VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova softball split its Tuesday doubleheader against the Princeton Tigers, falling 7-5 in the first game before drawing even for the day with a 9-4 victory as the sun was setting at the Villanova Softball Complex.
With the win, the Wildcats secured their 30th win of the season to make it three straight years that Villanova has won at least 30 games.
Game One
Chloe Smith registered two hits, two runs and a walk, with six other 'Cats notching a hit and the Wildcats working 10 bases on balls in the game.
Kelsey White received the loss for VU in the opening contest after surrendering two runs on just three hits while striking out three. The starter Alyssa Seidler went 1.2 innings in the circle, and Caroline Pellicano pitched three scoreless frames in relief to close out the matchup.
It was a marathon first inning for both sides, as Princeton got on the board to begin the game by drawing a pair of walks to start then loading the bases on an infield single.
The cleanup hitter Adrienne Chang knocked a two-RBI single into the outfield, then after an infield fly another hit got the bases juiced. Seidler proceeded to strike out a batter and got a 1-3 to get out of the frame and keep the score at 2-0.
The Wildcats batted around in their half of the stanza with Tess Cites walking and Smith singling down the right field line to get runners on the corners. Ally Jones bounced a high grounder over the pitcher's head to plate Cites and bring the deficit to one, then it was two walks getting VU ducks on the pond.
With two outs and a full count, Lilly St. Jean took a pitch in the dirt to bring home the tying run and Sydney Hayes beat out an infield single to take the lead. Dani Dabroski then worked another walk to pick up a 4-2 lead for the 'Cats after the first frame.
The Tigers took the lead back in the second as a pair of walks got two runners aboard with two outs, then Chang picked up her third RBI with a base knock up the middle. A two-out blooper into right field brought home two runs to grant Princeton a 5-4 lead, then White came on in relief to punch out the last batter of the inning.
Smith drew a leadoff walk in VU's chances at the dish and made it around the bases on a groundout, stolen base and wild pitch to even the tallies at 5-5.
Princeton got its advantage back in the fourth with a one-out walk coming back to haunt White as a slow-rolling infield single scored two runs to gift the Tigers a 7-5 edge.
The Wildcats got a double in both the fifth and sixth inning, with Kendall Spivey and Ava Franz each lifting a pitch all the way to the wall, but the 'Cats could not capitalize and their deficit stayed at two.
Princeton loaded the bases on a pair of singles and an error with two down in the seventh stanza, but Pellicano stranded them with a strikeout.
Elaina Wagner came to the dish as the last chance for VU and delivered with a double into right center, bringing the tying run up. Smith then singled off the pitcher's leg, allowing the go-ahead run to approach the plate but the game ended in a strikeout and the Wildcats fell in the opening contest of the day.
Game Two
The second bout saw a steadier effort from the Wildcats, with seven players totaling a hit and nine walks being drawn by VU. Victoria Sebastian led the way with two hits and two walks, while Smith and Dabroski each scored twice and Henry and Franz each batted in two runs.
Peyton Schnackenberg got the start in the second game, tossing four scoreless innings and retiring 12 batters. Pellicano received the win in her second appearance of the day by surrendering just one hit and striking out three in 2.2 frames, while Kat Gallant gave up the only earned runs of the contest.
St. Jean broke the scoreless tie with two outs in the second inning, taking one deep down the left field line for her first home run at the Villanova Softball Complex.
Princeton loaded up the bases in the third inning with just one down, using two base hits and an error to put ducks on the pond. Schnackenberg was able to get out of it with a swinging strikeout and a popout, keeping her team's lead at 1-0.
The Wildcats added to that advantage in the third as Dabroski, Smith and Sebastian all walked. White lifted a single over the infielders' heads to bring a run across, then Wagner worked a long walk to plate another and deliver a 3-0 edge.
The Villanova lead was extended in inning four with a Dabroski walk once again resulting in a run, as Cites blasted a double to the wall and Dabroski motored around the bags to pick up a 4-0 advantage.
Princeton tied the score in their next hacks with a pair of no-doubt home runs from Chang, who blasted the first strike of her at bat over the fence to get her team's deficit to two, and pinch hitter Abby Hornberger, who tied the game with a two-run bomb just a few pitches after.
VU loaded the bases again in the fifth, with Franz walking, St. Jean getting hit by a pitch and Hayes reaching on a bunt single. Dabroski added to her strong game by driving in Franz on a bouncer to first base, wisely standing in the path of the infielder to deter a throw to the plate.
The Wildcats put up a four-spot in their last plate appearances, with two blasts coming on back-to-back pitches for all of the tallies. After Smith was hit by a pitch and Sebastian's grounder took a favorable hop to get two aboard, Henry came through with a rope into right center for a two-RBI double.
Then on the first pitch of her at bat, Franz belted it halfway up the throwing cage past the right center wall for her fourth dinger of the year to get VU up 9-4.
Pellicano came back out for the seventh and worked through a two-out base runner, inducing a groundout to earn the split on the day for the 'Cats.
UP NEXT: The Wildcats will take part in a massive BIG EAST contest this weekend, visiting the second-place Seton Hall Pirates for a three-game series.
