Game 1 Box
Game 2 Box

Towson, Md. - The Villanova Wildcats (29-15, 11-4 BIG EAST) traveled down I-95 Tuesday afternoon for a pair of non-conference games against CAA foe Towson (31-15, 7-7 CAA).

VU took game one by a 3-2 margin with Towson bouncing back to take game two 11-9.

Game 1

Villanova would waste no time getting on the scoreboard first. Lauren Herschberg led off the inning reaching base on an error by the Towson shortstop. Brittany Husk would ground into a fielder's choice with Herschberg out at second base.

Lauren Hanna would ground out the pitcher for the second out of inning bringing Nikki Alden to the plate. Alden would hit an RBI single to right field scoring Husk for the 1-0 lead.

Towson would tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning as Shelby Stracher scored on a throwing error by Herschberg.

Villanova would respond in top half of the third inning as Alden would get her second RBI of the game this time via a double to right center field which scored Husk for the 2-1 Villanova lead. Dana Morris would hit a two-out RBI single to left field scoring Alden for the 3-1 Wildcat lead.

Towson would get a run back in the bottom half of the fourth inning as Erin Drennan doubled to left field to cut the Villanova lead to 3-2 heading into the top of the fifth inning.

Poppe (18-10) picked up the win as she went all seven innings yielding just two runs on eight hits while striking out six Towson batters. She now has 959 career strikeouts.

Nikki Alden was 2-for-4 in game one with two RBI's including a double and a single.

Game 2

Unlike game one, Towson would jump out to an early lead against Villanova starter Jordan Prutzer. Brook Miko and Holiday Cahill each had RBI doubles in the inning. Shelby Stracher also provided a SAC fly to give Towson a 3-0 lead.

Miko once again would knock in an RBI in the bottom of the second inning to give the Tigers a 4-0 lead.

Villanova ever so slowly would chip their way back into this game as Husk and Jessica Angersbach each had RBI hits in the top of the third inning cut Towson's lead to 4-2.

After the Tigers failed to score in the bottom half of third inning, Villanova would explode for five runs in the top of the fourth inning. With one out, Morris would single to left field followed by an Aleshia Ayers single to centerfield.

Stephanie Butler would then RBI double to centerfield scoring Morris to narrow Towson's lead to 4-3. With Mackenzie Tilles pinch hitting for Shea Palmer, Tilles reach base on an error scoring Ayers to knot the game up at 4-4. Towson would make a pitching change and Palmer would pinch run for Tilles still with one out. Herschberg was hit-by-a-pitch to load the bases for Husk. The Miami, Fla. native would hit a 2-1 pitch to centerfield for an RBI SAC fly scoring Butler giving Villanova a 5-4 lead.

Angersbach once again stepped up to the plate and singled to centerfield scoring both Palmer and Herschberg to give Villanova a 7-4 lead.

The Tigers would cut the Wildcat lead to 7-5 in the home half of the fourth inning as Daria Edwards hit a solo homerun off Brette Lawrence, who came in for Prutzer in the second inning.

Morris would extend the VU lead to 9-5 in the top of the fifth inning as she hit a two-run homerun which was her seventh of the year.

Towson would not go away as the Tigers put up a five-run spot of their own in the bottom of the fifth inning to regain the the lead.

With one out, Cassidy Meyer hit a pinch-hit solo homer off Lawrence to make it a 9-6 game. Kendyl Scott would RBI single to center and advanced to second on an error to cut Villanova's lead to 9-7.

Prutzer would re-enter the game for Lawrence and Edwards hit a SAC fly to cut VU's lead to 9-8. Miko then smacked a two-run homer off Prutzer as Towson took a 10-9 lead. The Tigers scored five runs on four hits and got help from the Villanova defense as the 'Cats committed three errors in the inning.

After VU failed to score in top half of the sixth inning, Cahill hit a solo homerun off Prutzer to extend their lead to 11-9.

Prutzer took the loss as she fell to 7-2 on the year. Angersbach had solid game off the bench as she went 2-for-2 for three RBI's. Morris was 3-for-3 with two RBI's while Husk had two RBI's as well.

The 'Cats will return home this weekend for their final home series of the year as they host the Butler Bulldogs for three crucial conference games. Game one on Saturday starts at noon with game two to follow at 2:00 p.m. Sunday's game will be Senior Day with festivities and ceremonies before the 11:00 a.m. slated first pitch.

Be sure to follow the team socially on Twitter @VUSoftball, Instagram @novasoftball and Facebook to stay up to date with the latest news scores and highlights from the Wildcats throughout the season.