After handling Monmouth, 10-5, in a mid-week tune-up, Villanova softball swept Creighton this past weekend. 

The Wildcats (12-13, 4-2 Big East) defeated the Bluejays (11-12, 1-5) at home with scores of 3-2, 5-4 and 10-7.

The Wildcats opened the series with a walk-off 3-2 victory on Friday afternoon. 

The Bluejays plated the first runs of the weekend in the top of the fourth inning on an RBI single and a sacrifice fly to go up, 2-0. 

The Wildcats’ offense struggled for five innings, managing just one hit. With one out, sophomore DP Maranda Runco stepped up as the tying run and hit a fly ball to left-center. 

A collision between the fielders left the ball on the turf, allowing Runco to race around the bases for a game-tying inside-the-park home run.

Neither team scored in the seventh inning, and so the game went to extra innings, 2-2.

Villanova junior pitcher Kat Gallant set down the Bluejays in order in the eighth to keep the tie preserved for the home half.

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth and runners on second and third, Runco lined a base hit to left field to secure the walk-off victory.

Gallant recorded the win, pitching a complete game. In 8.0 innings, she allowed seven hits and two runs, walking two and striking out four. 

On Saturday, Villanova delivered another walk-off, this time securing a 5-4 victory in 10 innings.

Creighton took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth following a run-scoring single. 

Villanova took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on Franz’s two-run single, but Creighton responded with a three-run homer by sophomore first baseman Sydney Potter in the fifth to go up, 4-2. Villanova quickly tied it, 4-4, in the bottom half with RBI singles from redshirt senior first baseman Brooklyn Ostrowski and Franz.

In the top of the seventh inning, the Bluejays put two runners on with one out and threatened to take the lead, but Gallant induced a flyout and recorded a strikeout to end the threat. 

After the Wildcats were set down in order in the bottom of the seventh inning, the game went to extra innings. 

Both teams failed to score in the eighth or ninth innings. 

After Creighton set down the first two Villanova hitters, Franz crushed a 3-2 pitch over the wall in center field for a home run, clinching the second straight Wildcat walk-off victory.

“ I was trying to help the team after not being able to provide the day before,” Franz said. “I got [a] three two count and I’m pretty much…a free swinger. [The pitcher] basically piped it down the middle and I took a good swing.”

For the ‘Cats, Gallant recorded the win, spinning five scoreless innings out of the bullpen. She allowed just four hits, did not walk a batter and struck out three. 

“[Gallant’s] two wins [on the weekend] gave us a lot of conference going into the third game,” Villanova head coach Bridget Orchard said. “Her talent is one thing but it’s just her leadership and her ability to control the game that is most valuable.”

On Saturday, in the series finale, Villanova rode a nine-run third inning to a 10-7 victory.

Creighton opened up a 1-0 lead in the first inning when a run scored on a wild pitch in the top of the first. 

The Wildcats quickly tied the game in the bottom of the first on senior pitcher Kelsey White’s RBI single.

Creighton regained the lead in the top of the third, taking a 2-1 lead on an RBI single.

In the bottom of the third inning, the Bluejay defense unraveled, and the Wildcat offense took full advantage.

An error, a hit batter, and a walk loaded the bases before Franz’s RBI groundout tied the game at 2. After a walk re-loaded the bases, an error put Villanova ahead. A botched pickoff attempt added another run, and junior left fielder Madison Ostrowski’s single extended the lead to 5-2.

After the ‘Cats loaded the bases again, junior second baseman Maddie Burrows blooped a hit down the right-field line, driving in two more runs.  

To cap the explosive inning, Runco crushed a three-run home run over the left-center field seats, giving the Wildcats a 10-2 lead.

“I was still looking for pitches out of the zone, but I saw that first pitch come in, right on the outside corner,” Runco said. “I was ready for it, and I hit the ball over the fence.”

Creighton cut Villanova’s lead to 10-5 in the fourth with an RBI double and single, then added two more runs in the sixth. Freshman Lexi Kobryn shut them down in the seventh, securing the win. She pitched 3.2 relief innings, allowing two runs on two hits with one walk and one strikeout.

The Wildcats play a midweek game this afternoon at 3 p.m. against Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. This weekend, Villanova will travel to Washington, D.C., for a three-game set at Georgetown University.