LYNCHBURG, Va.—Down to their final two outs before having the eight-run mercy rule invoked in the fifth inning, Villanova (0-4) hit two grand slams and unleashed a furious 11-run rally to get back into the game before ultimately falling by a final score of 18-13 to Liberty (9-4) in the highest-scoring game in the history of Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Junior catcher Ryan Henry (Ramsey, N.J.) and senior third baseman Julia DaCosta (North Attleboro, Mass.) each connected on grand slams in the big fifth inning, when the Wildcats scored 11 runs on seven hits and sent 15 batters to the plate. 
 
Villanova is the eighth Division I team since 2000 to hit two grand slams in the same inning. The feat was most recently accomplished by Clemson and Boise State during the abbreviated 2020 season, but prior to that this level of power display had not previously been accomplished since the 2014 campaign. Henry's grand slam – the first of the inning – was the first for the Wildcats since Caroline Jones emptied the bases at Georgetown on April 19, 2019.
 
Through the first four innings the game did not look like one that had the potential to enter the history books. Villanova trailed 9-0 after two innings and 15-2 when it came to bat in the top of the fifth, with the threat of an eight-run mercy rule through five innings looming over what could have been its final turn at the plate. The host Flames scored three runs on a bases-clearing double with two outs in the bottom of the first and went on to score six times in both the second and fourth innings.
 
Five different players had two hits in the game for the Wildcats, who only had four hits total when they came to bat in the fifth inning. DaCosta finished 2-for-3 with a walk and five runs batted in, Henry added a single after her grand slam and sophomore catcher Ally Jones (Brielle, N.J.) went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. The top of the lineup also produced, as senior second baseman Angela Giampolo (East Windsor, N.J.) and senior pitcher/left fielder Paige Rauch (Windsor, N.Y.) each had two hits while combining to score five runs.
 
The combined total of 31 runs scored is the most in a Villanova game since the Wildcats surpassed that total all on their own in a 33-3 win at Chestnut Hill on April 24, 1980. Villanova also matched the most runs it has ever scored in a loss, as it previously had been defeated 14-13 at Lafayette on April 25, 1977. Liberty had 19 hits in today's contest, the most ever allowed by the Wildcats in a single game.
 
If nothing else, the sequence of events in the fifth inning was a showcase of what the Villanova offense is capable of. The door was opened when Giampolo reached on a fielding error to start the inning and junior shortstop Megan Kern (Royersford, Pa.) doubled to left-center with one out. After a walk to DaCosta loaded the bases, Henry crushed the very next pitch far over the right field fence for her first career grand slam. With a double and two home runs this weekend, Henry is slugging .917 through four games and has equaled her career home run total through her first two collegiate seasons.
 
Henry's gland slam led to a pitching change, with the score 15-6 at that point and the Wildcats still needing at least two more runs to extend the game beyond the top half of the fifth. Jones greeted Flames relief pitcher Naomi Jones with a single to keep Villanova rolling, while three consecutive walks to sophomore first baseman Victoria Sebastian (Ridgewood, N.J.), freshman right fielder Brooklyn Ostrowski (Port Chester, N.Y.) and junior center fielder Sydney Hayes (Douglassville, Pa.) forced home another run.
 
That led to another pitching change and also turned the lineup over with Giampolo coming up. She continued her hot hitting this weekend with an RBI single up the middle and Rauch beat out an infield hit to make the score 15-9. Kern bounced back to the mound for a fielder's choice and the second out, but DaCosta was up next and deposited a 2-0 pitch over the fence in the deepest part of the ballpark in straightaway center field.
 
An infield single by Henry incredibly allowed Villanova to bring the potential tying run to the plate, but the Flames regained their composure and retired the final seven Wildcats batters of the game. Three insurance runs for Liberty – not to be taken lightly after the rally just an inning earlier – in the bottom of the sixth inning accounted for the final margin.
 
Two key scoring chances much earlier in the game looked like they would set the tone for a lopsided game. Giampolo and Rauch drew consecutive walks to lead off the game for the Wildcats in the top of the first inning, but they were unable to advance any further as the Flames escaped the early jam unscathed. Liberty  then strung together three straight one-out singles in the bottom of the first inning and eventually cashed in with two outs when Emily Sweat doubled just beyond the defense in left-center field to clear the bases and give Liberty a 3-0 lead.
 
Jones led off the second inning for Villanova with the kind of plate appearance that has been typical of several Wildcats batters so far this weekend. With the count 2-2, she fouled off three straight pitches before taking the next two to draw a nine-pitch walk. Villanova batters have seen an average of 4.2 pitches per plate appearance through four games this weekend.
 
The first two Wildcats runs scored in the top of the third inning. Giampolo lined a single to center field with one out and Rauch followed with an infield single to short. With two away, DaCosta lined a 1-0 pitch into center field for a run-scoring single, with Giampolo coming home from second and Rauch scoring from first when the ball got past the center fielder and rolled to the wall. DaCosta was credited with one RBI on the hit.
 
Villanova wraps up its opening weekend of the season with an 11 a.m. contest against Notre Dame on Sunday morning.