VILLANOVA, Pa.—Junior third baseman Chloe Smith (Sacramento, Calif.) had three hits and three runs batted in, including the game-ending run on her second double of the game, as Villanova (12-17, 2-2 BIG EAST) downed St. John's (5-22, 1-7 BIG EAST) by a final score of 9-1 in six innings on Saturday afternoon. It was a special day at the Villanova Softball Complex as the Wildcats welcomed Upper Merion Little League to the game and played their Lacing Up 4 Cancer game to support children fighting cancer and to raise money and awareness for the Go4theGoal Foundation.
 
Smith went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI to raise her batting average to .349 on the season. She moved to the leadoff spot in the batting order this week and in three games there has gone 6-for-10 at the plate with two walks, two doubles and four runs scored. As Smith goes, so has the Villanova offense. Over the past three games the Wildcats have hit .329 and averaged 6.7 runs per game. Senior shortstop Megan Kern (Royersford, Pa.) and freshman right fielder Kelsey White (Taunton, Mass.) each had two hits and combined to drive in three runs in Saturday's victory.
 
The outpouring of offense was more than enough to support senior pitcher Sara Kennedy (Newtown, Conn.) who pitched a five-hitter with no earned runs allowed in her second victory and first complete game of the season. Kennedy (2-5, 3.93 ERA) scattered five singles and had a season-high six strikeouts without walking a batter. She gave up an unearned run with two outs in the top of the third inning which briefly tied the score at 1-1, but Villanova took the lead for good with two runs in the bottom of the inning and cruised the rest of the way.
 
Smith got the Wildcats off to a fast start when she opened the home half of the first inning with a hard-hit single to left. She took second on a passed ball and was still there with two outs when White snuck a single just through the left side of the infield to score the first run of the game. White later had an RBI double to the fence in right-center field during a three-run fifth inning.
 
Aggressive baserunning helped Villanova make the most of its scoring chances throughout the game. Senior center fielder Sydney Hayes (Douglassville, Pa.) bunted for a single with one out and freshman second baseman Ava Franz (Aston, Pa.) at first base in the bottom of the fourth inning. Franz advanced to second on the bunt to the left side of home plate, then raced for third on the throw to first. She slid in just ahead of a throw to third base, while Hayes scampered down to second base and just beat the third throw of the same play to give the Wildcats runner at second and third. Smith was up next, and she fell into an 0-2 hole before fouling off a pitch and then driving a ball off the base of the fence in left field to extend the Villanova lead at that point to a 5-1 margin.
 
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Kern led off with a single and pinch runner Angela Giampolo (East Windsor, N.J.) scored from first on White's double into the gap. Later in the inning, heads-up baserunning by Franz and pinch runner Dani Dabroski (Cedar Grove, N.J.) gave the Wildcats two runs on a wild pitch. Franz singled off the glove of Red Storm relief pitcher Angela Saric to move Dabroski to second base, then Franz stole second to put runners at second and third. A wild pitch by Saric scored Dabroski from third and moved Franz up to third, but a shovel throw from St. John's catcher Natalie Alheidt to Saric at the plate was high and Franz scored the second run of the play.
 
Kennedy retired the first seven batters of the game before Anna Freveletti singled with one out in the top of the third inning. Freveletti advanced to second on a passed ball with two outs, leadoff hitter Meisha Murray reached on an error to extend the inning and Amy Mallah lined a single back up the middle to tie the game at 1-all. There was a threat of rain throughout the day on Saturday and during the top of the third inning a mixture of a cold rain and hail fell on the field, with hail pellets seen bouncing off the turf while the Red Storm were batting.
 
Freshman left fielder Alexa Raphael (West Caldwell, N.J.) was hit by a pitch leading off in the bottom of the inning and reached third base when a fielding error was committed on Smith's fielder's choice groundball to third. A wild pitch scored Raphael and Kern singled home Smith to put the Wildcats in front 3-1 and send them on their way to the eventual lopsided margin. Villanova scored two runs each in the third and fourth innings, and three more runs in the bottom of the fifth. It is the first time since the first three innings of the season opener on February 11 that the Wildcats posted three straight crooked numbers.
 
Prior to the game, youth players from Upper Merion Little League joined both teams on the field for the announcement of starting lineups and the playing of the national anthem. They returned to the field after the game as Villanova held an autograph session for all kids in attendance. During the game the Wildcats wore gold shoelaces as part of the Lacing Up 4 Cancer game.
 
The final game in this weekend's series is on Sunday at 12 p.m. as Villanova goes for the sweep of their longtime conference rivals. With the win on Saturday, the Wildcats are now 47-38 all-time versus the Red Storm, including 27-16 at home.