Three up, three down: Penn baseball vs. Villanova

After Penn baseball’s matchup at Villanova was postponed on March 19, the Quakers will play the rescheduled game with the Wildcats on Thursday. With just two games until the start of Ivy play, the Red and Blue (5-10) look to maintain the momentum they picked up after defeating Lafayette three times last weekend. Meanwhile, Villanova (7-14) lost two of three in a series with Northwestern. Without further ado, here is a three up, three down for the Thursday matchup.

Three Up

Jake Cousins — The freshman starting pitcher is the probable pitcher for Penn on Thursday and would be making his second career start. In four appearances this year, Cousins has a 1.23 earned run average, allowing just 10 baserunners in seven and one-third innings pitched. In his first start against Delaware State on March 11, he was able to work himself out of early trouble and should be more steady five appearances into his career.

Gary Tesch — The sophomore outfielder was impressive last weekend against the Leopards, garnering accolades as the Ivy League Player of the Week. He had six hits, including a home run, and stole two bases. Expect Tesch to keep up the offense while playing well in center field for the Red and Blue.

Michael Vilardo — After the sophomore second baseman had just three hits in three games to start last weekend, he exploded to the tune of four hits in four at-bats in the latter half of Penn’s road doubleheader vs. Lafayette. Vilardo came around to score four times as well, which helped the Quakers score 11 runs, their second-best offensive output of the year. After a strong freshman year, this may be a sign that Vilardo is avoiding a sophomore slump.

Three Down

Jeff Courter — The junior pitcher for Villanova is the expected starter on Thursday. So far in the season, he has struggled to the tune of an 8.56 ERA, allowing 20 hits and six walks in 13.2 innings. Courter will look to improve on his first start of the year, a 7-2 loss vs. Miami at Alex Rodriguez Park in Coral Gables, Fla.

Nonconference play — After the Red and Blue face ‘Nova on Thursday, they will get a heavy dose of Ivy play with Yale and Brown coming to town for doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday. With Penn getting its rotation of Connor Cuff, Dan Gauteiri, Ronnie Glenn and Jack Hartman set vs. Lafayette, the Quakers will be ready for those key Ancient Eight matchups. Road woes —The Quakers are just 3-8 on the road this year while sporting a 2-0 record at Meiklejohn Stadium. Villanova is the last non-Ivy team that the Red and Blue play on the road, so if there is any time to start getting used to being the away team, this would be it.