LYNCHBURG, Va.—Junior catcher Ryan Henry (Ramsey, N.J.) hit her third career home run with one out in the second inning to give Villanova (0-2) the lead in a back-and-forth contest with Liberty (8-4), but the Wildcats ultimately lost in walk-off fashion in a 4-3 loss in eight innings at Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium on Friday afternoon. Junior pitcher Sara Kennedy (Newtown, Conn.) went the distance on the mound and was charged with just two earned runs allowed in a strong first start of the season. Each team had only four hits in the contest. 
 
Henry hit a two-run home run in the top of the second inning and senior second baseman Angela Giampolo (East Windsor, N.J.) later doubled and scored the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth before the host Flames plated the tying and winning runs in the bottom half of the frame. Giampolo had two hits at the top of the lineup, while senior left fielder Paige Rauch (Windsor, N.Y.) was also on base twice with a single and a walk. 
 
It was the Wildcats who struck first with two runs in the second inning. Sophomore third baseman Chloe Smith (Sacramento, Calif.) was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a wild pitch before Henry crushed the very next pitch far over the fence in left-center field. The third-year catcher showed off her power potential to all fields in two games today, as she also had a hard-hit double to right field in Villanova's first game of the day against former BIG EAST foe Notre Dame.
 
Kennedy (0-1, 1.91 ERA) retired the first six Liberty batters of the game and faced just two batters over the minimum through the first give innings. She gave up singles in the third and fourth innings, but induced a 1-6-3 double play to end the fourth and then worked around a leadoff hit batter in the bottom of the fifth inning. 
 
A throwing error on a bouncer back to he mound leading off the home half of the sixth opened the door for the Flames, who tied the game one batter later when leadoff batter Autumn Bishop hit a two-run home run to left-center. Kennedy quickly recovered however, and retired seven straight batters until there was one out in the bottom of the eighth.
 
Giampolo came up with two outs and nobody on in the top of the eighth inning and doubled off the fence in left-center to extend the inning. After a Liberty pitching change, Giampolo took third on a wild pitch while Rauch was at the plate. The encounter between Rauch and Flames relief pitcher Karlie Keeney eventually became a nine-pitch showdown that resulted in a walk, but another wild pitch while the count was full allowed Giampolo to scamper home with the go-ahead run. 
 
There was one out in the bottom of the eighth inning when Liberty mounted its comeback. Madison Via walked with one out to turn the lineup over for Bishop, who doubled to left-center to tie the score at 3-3. She moved up to third on a passed ball and the Wildcats countered by intentionally walking Amber Bishop-Riley to set up a force play and a potential inning-ending double play.
 
Kara Canetto was next up and chopped a 1-0 pitch to short, on which the only potential play was to try and cut down the winning run at the plate. The throw from junior shortstop Megan Kern (Royersford, Pa.) to Henry beat the runner coming from third, but it was a low through and Bishop slid in just under the tag anyway to score the game-winning run.
 
Despite two losses, it was an overall productive day for Villanova in its first two games of the season. The team's offensive production for the day included a double by Henry in the Notre Dame contest and the extra-base hits by Giampolo and Henry in the Liberty game. Traveling south for the weekend did not completely allow the Wildcats to escape the cold weather, as temperatures hovered in the low to mid-40's throughout the day with occasional rain and snow flurries.
 
Villanova is back on the field to face Notre Dame and Liberty a second time on Saturday. Those games get underway at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.
 
NOTES: Giampolo's stolen base in the Wildcats first game of the day on Friday was the 26^th of her career and moved her into a tie for 13^th place on Villanova's all-time career list.