VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova softball began its 2024 BIG EAST campaign with a bang, sweeping a Friday doubleheader against the reigning conference champion Seton Hall Pirates at the Villanova Softball Complex.
It was a day filled with homers for Villanova (10-11, 2-0 BIG EAST), who won the first game thanks to a pair of round-trippers and secured the later contest with a bases-clearing knock over the fence.
GAME ONE
Ally Jones and Brooklyn Ostrowski provided the thump for the Wildcats in the BIG EAST opening 5-0 victory with a pair of multi-run dingers, Jones driving in a couple to start the scoring and Ostrowski blasting a three-run bomb for some sixth-inning insurance runs.
Tess Cites scored twice in the game and Elaina Wagner marked the only other VU player to reach with a one-out double in the fifth.
Alyssa Seidler earned her team-best fourth victory of the year after striking out six and allowing just one hit in her four innings of work. Caroline Pellicano picked up the save for her team-high third in 2024, getting seven batted-ball outs while blanking the Pirates through her three stanzas.
Each of the first two innings followed a similar pattern, with the Pirates getting players on base and Seidler working out of jams. A leadoff walk and a one-out hit by pitch put two aboard in the opening frame, but the VU hurler got through it with a pair of Ks and a flyout.
The first batter of the second stanza reached on an error then Seidler struck out three in a row to keep SHU off the board early.
After a 1-2-3 third inning for both sides, Seton Hall earned two walks and notched the first hit of the ballgame to put ducks on the pond. But the Wildcats' senior flamethrower Seidler got a pair of batted-ball outs to strand the bases loaded and keep it scoreless.
Villanova couldn't get anything going the first time through the order as the first nine batters were retired in a row up until inning four against the reigning BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year Kelsey Carr.
Cites marked the first Villanova baserunner with an infield single to start that frame and Jones made the Pirates pay shortly after, launching a colossal shot over the wall in left field to put her side ahead 2-0.
Pellicano entered in the circle for the 'Cats and immediately faced trouble, with Seton Hall getting runners on first and second. A two-out single into left field looked like it would get the Pirates on the board, but Elizabeth Gray unleashed her cannon of a right arm by tossing out a runner at the dish and keeping SHU off the board.
Wagner belted a ball into right center in the ensuing frame for a two-bagger, but she couldn't get beyond second as the score remained 2-0 after five.
The Wildcats blew the game open in the sixth inning with Cites getting hit by a pitch for a leadoff runner before Jones drew a four-pitch walk. That's when Ostrowski struck, blasting one out of the yard for a three-run bomb and her team-leading fifth homer this season.
Pellicano got two outs to start the final frame before Seton Hall put a pair of runners aboard on a 2-2 single up the middle and a walk, then the Pennsylvania native induced a groundout to end the threat and the game as a 5-0 Wildcat victory.
GAME TWO
Ava Franz brought the juice in game two, driving home a quartet of runs with a fourth-inning grand slam to grant the Wildcats the lead for good in a 6-1 game two victory.
Kat Gallant moved to an even 3-3 record on the year with a five-strikeout, five-frame performance while allowing just four hits and one run. Kelsey White tossed a pair of scoreless stanzas while surrendering only two base knocks to close it out.
With Gallant retiring six batters in a row to start out the contest, Villanova had the game's only baserunners through the first two innings. Cites got hit by a pitch in the opening frame but the 'Cats couldn't crack the scoreboard.
Three walks loaded the bases with just one down in the second, and Gray did her job at the plate by putting one in play to score Wagner and get the hosts up 1-0.
Seton Hall leveled the game at 1-1 with a singular swing, getting its first run of the day in the fourth inning with a leadoff solo shot.
The 'Cats loaded up the bags in their fourth inning response, using a walk, Victoria Sebastian single, Gray sacrifice bunt and a hit by pitch to get ducks on the pond. Franz untied the game in a big way, belting one out of the park down the right field line for the team's second grand slam of the year and a 5-1 advantage.
Ostrowski walked to start out the ensuing frame, then a Chloe Smith single off the wall in right placed runners on the corners. Smith took off for second on the next pitch and the catcher threw it into center, allowing a run to score and increase the Wildcat edge.
White came on in the circle for VU and did her job, working through a pair of two-out baserunners in the sixth to keep the five-run lead. The Pirates managed a last-chance single with two down in the seventh, but a grounder ended the ballgame with a 6-1 Villanova victory.
UP NEXT: The Wildcats and Pirates will finish out their weekend series on Sunday, taking part in a solo contest at 12 p.m. from the Villanova Softball Complex.
