Clearwater, Fl. – Strong pitching in game one from
Paige Rauch and walk off heroics kick off the start of the USF Tournament with a 2-0 record.
Saint Francis
The Wildcats controlled the game against the Red Flash from beginning to end and won 7-0.
Julia DaCosta got the scoring going with a two-run single that scored
Becky Ducar and
Paige Rauch, and that was all Rauch needed when she got the ball on the mound.
Rauch would go the distance pitching a complete game shutout allowing seven hits, two walks, and struck out six.
Olivia LaQua would hit a sac fly in the third inning to make the score 3-0. The fourth inning is where Villanova broke the game open with four runs. It started when
Sydney Hayes hit a line drive to center that the center fielder could not stop and went for an RBI triple.
Angela Giampolo was up next and knocked her in with an RBI single.
Delaney Switzer then capped off the inning with a two-run single that would make the score 7-0.
The first five batters in the lineup each had two hits which fueled the Wildcats to the win in game one.
Holy Cross
Game two against Holy Cross was a much closer game as Holy Cross came back from down 6-0, but wasn't enough in the end as Villanova won the game 10-7.
DaCosta struck first for the Wildcats in the second inning when she blasted a solo home run to left field. Rauch expanded the lead in the third inning when she hit an RBI triple to right scoring Hayes.
In the fourth inning
Jordan Olivarez hit a sac fly to make the lead 3-0. The Wildcats would then add three in the fifth inning off of another Rauch triple, a Ducar RBI fielder's choice, and a DaCosta RBI double.
However, the Crusaders would battle back in the sixth and trim the lead to just 6-5. Hayes then came up to the plate in the bottom of the inning and launched a home run to left to give Villanova a 7-5 lead heading into the seventh.
Holy Cross was able to tie the game in the inning, but it wouldn't stay tied for long.
Ducar led off the bottom of the seventh and drew a walk, which brought up Switzer and she did the same. With DaCosta at the plate and a 2-2, she launched a no doubter to left that lifted Villanova over the feisty Crusaders. She finished 6-7 on the day with two home runs and five RBI.
Anissa Amarillas picked up her second win of the season coming in relief of
Sara Kennedy who started the game.
Next up is Eastern Illinois tomorrow morning at 9:30 A.M. Following this game the Wildcats will take on UMass at 1:00 P.M.
