Live Stats and Video

Villanova, Pa. - The Villanova softball team (29-15) will host Lehigh (25-16) Wednesday for a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. The Wildcats have won four of their last five games, and the Mountain Hawks are winners of six straight. Both games of the doubleheader will have live stats and video.  The doubleheader is part of a 10-game homestand to close out the season for Villanova.

Over 800

Head Coach Maria DiBernardi picked up her 800th career win last season in the series against St. John’s on April 2 in an 8-7 victory. DiBernardi’s career record now stands at 847-729-10.

Last Time Out

Villanova won two out of three games against St. John’s this past weekend in Queens, N.Y. The Wildcats won the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, before falling in the second game. In the series finale on Sunday, Brette Lawrence threw a perfect game to help the Wildcats win 8-0. Lawrence became the third Villanova softball player to throw a perfect game, joining Shannon Williams and Theresa Hornick in the prestigious club. Natalia Segovia also earned herself a place in the Villanova record book during the game, as she hit a grand slam in the top of the third inning.

Scouting Lehigh

Lehigh enters the contest at 25-16, and the Mountain Hawks have won six straight games. Lehigh has four batters hitting over .300 on the year. Ashley Quidolit Rabago leads the way with a .347 batting average. She has 41 hits, 21 runs, and 13 RBIs on the year. The Mountain Hawks have also had strong performances on the mound this season. Christine Campbell has a 15-4 record this season with a 1.98 ERA, and Emily Sorem is 8-7 with a 2.24 ERA.

 

Lawrence and Segovia Earn Honors

Brette Lawrence was named the Louisville Slugger NFCA Division I National Pitcher of the Week and BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week, and Natalia Segovia earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. Lawrence went 5-0 on the mound with a 0.76 ERA, while striking out 21 batters during the week. She also went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in conference play, which included her first career perfect game against St. John’s on April 23.

Segovia also played a key role in Sunday’s win over the Red Storm. With the score tied 0-0 in the top of the third inning, Segovia hit a grand slam to put the Wildcats ahead 4-0. Villanova went on to win the game by a final score of 8-0.

200-Hit Club

Lauren Herschberg recorded her 200th hit last weekend in the first game of a doubleheader against Georgetown. Herschberg became the 12th Villanova softball player to reach this mark, joining Jackie Pasquerella, Sara Carlson, Robin Flier, Meghan Morese, Jessica DeLuca, Bridget Baxter, Lisa Krueger, Ricci Lugo, Kelli McCoy, Sheri Donley and Megan O’Leary in the 200-hit club.

 

Closing In On The Record Books

Herschberg hit her 48th and 49th career doubles in the doubleheader against Fairleigh Dickinson. She is now in sole possession of second place on the all-time Villanova list and needs three more doubles to tie Megan O’Leary’s first place mark of 52.

Brette Lawrence now has a 21-7 record this season, and she needs two more wins to tie the all-time Villanova wins mark set by Shannon Williams in 2005.

Nikki Alden has nine home runs on the year, which is two shy of the single-season Villanova record.

Brette Leads The BIG EAST

Brette Lawrence has a 21-7 record on the mound this season with a 2.34 ERA. She leads the BIG EAST Conference in wins and ERA.

Alden At The Top

Nikki Alden leads the team in batting average (.396), slugging percentage (.739), on-base percentage (.504), RBIs (36), triples (3), and home runs (9).

Hitting For Power

Villanova has a team batting average of .301 on the season, and the Wildcats’ slugging percentage is .450. As a team, Villanova has hit 30 home runs with a total of 198 RBIs.

Six Is The Magic Number

Villanova is 18-1 when scoring more than six runs in a game. The Wildcats are also 19-0 when leading after six innings. When holding opponents to less than three runs, the team is 23-2.

Four For O’Donnell

Associate head coach Jessica O’Donnell is in her fourth season on the Villanova coaching staff. O’Donnell aids Coach DiBernardi with the day-to-day operations of the program, along with leading the infielders and coaches.

New Coach In The Dugout

Stephanie Sanders is in her first season as an assistant coach at Villanova. Sanders was a standout utility player at Michigan State, where she batted .288 with 44 hits, 32 RBIs, 25 runs, nine home runs and seven doubles during her senior season. Last season, she was an assistant coach at Saginaw Valley State.

Fresh Faces

Villanova welcomed seven student-athletes to the team this season. Sophomore transfer Kendall Ohman and freshmen Gabby Wenn, Megan Ruiz, Caitlyn Dickman, Caroline Jones, Becky Ducar, and Jordan Olivarez joined the team for the 2017 season.

Megan Ruiz and Caroline Jones have had stellar campaigns in their first collegiate seasons. Ruiz is batting .311 this year, and she has hit in the leadoff spot during nine games this season. Caroline Jones has a .268 batting average this season with 26 hits, 20 RBIs, 17 runs, six doubles and five home runs.

 
Summarizing The Situation

As a team, Villanova is batting .344 against left-handed pitchers this year and .297 against right-handed pitchers. With runners in scoring position, the Wildcats are batting .271. When a runner is on third with less than two outs, Villanova is hitting at a .479 clip. The Wildcats have also been very successful when it comes to advancing runners. The team has moved a runner to the next base at a rate of .484.

On the mound, left-handed hitters are batting .269 against Brette Lawrence this season, while right-handed hitters are batting .238. Lawrence has also fared well with runners on base, as she is allowing hitters to bat at just a .233 clip during those situations. When there are two outs in the inning, Lawrence has held opponents to a .202 average. 

 
BIG EAST Conference Weekly Honors

Villanova has earned 13 BIG EAST Conference weekly honors this season.

Feb. 20         Nikki Alden                    BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll

Feb. 20         Brette Lawrence           BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week

March 6        Brette Lawrence          BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll

March 6        Nikki Alden                   BIG EAST Player of the Week

March 13     Brette Lawrence           BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll

March 13     Lauren Hanna               BIG EAST Player of the Week

March 27     Lauren Herschberg       BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll

March 27     Nikki Alden                    BIG EAST Player of the Week

April 10         Dana Morris                 BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll

April 10         Brittany Husk                BIG EAST Player of the Week

April 17         Lauren Herschberg      BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll

April 24         Brette Lawrence           BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week

April 24         Natalia Segovia             BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll

 

Up Next

Villanova will host DePaul this weekend for a BIG EAST Conference series, starting with a doubleheader on Saturday.