TAMPA, Fla. – Villanova softball started their spring break trip to Florida on a high note, taking down the Louisville Cardinals 6-4 on Friday at USF Softball Stadium.
It was a strong hitting game all around for Villanova (5-9), who put base runners aboard in six of the seven innings. Ally Jones led with three hits including a two-run homer in the opening frame, while Brooklyn Ostrowski (two hits, two RBI, one double) and Ava Franz (two hits, one run, one double) each added a pair of knocks.
Tess Cites scored twice in the matchup on a solo home run and a leadoff walk, with Chloe Smith scoring and driving in a run.
Alyssa Seidler earned the win after tossing four innings in the start, striking out four while surrendering four hits and generating seven batted-ball outs. Kelsey White picked up her first save of the year in a three-frame outing, striking out four with just one earned run allowed.
The Wildcats struck first in the ballgame with Cites earning a leadoff walk in the bout's first AB before Jones made UofL pay with a first-pitch laser over the left-field fence, granting VU an early 2-0 advantage.
Louisville got one of those back after a pair of outs to start their hacks, sending a solo shot out of the yard in a hurry to make the score 2-1.
The 'Cats placed runners on base in the second, third and fourth but could not capitalize as hard hit balls came back to bite the 'Cats in three straight frames. A well-struck Cites grounder made a close play possible to end the second, Jones grounded into a third-inning 5-4-3 double play and White's rocket to third resulted in a fourth frame-ending 5-5-3 to get the Cardinals out of trouble in each of those innings.
Louisville had the same situation with runners aboard in every frame then they finally converted in the fourth, weaponizing a leadoff walk with back-to-back one-out singles to tie the game. Seidler worked out of any further trouble with a strikeout and a fielded bunt, keeping the game even at 2-2.
Cites broke that tie in short order, blasting a pitch out of the yard in the fifth frame for her team-leading fourth homer of the year to get her side ahead 3-2. Franz, Jones and Smith all followed that with base knocks, then the elder Ostrowski delivered as Brooklyn singled up the middle to plate two and put the 'Cats up by three.
The Cardinals put their first two on the bags in their fifth inning response and after White struck out a pair, Louisville brought one across the dish to make the score 5-3 following that stanza.
The sixth marked the first frame in which Villanova did not put a runner on the basepaths, in spite of White sending one all the way to the warning track just to be tracked down by the outfielder.
UofL once again got a leadoff runner aboard with a five-pitch walk to start the sixth, then a throwing error led to two runners in scoring position for the designated home team with just one down and the top of the order up. A sacrifice fly turned it into a one-run game, but White sent the three-hole hitter down looking to strand runners on the corners and keep her squad in the lead.
Franz began the seventh with a liner down the right field line for a two-bagger, then Jones followed it up on the next pitch with a bloop single over the shortstop to get runners on first and third. Smith lifted one to the fence for an insurance run-scoring sacrifice fly, putting the Wildcats ahead by two.
Louisville turned up the pressure in the game's final period, racking up a pair of baserunners with a leadoff single and a two-out error putting runners on the corners. But White was up to the challenge, generating a shallow popout into the outfield for a 6-4 Wildcats W.
With the victory, the 'Cats picked up their third all-time win over former BIG EAST rival Louisville.
UP NEXT: Villanova plays two games at the USF Softball Stadium on Saturday, taking on Central Michigan in a morning bout before a 6:30 p.m. contest against Georgia Southern.
