VILLANOVA, Pa. – Megan Kern delivered a sharp single to center field to score Sydney Hayes to give Villanova a 3-2 walk-off victory over Seton Hall in eight innings Saturday at the Villanova Softball Complex.
 
Caroline Pellicano worked a scoreless eighth inning to earn the victory for the Wildcats (27-20 overall, 14-5 BIG EAST). She relieved Sara Kennedy who tossed seven terrific innings, surrendering only a pair of unearned runs while scattering six hits.
 
Sydney Babik was charged with the loss for the Pirates (18-22 overall, 7-13 BIG EAST).
 
"I'm just proud of the girls for hanging in there," stated Villanova head coach Bridget Orchard. "When they got a leadoff triple in the eighth, we could have easily buckled but Caroline made some big pitches to keep that run from scoring. This is a testament to all the hard work they have put in. Even when we made a mistake, they picked each other up."
 
The winning rally began with a single by Hayes leading off the bottom half of the eighth inning off Babik. Chloe Smith followed with another single, this one off reliever Shelby Smith, to put Nova runners at first and second with none out. After Shelby Smith got Paige Rauch to pop out to shallow right field, Kern came through with a solid single to center.
 
Hayes beat the throw from center fielder Abby Wingo, sliding across the plate before the ball reached Pirates' catcher Hannah Alexander, igniting loud cheers from a packed Villanova Softball Complex on Youth Day.
 
Kennedy was the story for much of the day, holding the Pirates in check with a sinker that induced 13 ground ball outs.
 
"Sara pitched so well it was tough to take her out of there for the eighth inning," said Orchard. "We were coming to the top of their lineup for the fifth time, though, and we have other arms. Caroline is a great complement coming in there after Sara. We were hoping to change it up a bit for the hitters."
 
Villanova plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the second to grab a 2-0 advantage. Doubles by Angela Giampolo, Ally Jones, and Victoria Sebastian put the 'Cats up and Kennedy went to work, delivering five shutout innings.
 
Jones came up with a big defensive play in the top half of the fifth inning, firing a strike to Kern covering second base, on an attempted steal after the Pirates had reached on an error. That kept the Pirates off the scoreboard.
 
Trouble, however, cropped up in the sixth as the Pirates took advantage of a three base Villanova error. Ashley Colonetta delivered one run with a sacrifice fly and Taylor Hill delivered the tying RBI.
 
There was no more scoring until the eighth inning. Pellicano relieved Kennedy and was greeted by a triple to left field by the Pirates' Lauren Caye. But Pellicano retired the next three Hall batters, stranding Caye at third base and setting the stage for the Wildcats' walk-off rally.
 
"This was huge for us," stated Orchard. "We made some mistakes, and the reaction was just like, 'lets get back after it.' This is a game of momentum and Seton Hall had that after the sixth inning. We stayed together, it didn't faze us, and we were able to get the rally in the eighth."
 
The Wildcats and Pirates complete their three-game series on Sunday with first pitch set for noon.