SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – After clinching a berth in the BIG EAST Tournament with back-to-back sweeps in conference play, the Villanova Wildcats will travel to North Jersey to take on the Seton Hall Pirates in a pivotal series for seeding in the conference postseason.

'CATS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS    

The Wildcats rank 7th in the nation on walks after working 183 bases on balls this season, including 19 in Tuesday's doubleheader against Princeton. VU also sits 10th in the nation in doubles, leading the BIG EAST in two baggers. While the 'Cats take a lot of walks in their hacks, the pitching staff has compiled a 2.88 strikeout-to-walk ratio, good for 34th in the country. Individually, junior outfielder Tess Cites has been putting forth one of VU's most impressive offensive seasons with 60 total hits to lead the BIG EAST and rank 22nd in the nation. Freshman pitcher Kat Gallant is the conference leader and 8th nationally in walks per seven innings and ranks 17th in strikeout-to-walk ratio.

EARNING SOME HARDWARE        

The Wildcats have cleaned up in the BIG EAST weekly honors, putting players on the list in ten different weeks. Gallant earned the conference's first Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 13, then was named the Freshman of the Week three times. VU has won Player of the Week on four occasions, with Cites (twice), Ava Franz (Mar. 21) and Kelsey White (Apr. 24) receiving top player honors, and White also being named Co-Pitcher of the Week on Mar. 6. Cites, Gallant, Ally Jones, Ryan Henry, Caroline Pellicano (twice), Victoria Sebastian (twice), Chloe Smith and Lilly St. Jean (twice) have all been selected to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll leading up to the final weeks.

RECOGNITION FOR ORCHARD        

Villanova head coach Bridget Orchard was inducted into her hometown Hall of Fame on Monday, earning selection to the Greater Binghamton Sports HOF. The fifth-year head coach was a star at Villanova from the beginning, being one of the program's most accomplished players before moving on to the coaching ranks. Orchard has spent 25 years as a head coach, first at Cabrini and Fordham before returning to her alma mater and delivering the program's first ever BIG EAST title.

TIGHT RACE FOR BIG EAST CROWN    

The BIG EAST coaches predicted a three-team race for this year's conference crown, as three squads received first place votes in this year's Preseason Coaches' Poll. Villanova received the most first place votes (four), while DePaul (three) and Connecticut (two) split the others. But the Blue Demons were dubbed the favorites in the conference with 58 total points, followed by Villanova (57) and UConn (56). Right now, it's Connecticut, Seton Hall (picked seventh preseason) and Villanova at the top of the conference with each of the three clinching a berth but fighting for byes at the BIG EAST Tournament.

SO WE MEET AGAIN        

The Wildcats and Pirates are long-time rivals, with the series dating back to the 1985 season. Villanova owns a 50-43 edge in the all-time series, but Seton Hall maintains a 24-19 mark in SHU home games. VU has won the series in each of the last two years, taking two of three in both 2021 and 2022. The last sweep in this series came back in 2018 when the Wildcats took 15-7, 9-2 and 6-1 victories over Seton Hall in then-head coach Maria DiBernardi's last season at Villanova.

PREVIEWING THE PIRATES

• Seton Hall enters the game as the second-place team in the conference, owning a 35-13 overall record and a 15-3 mark in BIG EAST play. The Pirates are riding a five-game win streak and have maintained a 12-2 record in home games, with the last loss at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field coming on Mar. 18 against Georgetown.

• SHU lost its first BIG EAST series to Connecticut in early March, but has only lost one conference contest since then. Seton Hall has swept all four BIG EAST foes after that fall to Georgetown, taking down Creighton, St. John's, DePaul and Providence in that time span.

• The Pirates are led by a trio of batters batting over .340, with senior outfielder Abby Wingo leading the BIG EAST by hitting .413 with a team-high 59 hits and 39-runs scored. Sophomore Taylor Hill bats .347 with 13 doubles and 88 total bases, while star two-way player Kelsey Carr adds a team-high nine home runs and 37 RBI. 

• In the circle, Seton Hall is led by Carr, who has maintained a 1.62 ERA and allowed just 24 runs in 17 appearances, and senior Shelby Smith, the staff's most-used hurler with a team-high 110 innings, 113 strikeouts and a 12-5 record under her belt. Freshman Kyra Kreuscher (2.57 ERA in 46.1 innings) and junior Sydney Babik (10-3 record) also take the circle for the Pirates.

• Seton Hall's lineup appears atop the conference rankings in batting average, scoring and slugging percentage, while the pitching staff leads the BIG EAST in earned run average. 

With rain expected in the area, the weekend schedule has shifted to a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 2 p.m., no game on Saturday and a single contest at 11 a.m. on Sunday. All three games of the weekend will be streamed on FloSoftball, and live statistics links can be found here.