May 14, 2004
Final Stats
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Villanova softball team's quest for the first BIG EAST Championship crown in program history came to an end at the hands of Notre Dame early Saturday morning at the SU Softball Stadium. The Fighting Irish came away with a 2-0 victory in the first shutout of the tournament. Rain pushed back the start of the contest by more than three hours.
Notre Dame, the tournament's top seed, is seeking the fifth title in school history, as well as its third in a row. The Fighting Irish will need to beat Seton Hall twice on Saturday to do so. Head coach Maria DiBernardi's Wildcats were the No. 3 seed.
The last time Villanova and Notre Dame met in the BIG EAST Championship, the Fighting Irish emerged with a 3-2, nine-inning victory in the 2003 title game.
In this meeting, it was the Irish jumping out to a 1-0 lead after one inning. Three hits and an error had Notre Dame all over the base paths, and Mallorie Lenn's RBI single brought home Stephanie Brown with the run. Villanova second baseman Ricci Lugo turned an impressive 4-3 double play to avert further damage.
ND added another run in the second on a passed ball. 'Nova starter Kristen Haynes left after two singles put runners on first and third with one out. Shannon Williams got a ground out and a pop out with the unearned run coming in between.
VU put a runner on base in four of the first five innings, but the most serious threat came in the sixth. With two runners on and no outs, Sarah Wall laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt. But the next hitter, Allie Wisniewski, grounded out to second base, and pinch runner Kristin Leese was caught too far off second base to end the inning.
In the seventh, Robin Flier popped out to shortstop with a runner on first to end the ball game.
Heather Booth picked up her 24th win of the season in the circle, going the distance for the shutout. She gave up five hits and walked one while striking out six. Haynes took the loss, falling to 11-11. Williams did a fine job in relief, stranding runners in the fourth and fifth innings.
Offensively, Megan Ciolli and Nicole Wicks of Notre Dame (48-17) posted multiple-hit efforts. Sheri Donley went 2-for-3 to lead the Wildcats.
Invitations to the NCAA Tournament will be announced on Monday, May 17. Barring an at-large bid, Villanova's season will conclude with a 32-26 overall record. Flier, Lugo, Kristen Strait and Andrea Brown played what may have been their final collegiate game against Notre Dame.
