April 16, 2014
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VILLANOVA, Pa. - Winners in four of its last five games, the Villanova softball team (14-23, 2-7 BIG EAST) will travel to Providence, R.I. to play a three game series against BIG EAST foe Providence (4-22, 2-9 BIG EAST) for a doubleheader on Thursday and a single game on Saturday. First pitch is slated for noon on Thursday and 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.
Over the weekend, the Wildcats took two of three from Butler to win their first conference series. After beating La Salle 4-0 and Rider 9-2 in midweek showdowns,
Kate Poppe tossed her second career no-hitter in the opener against the Bulldogs. With the series split 1-1 heading into the rubber match, Poppe followed up with her 14 complete game triumph to drop Butler below .500 in conference.
Poppe was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for the fourth time this season after collecting three wins last week. She held batters in check for one run in 20.1 innings to lower her ERA to 1.95 on the year. The sophomore leads the conference with 206 strikeouts, while holding opponents to .172 hitting.
The offensive attack has improved tremendously over the past five games. In that span, Villanova is outhitting opponents .316 to .213 and outscoring teams 22 to nine. Sierra McConnell paces the offensive with a team-high three homeruns, 13 RBI and 15 runs scored. Her .500 batting average with five runs scored and six RBI earned her the College Sports Madness BIG EAST Player of the Week and the conference Honor Roll.
Providence sits on the bottom of the conference standings with a 2-9 record in BIG EAST play. The Friars are 4-22 overall with an 8-2 win over Butler and an 8-0 run-rule shutout versus St. John's.
Freshman Taylor Huntly is the team ace with 18 pitching appearances for 96.2 innings and a 4.38 ERA. Sophomore Kiara Amos has registered 41 strikeouts in 58.0 innings pitched.
Full recaps will be available following each game on Villanova.com/softball and don't forget to follow on Twitter @VUSoftball, Instagram @novasoftball and Facebook for the latest news, scores and updates.
