Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, Del. - The University of Delaware baseball team will vie for the Liberty Bell Classic championship tomorrow at Citizens Bank Park when the Blue Hens square off with Villanova at 8 p.m.

Tickets for the event are $5 and can be purchased at the First Base Gate ticket window. Parking will be available in the Phillies ‘P’ lot, which is located on Darien Street near the intersection of Darien and Pattison Avenue.

The Blue Hens will be the home team and will occupy the first base dugout. Their game against the Wildcats will follow the finals of the Bill Giles Invitational between West Chester and Wilmington.

Delaware (21-12) enters the finals following a torrid weekend that saw the squad outscore Hofstra, 50-7, over three games. Ryan Cuneo led the way, tying a single-game school record with three home runs during Friday’s 27-2 victory. Carlos Alonso also finished with a .688 batting average in the three games after positing 11 hits in 16 at bats.

Overall, Alonso leads the team with a .418 batting average, while Ryan Reed is close behind with a .392 mark. Bill Merkler (above) boasts team-highs with 15 home runs and 50 RBI while hitting .390. Pat Dameron also stands at .384 and is tied for the team lead with 13 doubles, while Chris Nehl ranks fifth on the team with a .336 average.

Villanova comes into play with a 17-16 mark. Four Wildcats have batting averages above .300, led by David Koczirka’s .361 mark. The squad also has four players with at least 10 steals, highlighted by Matt Szczur who has swiped 15 in 20 attempts.

The Liberty Bell Classic, which was founded in 1992, has been used to spotlight the top local Division I colleges and universities and allow them to compete against one another in a tournament format. Delaware, which was one of the eight founding members, has captured six championships during the event.

The Blue Hens took home four of the first six championships, including the inaugural event in 1992. The program’s last title came in 2002. Tuesday will be the first time Delaware has been in the championship game since the finals moved to Citizens Bank Park.