VILLANOVA, Pa.—A pair of two-out hits in the bottom of the first inning plated the only runs of the game and were more than enough offense for graduate pitcher Paige Rauch (Windsor, N.Y.) who tossed a three-hit shutout as Villanova (10-15) downed Delaware (15-8) in the opening game of a doubleheader at the Villanova Softball Complex on Sunday afternoon. Senior shortstop Megan Kern (Malvern, Pa.) and sophomore right fielder Tess Cites (Horseheads, N.Y.) had the clutch hits for the Wildcats in the 2-0 victory. Later in the day the visiting Blue Hens tallied a 3-1 victory in eight innings in the second game.
 
Rauch (6-4, 3.24 ERA) was in complete control from the start and retired 12 of the final 13 batters of the game in her second shutout of the season and the 15^th of her Villanova career. She faced only four batters over the minimum and scattered three hits – all singles – while walking two and striking out five. Rauch was also the beneficiary of outstanding defense behind her as the Wildcats came up with big plays throughout the game to keep Delaware off the scoreboard.
 
There were big swings of momentum in the first inning alone of the pitchers' duel between Rauch and Blue Hens veteran pitcher Emily Winburn (7-5, 2.89 ERA). Delaware leadoff batter Hanna Garber walked to start the game but then was caught stealing on a strikeout-throw out double play as Rauch froze Brooke Glanden on a called third strike.
 
Villanova set the table in the bottom of the first when Rauch walked on four pitches to lead off the inning and junior catcher Ally Jones (Brielle, N.J.) walked with one out. With two outs in the inning, Kern worked the count fill against Winburn before lining a hard shot through the left side and all the way to the wall for an RBI double. Rauch scored and Jones advanced to third on Kern's sixth double of the year, while an infield single by Cites one pitch later brought in Jones with the second run of the inning.
 
Junior center fielder Sydney Hayes (Douglassville, Pa.) made one of the biggest plays of the game for the third out in the top of the third inning. Garber walked with one out and tried to score from second on a two-out single up the middle by Halle Kisamore. Hayes charged the ball and fired a strike to home plate to throw out Garber by a healthy margin. It was the fifth outfield assist of the season for Hayes and the fourth runner she has thrown out at the plate this year.
 
There was just one base runner against Rauch the rest of the way as she and the Wildcats defense shut down a Blue Hens lineup which was batting .284 with a .481 slugging percentage on the season entering the day. In the fifth inning, Cites ranged into right-center field and made a sliding catch of a line drive into the gap. One batter later, Julz Garber's swinging bunt was a hard line drive that junior third baseman Chloe Smith (Sacramento, Calif.) caught as she was charging towards the plate.
 
Winburn allowed two earned runs on four hits while walking four and striking out six in a complete game for Delaware. Each of the first four hitters in the Villanova batting order walked in the contest and junior left fielder Dani Dabroski (Cedar Grove, N.J.) went 2-for-2 hitting in the ninth spot of the lineup.