PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- It's time for postseason play for Villanova softball (28-22, 19-5 BIG EAST) as the Wildcats head to Glay Field on the campus of Providence College for the 2024 BIG EAST Championship Presented by JEEP. The conference's number one overall seed and regular season champion will play on Thursday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. against the St. John's Red Storm.
FOUR WILDCATS NAMED TO ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
For the second time in as many years, Villanova softball has a unanimous First Team All-BIG EAST selection as sophomore infielder Lilly St. Jean was one of just four league athletes unanimously selected to the 2024 all-conference squads. The Wildcats tied for a league-high with three players on the conference's second team in Ava Franz, Ally Jones and Elaina Wagner while the VU staff picked up Co-Coaching Staff of the Year. After leading the Wildcats to their most conference wins ever, head coach Bridget Orchard and assistants Gabby Luety and Grace Fagan earned BIG EAST Co-Coaching Staff of the Year. The 'Cats swept five of their conference series and finished three wins better than the league's second place team. Villanova led the BIG EAST in slugging and on-base percentage, RBI, home runs, total bases and walks in 2024 en route to the program's first ever regular season title.
LIVING BY THE LONG BALL
As has become tradition under head coach Orchard and hitting coach Luety, the Wildcats are built on power. So far in 2024, Villanova has blasted 56 dingers, which ranks second in program history for a single season with at least two games still to play. The 'Cats are averaging 1.12 homers per game, leading the conference and 30th in the nation with Brooklyn Ostrowski's 11 ranking fourth in a VU single season. And it's been coming from everyone, with six players belting five or more bombs and first career tanks coming off the bats of five Wildcats. Villanova's power came to a head in the 17-5 victory at Providence on March 17 where five players sent balls out of the yard, and against St. John's with a quartet of two-run bombs in the same game.
WHO TO PITCH TO?
Pitchers have been struggling with this question all year against the Villanova lineup, as seemingly every game it's a new Wildcat stepping up at the dish. Up and down the order, productivity has been the name of the game with players one through nine contributing. Beyond last year's BIG EAST Player of the Year Tess Cites in the leadoff spot, the 'Cats have not used a consistent lineup all year with 42 1-9 combinations in just 50 games. And yet, VU leads the league in scoring, on base and slugging percentage, doubles and home runs per game. Even omitting this year's All-BIG EAST selections, this lineup is potent as six Wildcats outside of the four all-conference players batted above .250 in conference play and the only starter who didn't blasted six homers.
SEIDLER LEADS THE STAFF
Alyssa Seidler has been the surprise of the season so far for VU, throwing a staff-high 93.2 innings with a Villanova-best 108 strikeouts in 18 starts. The Long Island native has held opposing batters to a .218 average with a pair of complete games and a shutout. Seidler earned her first career win in a complete game effort against Michigan State, then picked up another Power Five victory against Louisville before a one-loss BIG EAST record including a one-hit, 12-strikeout shutout against DePaul. Behind the senior right-hander, it's been pitching by committee as
Kat Gallant (15 starts, 81.1 innings) and
Kelsey White (12 starts, 61.1 innings) have split the rest of the starts but also each have entered seven times in relief. Gallant has one of the top walks per seven rates in the nation, while White is known for her ability to induce batted-ball outs.
Live stats for all BIG EAST Championship bouts are available on Providence's
Sidearm site, while all of Wednesday and Thursday's contests will stream on the
BIG EAST Digital Network on FloSports.
Keep up with the Villanova University softball program through social media by following on Twitter (@VUSoftball) and Instagram (@novasoftball) and 'liking' on Facebook (/VUSoftball).
