VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Villanova softball team captured its third win of the season over a City Six opponent with a 10-3 defeat of Drexel on Wednesday afternoon.
Tess Cites totaled two hits, three RBI and two runs for Villanova (22-17), while Chloe Smith became the sixth Wildcat ever to notch two triples in the same game.
Kat Gallant earned the victory for the 'Cats after striking out four in 3.2 scoreless innings of work. Kelsey White got the start and struck out three in her two-plus stanzas, while Alyssa Seidler closed things out with a frame in the circle.
The Wildcats took the first lead in the second inning, as VU loaded the bases on a pair of hit-by-pitches and a fielder's choice. Victoria Sebastian looped a pitch into shallow center field for a fielder's choice, scoring a run but also getting an out at second.
After Sebastian stole second, Sydney Hayes hit a sacrifice fly out to center and Lilly St. Jean slid around the tag to put the 'Cats up 2-0. Villanova's leadoff hitter Cites came to bat with a runner on third and blasted a pitch into left center, clearing the fence for her third homer of the season to get VU up 4-0.
But Drexel took three of those back in the visiting half of the third stanza, with a ground-rule double scoring two in addition to three other hits and an error making the score 4-3.
Cites delivered once again for the Wildcats in the bottom of the fourth, scorching a pitch off the wall in right center to score St. Jean and bring VU's lead to two.
Smith began the Villanova hacks in the fifth with a rope out to center field, glancing off the outfielder's glove and rolling to the fence for a leadoff triple. Madison Ostrowski came up two batters later and lifted a pitch to the track in left center, which was tracked down on an impressive play by the center fielder but allowed Smith to score for a sacrifice fly.
Sebastian led off the sixth with a single to reach base for the third time in the game, then Hayes reached on an errant throw by the pitcher. Cites was walked on four pitches before Brooklyn Ostrowski grounded a pitch to second base for an RBI.
Smith then notched her second triple of the day with a scorcher to right field, bringing home two more runs for the 'Cats. With her second three-bagger of the afternoon, Smith became the first Wildcat to do since Paige Rauch in 2019. Emily Orr pinch hit for Villanova and turned on the first pitch, sending it through the left side for an RBI single and her first hit of the year to bring the score to 10-3.
Seidler came on in the seventh and got the three outs VU needed, delivering the 22nd victory of the season and 35th all-time over the Dragons.
UP NEXT: The Wildcats will head to New York for four games, first taking on Hofstra in a game at 3 p.m. on Thursday before a series against St. John's at the weekend.
