  We present an exploratory lattice QCD investigation of the differences
between the valence quark structure of pion and its radial excitation
$\pi(1300)$ in a fixed finite volume using the leading-twist factorization
approach. We present evidences that the first pion excitation in our lattice
computation is a single particle state that is likely to be the finite volume
realization of $\pi(1300)$. An analysis with reasonable priors result in better
estimates of the excited state PDF and the moments, wherein we find evidence
that the radial excitation of pion correlates with an almost two-fold increase
in the momentum fraction of valence quarks. This proof-of-principle work
establishes the viability of future lattice computations incorporating larger
operator basis that can resolve the structural changes accompanying hadronic
excitation.
