PROVIDENCE, R.I. – For the third time in four years, Villanova softball is headed home with the BIG EAST championship trophy. The Wildcats bulldozed their way through the championship field, taking down Creighton 4-1 on Saturday afternoon for a sweep of the week.
Ally Jones provided Villanova (31-22) with all the runs needed, blasting a pair of homers for the squad's only two hits of the game with two runs scored and four RBI.
Kelsey White drew two walks to be the only other VU player on base multiple times while Tess Cites, Brooklyn Ostrowski and Victoria Sebastian all earned free passes.
Alyssa Seidler shut down the Bluejays as the game's winning pitcher, striking out six and surrendering just three hits in five frames. Caroline Pellicano picked up the save, going two stanzas in the circle to set a VU single season record for saves the day after earning the most in a Wildcat career.
Pellicano earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after three lockdown appearances of a win and two saves, with Jones, Seidler and White each earning All-Tournament honors for their contributions across the week.
Cites worked a six-pitch walk for a baserunner to lead off the game, then Lilly St. Jean made it two aboard with a grounder that the shortstop bobbled. Jones proceeded to crush one out to right center, blasting Villanova's first homer of the week to take an early 3-0 edge. The dinger meant Villanova scored in the first inning in each of its BIG EAST Championship bouts, taking the first lead in every game.
Seidler was dealing on the mound and Creighton got its first runner on base in the third with a two-out single from the nine-hitter and despite an ensuing walk, the right-hander induced a groundout to keep the Jays off the board after three.
The Wildcats sent White to third base in the fourth as the junior walked and moved up on a pair of scorched outs by Ava Franz and Chloe Smith, but VU wasn't able to add to the advantage.
CU earned its way onto the scoreboard in the fifth with a pair of one-out doubles that both hit off Villanova gloves, making the score 3-1 before Seidler got the next two batters out on balls in play.
Jones came through once again in the sixth, belting another one out of the yard to left field this time for her second bomb of the game. The graduate student totaled the third multi-home run game of her career, moving into fourth place all-time at Villanova with 28 career tanks.
The Bluejays put a leadoff runner on with a bunt single in the sixth, but Franz ended that threat quickly as the Pennsylvania native turned a 6-6-3 double play to clear the bases and Pellicano retired one more to require just three more outs for a championship.
Those three retirements came with a bit of drama as Creighton got two baserunners with one down. But calm and collected as ever, Pellicano induced a pair of groundouts to deliver the third conference title of her career.
UP NEXT: The Wildcats have earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will find out their Regional opponents during Sunday night's NCAA Selection Show at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN2.
