SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Villanova softball swept the doubleheader over the Seton Hall Pirates with a 4-2 victory on Friday evening in game two of the day, clinching the series in Essex County.
Chloe Smith paced Villanova (32-19, 15-5 BIG EAST) by reaching base in three of her four plate appearances, contributing two base knocks and a run scored with a double and a walk. Ava Franz added a pair of hits, including a solo home run to give the 'Cats an insurance run that proved pivotal.
Kelsey White received the win after surrendering just three hits and two runs in five stanzas of work, inducing 11 groundouts while striking out two. Caroline Pellicano came on in relief for the second time of the day, picking up her fifth save after tossing two high-leverage innings.
The Wildcats got baserunners early and often, as the first four hitters got on the basepaths. Tess Cites worked a leadoff walk and moved up on a wild pitch before Chloe Smith singled to get runners on the corners.
Ally Jones blooped a single into right field to score Cites and put VU up 1-0, then Victoria Sebastian walked to load the bases. After the first out of the inning, Ryan Henry showed patience with a 10-pitch at-bat resulting in a walk and 2-0 advantage.
Jones came home during a wild pitch on White's walk, delivering the 'Cats a 3-0 edge before SHU picked up the bats.
Ava Franz added to that lead in the third inning, blasting her third home run of the week over the tall fence in right center to put her team up four.
Seton Hall broke up White's no-hitter and put its first run up on the board with a solo shot in the fourth, bringing the deficit to three on the two-out bomb.
The Pirates took another one back in the fifth, with a tough-luck double bouncing off of a VU player's leg before a two-out base hit made the score 4-2.
Pellicano shut down Seton Hall in the sixth before the 'Cats got ducks on the pond in their last hacks. Franz totaled her second hit of the game, St. Jean walked and Dabroski put up her first hit of the contest, but a diving play by the Pirates ended VU's chances of extending the lead.
It wouldn't be easy for Pellicano as she had to work through a bases-loaded situation after a leadoff single and both a one-out walk and error juiced the bags for Seton Hall, and it was once again up to the junior hurler to shut the door on the Pirates.
The right-hander broke out a filthy off-speed pitch to punch out the ninth hitter in a do-or-die 3-2 count, then repeated the same pitch for another strikeout to win the game and clinch the series for VU.
UP NEXT: The final matchup of the series is set for Sunday morning, with first pitch at 11:00 a.m. from North Jersey.
