For the final stop on his Collegiate Baseball Association tour, James traveled to Villanova, Pennsylvania. Basically a suburb of Philadelphia, Villanova University was basically the town. When the train pulled into the station, James met with President Cody Lott. The two men walked over to the Ballpark of Villanova, which held 1500 people. James noted the size of the field was very comparable to the one he had just seen in Syracuse. The left and right field lines were 333 and 329 feet, while the power alleys at 418 and 415 feet in left and right. Center field was 433 feet away from the plate.
Athletic Director Jay Beckett introduced himself and the three men talked business....attendance, ticket sales, etc. James learned the Villanova team was currently the best in the association at 39-16, one game ahead of their opponent, Yale. The men expected a capacity crowd for what the newspapers were calling a "Preview of the Collegiate Championship."
Manager Jon Popa was less than thrilled with all of the hype. The two teams had not faced each other this season and this two game series was the only time they would play in the regular season. With both teams already clinching playoff spots, Popa felt the press was distracting his team. "Yale is a good team, Mr. Herring. They're going to be quite a test for our team." Popa was more than happy to talk about his best player, pitcher Micah Hansen, who had just earned Pitcher of the Month for May. "He's a good pitcher and he had some big shoes to fill when Ryan went down with his injury." Popa was referring to the team's opening day starting pitcher, Ryan Kovar, who went 10-0 before getting injured and missing the rest of the season. "He's done a fine job and he's put me in a hell of a position next year trying to pick my starting pitcher."
The temperature was a beautiful 67 degrees come game time, with clear skies and a breeze blowing from left to right across the field. 1461 people were in attendance to see the much hyped game. The game ended up being the most exciting one James had seen yet. A true see-saw affair, the teams exchanged leads multiple times. Yale scored a run in the top of the 1st, but Villanova plated three to lead. Yale responded in the top of the 2nd with four more runs and held a 5-3 lead going into the bottom of the 4th. The Wildcats of Villanova would score three runs in the 4th, briefly taking a 6-5 lead. But Yale scored four more runs in the next inning, in the top of the 5th, building a 9-6 advantage. Villanova could cut into the Bulldogs lead, however, by scoring two runs in the 6th to make it 9-8. Another run in the bottom of the 7th tied the game 9-9. Villanova took the lead again, 10-9, when they scored a run in the 8th. But Yale would rally, scoring two runs in the top of the 9th and winning by a score of 11-10.
When he left, James thought about how exciting the upcoming playoffs would be for the association if the games were like the one tonight. The publicity alone would do his young league wonders. Success now meant influencing the younger generation to play collegiate ball and ensuring the association would be around for years to come.