INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.—Junior starting pitcher
Sara Kennedy (Newtown, Conn.) pitched a four-hitter and the power bats in the lineup kept up their torrid home run pace as Villanova (10-7, 2-0 BIG EAST) finished off a doubleheader sweep of Butler (9-10, 2-3 BIG EAST) with a 4-1 victory at the Butler Softball Field on Saturday afternoon. Junior catcher
Ryan Henry (Ramsey, N.J.) hit her team-high eighth home run of the season while sophomores
Chloe Smith (Sacramento, Calif.) and
Ally Jones (Brielle, N.J.) also homered in the win.
The barrage of home runs – the Wildcats also hit two long balls in the opening game of Saturday's doubleheader – give Villanova a total of 24 home runs through its first 17 games. The average of 1.4 homers per game is ahead of even the unprecedented pace the Wildcats were on last year when they hit 1.2 home runs per game (33 in 27 contests) in the abbreviated 2020 season. Henry (eight) has been the linchpin of the power show this year, already hitting six more home runs this season than in the first two years of her collegiate career combined.
It was Henry's solo shot to right with one out in the second inning that opened the scoring in the 4-1 victory in Saturday's nightcap. A leadoff solo shot by Bulldogs cleanup hitter Karli Ricketts in the bottom of the inning tied the score at 1-1, however. That was all the damage done against Kennedy (4-3, 4.23 ERA), who gave up just three other hits – all singles – while walking two and striking out six in her third complete game of the season.
Kennedy retired five straight and eight of the next nine after the Ricketts home run. She had the lead from the fourth inning on, as Smith drove a 2-0 pitch over the fence in straightaway center field with one out in the top of the fourth to put Villanova ahead to stay. The score was still 2-1 with two outs in the top of the fifth inning when Jones hit a pinch-hit, two-run shot to left-center which might have been the longest of the Wildcats five home runs on the day.
Sophomore left fielder
Dani Dabroski (Cedar Grove, N.J.) singled to left leading off in the fifth inning and was at second base with two away when Jones hit for junior third baseman
Megan Kern (Royersford, Pa.). Jones has been as good as anyone on the team in working the count during a plate appearance, and sure enough she took two called strikes before eventually waiting out three balls for a full count. The first payoff pitch to her was blasted for her third home run of the season and a larger cushion of 4-1 for Kennedy to work with.
Butler had its best scoring chance in the bottom of the sixth inning before Kennedy got a called third strike on Loren Simpson to strand the bases loaded. Lauren Fey led off the home half of the sixth with a bunt single and Villanova then caught a break when a bunt by Bri Avery hit her in fair territory and she was called out. Ricketts singled to left-center with two away and Mallory McMahon was safe on a fielding error which loaded the bases.
A heads-up play by senior right fielder
Paige Rauch (Windsor, N.Y.) in the seventh inning helped thwart any further chances of a Bulldogs rally. Pinch hitter Madi Christiansen led off and lined a ball into right field for what looked like a single, but Rauch fielded the ball one hop and fired it to first just in time to beat Christiansen for the first out of the inning. Kennedy did give up a one-out single, but ended the game with a groundout to third and a swinging strikeout.
Henry and Dabroski had two hits apiece for the Wildcats, who outhit Butler by an 8-4 margin.
Villanova has won seven straight and 10 of its last 13 games going into Sunday's series finale against the Bulldogs. The seven-game winning streak is the Wildcats longest since a 17-game streak in 2016. Sunday's game is scheduled for a 12 p.m. first pitch.
