HARRISONBURG, Va. – Villanova softball ended its weekend on a high note, delivering their first double-digit run performance of the year in a 10-7 takedown of the George Mason Patriots on Sunday afternoon.
The Wildcats got some thump out of their usual suspects as Ally Jones (grand slam in sixth) and Tess Cites (two-run homer in seventh) both provided their first home runs of the year. Cites and Ava Franz each contributed three-hit days to lead Villanova (3-5), while Jones and Lilly St. Jean both produced two-hit afternoons.
Kelsey White and Maddie Burrows each crossed the plate twice for the 'Cats, while Chloe Smith added an RBI single for her 200th career base hit.
Kat Gallant earned the W with four-plus innings of a perfect game, surrendering just four hits total and striking out three in 5.1 total frames. Alyssa Seidler got Villanova out of a jam in the sixth despite allowing two unearned runs, with Caroline Pellicano picking up her first save of the year in one frame of work.
The Wildcats started the game hot by putting a pair of runners aboard in the first after Cites and Franz leadoff singles, but VU could not change the scoreboard reading.
Frame two started much the same way, as Smith drew a walk and Elaina Wagner put forth an opposite field single to get a pair on the bags. Cites and Franz both came through for the 'Cats, each putting base hits back through the middle to score a runner from second and make it 2-0.
Villanova struck again in the ensuing period with a Jones single granting VU a baserunner, then after pinch runner Alexa Raphael swiped a pair of bases it was Smith coming through. The California native poked a single into left for a 3-0 lead, becoming the 15th player in school history achieving the feat of 200 hits
White started out the fifth with an infield single, then Lilly St. Jean brought her home with a double into the left-center gap to extend the advantage to 4-0.
George Mason finally broke the perfect game with a one-out double in the fifth, then a two-run home run made it a 4-2 scoreboard.
The 'Cats looked like they broke it open in the following inning, as a Burrows single, Franz hit by pitch and White walk loaded the bases. That brought up the cleanup hitter Jones, who sent one out of the yard for a grand slam to get her side up 8-2.
But the Patriots turned it into a one-run game after a plethora of mistakes in the sixth, using two errors, a pair of walks and just two hits to score five runs (four unearned) and turn the pressure up on the Wildcats.
Cites answered for Villanova instantly, blasting her opening long ball of the year with a two-run bomb in the top half of the seventh to put VU ahead by three.
Pellicano trotted on for the Wildcats in search of the save and came through, starting out with a pair of strikeouts and working through a two-out base hit to preserve a 10-7 victory.
The win pulls VU back to even in the all-time series with George Mason, leveling the records at 3-3 following the first Villanova win against the Patriots since 2009.
UP NEXT: Villanova now prepares for a trip to North Carolina, taking a visit to Durham for the Duke Invitational with five contests set for Feb. 23-25 beginning with a Friday matchup at 5 p.m. against Boston University.
