BOCA RATON, Fla. – Villanova softball picked up its first top 25 victory of the season on Friday, taking down the No. 25 Florida Atlantic Owls to draw a split in the team's opening day at the Joan Joyce Classic.
Villanova (3-4) fell to Louisville 5-1 in the tournament's opener at 9:00 a.m., then took down the event's host in a 1-0 pitchers' duel to finish the day.
GAME ONE
The opening matchup of the Joan Joyce Classic featured a pair of opponents that met last year, with Louisville avenging last year's bout in a 5-1 win.
Ava Franz and Elizabeth Gray were the catalysts of the Villanova offense in the first game, each totaling two hits against the Cardinals. Franz reached base three times on a single, walk and solo homer while Gray singled twice in the matchup.
Kat Gallant went all six innings in the circle for the Wildcats, tying her season high in strikeouts with four while inducing 12 batted-ball outs.
The Cardinals put a five-spot on the board to start out the game, using a pair of walks, a single and three doubles to secure an early 5-0 lead.
Villanova threatened in the third on an Elaina Wagner single before Gray beat out a bunt, but the 'Cats couldn't get any runs back in that frame. Franz changed those fortunes in the next stanza, belting a solo shot out to right-center for her first bomb of the year to lessen the deficit.
Gallant settled in after the first, retiring 11 batters in a row to close the contest, but the offense wasn't able to capitalize on any more opportunities in a 5-1 loss.
GAME TWO
Next up on the docket was the host #25 Florida Atlantic, undefeated to that point of the season. But the Wildcats prevailed in the early afternoon matchup, winning 1-0 to pick up the team's first ranked win of the year.
Lexi Kobryn was dominant in the circle, tossing a complete game shutout with four strikeouts and just six baserunners allowed en route to the second win of her freshman campaign.
Alexa Raphael notched two hits and scored the game's lone run while Grace Reed doubled and Franz added VU's only other base knock against the Owls.
After a slow first inning, both pitchers had to work out of trouble in the second as Reed led it off with a double but couldn't score, then Kobryn got out of a bases-loaded jam to keep it at zero.
The Wildcats added to the board right after, stringing together a Raphael single, Kelsey White walk and Franz base knock before Jaclyn Morra put the ball in play and forced an error, allowing a run and 1-0 edge in the third.
The freshman right-hander Kobryn worked around baserunners in the third and fifth, and it all came down to her in the seventh as FAU loaded up the bases with two down. Kobryn came through in the clutch, inducing a popout to deliver her side a 1-0 ranked victory.
UP NEXT: Villanova will play two more games during the stint in Boca Raton, facing the Minnesota Golden Gophers at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday before closing out the weekend with Dartmouth on Sunday.
