SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Following a few days off from non-conference bouts, Villanova softball (15-14, 7-2 BIG EAST) will return to action for a three-game weekend series against Seton Hall at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field from Mar. 28-30.

SERIES AGAINST SETON HALL    
The Wildcats make a return to Essex County for a three-game set against the Seton Hall Pirates, a rivalry Villanova leads 55-46 but that's heated up in recent years. Last time the 'Cats visited Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field, Villanova took two of three from the Pirates, sweeping a Friday doubleheader 6-2 and 4-2 before dropping Sunday's contest 9-1 in five innings. The squads met a pair of times in Storrs at that year's BIG EAST Tournament with SHU taking down Villanova 9-6 in the first round and 6-1 a few days later to capture the 2023 conference title. The two sides met to open last year's league calendar and Villanova got revenge, sweeping the Pirates with 5-0, 6-1 and 7-4 victories en route to a BIG EAST regular season and tournament title.

KAT'S LEADING THE 'CATS
While Villanova teams of the past few years have been mostly known for their slugging ability, one of the main storylines in 2025 has been the stingy pitching. The ace of VU's staff this season is right-hander Kat Gallant, who's thrown over 74 innings with 50 strikeouts in her junior campaign. Gallant has racked up seven wins on the year already, a 4-0 record coming in BIG EAST play with one of her two saves also coming in league matchups. Gallant has held opposing BIG EAST hitters to just a .245 batting average, surrendering only 10 earned runs and seven walks in six appearances for 30 total innings and two complete games. 

GANGING UP ON GEORGETOWN    
The 'Cats spent last weekend in our nation's capital, sweeping the conference's last place and lone winless-in-league team in the Georgetown Hoyas. Villanova bashed its way to victories on Friday and Saturday, taking down the Hoyas 11-3 in six innings in the opener thanks to a pair of homers from Maddie Burrows in addition to three Ava Franz RBI and a couple Elizabeth Gray singles plus a five-inning victory from Gallant. The Wildcats mashed a season-best five dingers in another run-rule victory on Saturday, getting a pair of bombs from Franz while Brooklyn Ostrowski reached three times and Kelsey White earned the win with five scoreless stanzas. It was a different story in the series finale Sunday with VU needing to outlast the Hoyas in a pitcher's duel thanks to a four-inning, four-strikeout win from Lexi Kobryn and five-strikeout save from Gallant while the offense needed just three hits to get four runs.

PRATTLING ON ABOUT THE PIRATES

• The Pirates sit at 17-13 overall with a 5-4 record in conference play, capturing the first five BIG EAST battles before a series finale loss to DePaul and sweep at the hands of Connecticut. In non-conference play, SHU won two games at the Louisiana Classic and Party at Palmer Invitational plus one at the FGCU Tournament, then most recently swept a doubleheader over Wagner this past Tuesday.
• Seton Hall's lineup boasts four hitters above .340 and seven over .285, paced by Kelsey Carr's .369 average, 11 home runs and 29 walks. Reigning Freshman of the Year and Philadelphia suburb resident Katey Brennan has racked up 31 hits and 32 runs, Caroline Hobbes hits .358 in 29 starts and Hannah Alexander adds a 1.021 OPS with 28 base hits.
• SHU has used four pitchers on the year with two-way threat Carr leading the staff in ERA (3.45), starts (10), innings (66.2) and strikeouts (46). Kyra Kreuscher adds a team-high 17 appearances, Karissa Dupuis owns seven starts and 32 frames in the circle and freshman Rachel Schumann has thrown a pair of complete games.

Friday and Sunday's games will feature streaming on FloCollege with statistics courtesy of StatBroadcast for all three contests. The opener on Friday begins with first pitch at 2:00 p.m. while Saturday and Sunday are both scheduled for 12:00 p.m. at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field.