VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Wildcats dropped their opening game at the 2025 BIG EAST Championship, suffering a 10-9 extra inning defeat to the Providence Friars.
Maddie Burrows led with three hits for Villanova (27-25-1) while Maranda Runco became the seventh BIG EAST player ever to hit multiple home runs in a BIG EAST Championship game, going yard twice for a three-RBI day with two homers and a trio of walks.
Ava Mahnken (two hits, two runs), Ava Franz (two hits, three RBI), Grace Reed (two hits, two runs) and Madison Ostrowski (one hit, three RBI) all had strong outings at the plate, powering Villanova to seven scores in the first three frames.
Kat Gallant suffered the loss despite seven innings with just three earned runs, striking out two. Kelsey White threw one-plus frames, also fanning two hitters but giving up five total runs in that stint.
The Friars threatened right away in the matchup as two singles and a free pass loaded the bags with nobody out, but Gallant induced a pair of popouts to keep PC blank.
It wouldn't take long for another All-BIG EAST First Teamer to make her mark on the game as Runco's first career postseason swing ended up over the wall for the day's first homer, a 1-0 edge and the Villanova single season record with her 19th dinger.
Reed smoked a double off the wall in center to lead off the second, then moved up and scored on a pair of groundouts for a two-score edge. Mahnken singled, Runco walked and a PC error plated another for a 3-0 advantage after two.
Providence grabbed a couple back on a two-run homer in the third, making the score 3-2 in the third. But Villanova answered with a four-run frame of their own, utilizing an Ostrowski ground rule double and Franz two-RBI single to get ahead 7-2.
Mahnken began the fifth with a bloop double into left and Providence made the mistake of pitching to Runco, who sent the ball out of the park for the second time in the game to put her side ahead 9-2.
White entered the circle for the sixth and a first-pitch HBP came back to bite her when back-to-back RBI doubles and a pair of two-out singles brought the Friars back down 9-5.
Providence got a solo homer to start the seventh before a double and a pair of Wildcat gaffes made it a 9-7 game with two runners on and no outs. Gallant retired back-to-back hitters before a throwing error allowed a pair to score, evening the game at 9-9.
The Friars pitched around Runco to put a leadoff runner on in VU's half, but PC got out of it to force extras. A leadoff double gave Providence a runner right away in the eighth, then a sacrifice bunt and sac fly granted the Friars a 10-9 edge.
Villanova got blanked in the final inning, forcing VU to need a win on Wednesday night to keep the season alive.
UP NEXT: The Wildcats now face elimination tonight, taking on the #5 seed Butler Bulldogs at 6:45 p.m. from the VU Softball Complex. The winner moves on to Thursday night's elimination game against the lower seed of Thursday afternoon's games.
