Two-Sport Star To Help Leukemia Patient

(Courtesy Villanova)

VILLANOVA, Pa.- Right fielder Matt Szczur was not available to play during the Villanova baseball three-game series against Georgetown last weekend at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth. Szczur has begun taking medication in preparation for a bone marrow donation in the near future.

Szczur is a two-sport star in football and baseball for the Wildcats.  He was selected as a match for a patient with leukemia last November and is currently prepared to donate his bone marrow in the near future.

On the baseball diamond this spring, Szczur (click link to listen to a podcast interview with Szczur) is batting a team-best .435 in 36 games.  He has been the team’s best all-around offensive player and leads Villanova in on-base percentage (.483), slugging percentage (.634), doubles (11), triples (6) and home runs (3).  He hit for the cycle last week in Villanova’s 17-10 win over Temple.

This past fall, Szczur helped lead the football team to its first-ever national championship, as the Wildcats defeated

Montana by a score of 23-21 in the title game of the Division I Football Championship.  Szczur ran for a career-high 159 yards against Montana and was named the MVP of the championship game for his performance.

Szczur is a match for a 19-month old girl with leukemia. There are 20 million people worldwide who are registered as potential marrow donors.  Still, there are only about 250 matches found each year, making it a 1-in-80,000 chance that a registered donor will be a match.  For more information on the National Marrow Donor Program, please visit www.marrow.org.

(Courtesey Villanova sports information.)