LYNCHBURG, Va.—Playing in its season opener and in the first game of five games at this weekend's Liberty Softball Classic, Villanova (0-1) scored both of its runs in the top of the second inning of an 8-2 loss to Notre Dame (4-4) at Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium on Friday morning. Junior shortstop Megan Kern (Royersford, Pa.) drove in both of the Wildcats runs with a single in the second inning.
 
Villanova showed patience at the plate in its first time on the field this spring and drew six walks on the day. Freshman right fielder Tess Cites (Horseheads, N.Y.), batting out of the ninth spot in the batting order, worked a base on balls in each of her first three collegiate plate appearances. It is only the 21^st time in the Wildcats varsity history that a player walked three or more times in a game.
 
Senior pitcher/first baseman Paige Rauch (Windsor, N.Y.) also walked in consecutive plate appearances in the second and fifth innings. Rauch (0-1) started the game on the mound but was the victim of a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the first inning which gave the Fighting Irish an early 3-0 lead.
 
A third unearned run against Villanova in the home half of the second extended the Notre Dame advantage to 4-2 with senior Anissa Amarillas (Placentia, Calif.) on the mound, but from there on the game remained a close one with the score 4-2 and within reach for the Wildcats until the Fighting Irish sealed the outcome with four runs in their half of the sixth inning.
 
The best scoring chances for Villanova came in the early innings. Senior second baseman Angela Giampolo (East Windsor, N.J.) singled up the middle to start the game, Kern drew a one-out walk and senior left fielder Julia DaCosta (North Attleboro, Mass.) reached on an error to load the bases with still just one away. A pair of strikeouts ended the frame without any damage done, but the Wildcats then got on the board in the top of the second.
 
Junior catcher Ryan Henry (Ramsey, N.J.) drilled the first pitch of the second inning for a double to right and Cites walked with one out to set the table for the top of the order. After a walk to Rauch loaded the bases with two away, Kern lined a 1-1 pitch into center field to score junior Sydney Hayes (Douglassville, Pa.) and Cites. Rauch was thrown out on the play trying to advance from first to third on the base hit.
 
After its miscues on defense in the first two innings, Villanova mostly settled in and both teams struggled to string hits together on a cold day. Rauch, Amarillas and sophomore Victoria Sebastian (Ridgewood, N.J.) combined to limit Notre Dame to going 3-for-20 at the plate with runners on base and 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. The two teams together were just 2-for-20 in RBI opportunities and there were 14 runners left on base in the game.
 
Fighting Irish starting pitcher Alexis Holloway (3-2) pitched into the seventh inning while walking six and striking out 13 over 6 1/3 innings. She also had two hits and drove in three runs at the plate.
 
Friday morning's contest was the first of two for the Wildcats, who are scheduled to play tournament host Liberty at 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon.
 
NOTES: Giampolo batted leadoff and started at second base in the season opener to extend her streak of consecutive games played to 126 in a row since the 2018 season … That streak is tied for the 17^th longest in program history … Cites and Brooklyn Ostrowski (Port Chester, N.Y.) each made their collegiate debuts for Villanova … They are the 308^th and 309^th players to appear in a game for the Wildcats … Rauch is now in sole possession of sixth place in school history with 54 career walks … She set Villanova's single season record with 39 free passes during the 2019 season … The last player before Cites to draw three walks in a game was DaCosta against San Diego State last season (3/4/2020).