VILLANOVA, Pa. – The first weekend of the 2020 softball season has wrapped up and Villanova is sitting in a good position with a 3-2 record. The Wildcats competed in the River City Leadoff in Jacksonville, and earned wins against San Diego State, Jacksonville and Nicholl's State. For their efforts, the Wildcats had a pair of student athletes named to the Honor Roll in this week's edition of the BIG EAST Weekly Awards.
 
Megan Kern made her Villanova debut and made big contributions in Jacksonville. The sophomore posted a .429 batting average to go with six hits, two doubles and four RBI. Defensively, Kern registered nine putouts for a fielding percentage of .955.
 
Paige Rauch seemingly picked up where she left off a year ago. On the mound, she posted a 3-0 record with a 1.31 ERA in 16 innings of work. She picked up one complete game and had eight strikeouts. Offensively Rauch had three home runs, led the team in runs scored, RBI and total bases. She also recorded 21 putouts and had no errors.
 
In addition to those performances, Chloe Smith put together multiple strong outings in her first collegiate action. The freshman recorded a hit in every game, including a 3-3 performance against Jacksonville. Her first collegiate hit was a home run off of San Diego State's Maggie Balint to break up a no hitter, a game that the WIldcats won, 5-4. Smith also had a double, two stolen bases, four runs scored and 12 assists from third base on the weekend.
 
The Wildcats will be in action again this weekend as they travel to Orlando, Fla. for the Knights Classic hosted by Central Florida.