 ; Brayden Leonard 2 ; Carter Richey 4 ; Mark Giallusi 4 ; Tim Schuler 1
SF: Brayden Leonard 1
Base Running:
RUNS: JoJo Montgomery 1 ; Michael Whooley 2 ; Collin Quintano 1 ; Brayden Leonard 1 ; Austin Lemon 3 ; Larry Hotaling 4 ; Carter Richey 1 ; Mark Giallusi 1
SB: JoJo Montgomery 1 ; Michael Whooley 1 ; Larry Hotaling 1
CS: Brayden Leonard 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
1
AB
1
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
1B
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
IF/OF
/ BaseballIn The Herd: Holy Cross Game Preview And Will Hopkins Feature
Tuesday, April 14
2026 Buckys Teaser
Tuesday, April 14
In The Herd: Patriot League Games Preview And Jess Leon Feature
Tuesday, April 14
Holy Cross-Bucknell Baseball Series Wrap-Up 4-12-2026
Monday, April 13