VILLANOVA, Pa. — The Villanova softball team begins a three-game BIG EAST set versus Seton Hall Friday. 

The 'Cats (8-31, 4-11 BIG EAST) enter the series having lost five consecutive games and were swept in their last conference series by UConn. 

The Pirates (13-22, 3-12) also enter the series having lost five consecutive. 

Villanova lost a midweek tilt with Delaware 5-2 Wednesday. Jacquelyn Cox notably went 3-3 at the plate with three singles and a run. 

Maranda Runco enters the series leading the team and league in walks with 36. She additionally is top 10 in BIG EAST in RBIs (29), slugging percentage (.596), on-base percentage (.489) and home runs (7). 

Ava Mahnken has found her way at the plate the last 10 games, slashing .348/.378/.348 with eight hits, three doubles and three runs. She has improved her batting average by 50 points from March 20 to April 8. 

Maddie Burrows returned to the lineup after two weeks out due to injury, going 3-8 (.375) against the Huskies with a double and an RBI. 

Seton Hall is led by Angelina Benitez, who is batting .403, which is sixth in the conference. Benitez, a contact hitter, has 50 hits, which is good for second in BIG EAST. 

All three games can be streamed on ESPN+ with stats available on StatBroadcast.