After a midweek draw with the University of Pennsylvania at the Villanova Softball Complex, Villanova (18–17–1, 8–4 Big East) traveled north for a three-game series in Brighton, MA.
The Wildcats went 2–1 across the weekend.
Villanova’s previous home matchup with Penn on Wednesday, April 2 ended in a 12–12 tie.
The Wildcats edged Army (21–16, 5–0 Patriot League), 6–5, with a dramatic walk-off win in eight innings. Villanova then split a two-game set with Boston College (17–18, 3–9 ACC). The Wildcats fell, 9–0, in five innings on Saturday night, before bouncing back with an 11–2 victory on Sunday afternoon.
To start Friday’s matchup, Army jumped to a 3–0 lead in the first on an RBI double. Villanova responded with a run in the bottom half of the inning from senior right fielder Elaina Wagner’s RBI double.
Army added a run in the third with an RBI single. The Wildcats then answered as freshman catcher Ava Mahnken and sophomore designated player Maranda Runco hit back-to-back solo homers to cut the deficit to 4–3.
After a scoreless fourth, Villanova tied the game in the fifth on senior left fielder Kelsey White’s clutch two-out RBI single.
With neither team scoring in the sixth or seventh, extras began with a runner on second. Army plated a run with an RBI single for its first lead since the third, but Villanova limited the damage to just one.
Sophomore center fielder Madison Ostrowski started at second in the bottom of the eighth. Mahnken’s single moved her to third, and M. Ostrowski advanced to second on the throw. A passed ball brought Ostrowski home to tie the game.
Walks to Runco and Franz loaded the bases, and Wagner’s grounder to second allowed Mahnken to beat the throw home, sealing the 6–5 walk-off win.
“[Franz and Wagner are] seniors, so it’s great just to see that senior leadership,” Villanova head coach Bridget Orchard said. “They stepped up big on the field, [but] they’re great off the field as well. Brooklyn [Ostrowski], same thing, leading the charge that day, which is great to see.”
Villanova junior pitcher Kat Gallant (8–6) earned the victory, gutting out a complete game. In eight innings and 133 pitches, Gallant allowed five runs (four earned) on 10 hits, walking one and striking out a career-high 12 batters.
In the second half of the Friday doubleheader, the Wildcats suffered a 9–0, run-rule defeat at the hands of the Eagles.
Boston College took a quick, 2–0 lead in the first when two runs scored on a Villanova error.
Boston College tacked on four more runs in the second inning, with a two-run single and a two-run double. It capped the rally with another RBI double.
Eagles senior left fielder Zoe Hines launched a solo home run in the third inning, and an RBI single later in the inning pushed the lead to 9–0 by the end of the inning.
Villanova had an opportunity to stave off the run rule in the top of the fifth, but failed to reach base.
Villanova senior pitcher Kelsey White (2–2) took the loss, allowing seven runs (five earned) on six hits over 2.0 innings, with two walks and one strikeout.
To cap the weekend, the Wildcats thumped the Eagles, 11–2, on Sunday afternoon.
Runco began the scoring for Villanova, blasting a two-run home run in the bottom of the first. Franz clobbered a solo shot of her own in the second, extending the lead to three.
Boston College cut into the deficit in the third on sophomore third baseman Gator Robinson’s solo home run that made it a 3–1 ballgame.
The Wildcats pushed the lead back to 5–1 in the top of the sixth inning on a two-run home run from redshirt senior Brooklyn Ostrowski.
For Villanova’s fourth home run of the day, Wagner hit another two-run homer in the sixth to stretch the lead to seven runs.
The onslaught continued in the seventh, starting with an RBI single by Franz. Wagner followed with a two-run single, and B. Ostrowski added another RBI single.
Boston College managed a one-out solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to lower the deficit to nine, but Gallant retired the next two hitters to end the game.
Gallant (9–6) picked up her second win and complete game of the weekend. She allowed four hits and two runs, issued one walk and recorded four strikeouts.
“[Gallant’s] been awesome,” Orchard said. “She’s been able to throw complete games because she can throw so many different [pitches] and attacks hitters in different ways.”
The Wildcats host Drexel (2–30, 2–13 Coastal Athletic Association) on Wednesday, April 9. Villanova will then host a three-game Big East tilt this weekend against DePaul (13–20, 1–11 Big East) at the Villanova Softball Complex.
