The softball team faced archrival Georgetown over the weekend, finishing the three game series with one win and two losses.  

Facing the Hoyas at their home field in Washington, D.C., the Wildcats already had a disadvantage.  However, they battled through their first game of a doubleheader on March 21st, falling short to Georgetown 8-7. 

Both teams pitched their top pitching staff – Megan Hyson for the Hoyas and junior Kate Poppe for the Wildcats.  The game was surprisingly very high scoring, considering both teams normally play low scoring games.  

The Wildcats started off the game very well, clinching the first run of the game in the first inning.  Freshman Brittany Husk hit a single to lead off the game and then successively stole second base.  Junior Shea Palmer was able to single to center field, sending Husk home. 

Georgetown answered the Wildcats’ success with two runs of their own.  The Wildcats battled back, bringing in three more runs in the second inning. They continued their success at the plate, scoring another run in the third inning and adding two more runs in the fifth inning and building a 7-2 lead.

Villanova kept its lead throughout the game, until the last inning – they just couldn’t hold on long enough.  Georgetown came out with surprising intensity and, putting their rally hats on, came back and scored six runs in the 7th inning.  

After a series of three singles, a double, and three walks, the Hoyas managed to end the game in walk-off fashion against the Wildcats.  Their bats just could not be stopped. 

The final game of the doubleheader proved to be more successful for the Wildcats.  They clinched a win against the Hoyas with an 8-0 blowout.  

They weren’t even able to finish the game because of the run rule – after six innings, the Wildcats were up by eight and thus the game was called. 

The Wildcats’ bats were once again alive this game, although it took a few innings for them to get started.  The first run was not scored until the fourth inning, but from there the Wildcats took off and never looked back. 

The fourth inning saw two runs for the Wildcats, as did the fifth.  In the sixth inning, Villanova sealed the win with six runs to end the game. 

Sophomore Lauren Herschberg, freshman Dana Morris, junior Sierra McConnell, and junior Stephanie Butler all had success at the plate for the Wildcats, each having two RBI’s for the team.  Husk also swung a hot bat – she had two hits and scored a run to contribute to the win.  

Although Villanova had an extremely successful day at the plate, the game could not have been won without a strong defensive performance, especially by the pitching staff. 

Sophomore Brette Lawrence pitched a great game for the Wildcats, improving her own personal record to 3-2 for the season.  She pitched the entire game, striking out five Hoya batters and only allowing five hits.  In fact, the farthest Georgetown ever was able to pursue was second base, and that only happened three times.    

In the third and final game of the weekend, the ‘Cats were hoping to break the tie of 1-1 for the series with a win. 

Villanova played another great game, however they fell short once again with the Hoyas holding on for a 5-4 victory.

Lawrence started the game once again for the Wildcats and Hyson also pitched her second game of the weekend for the Hoyas.  

However, Lawrence was taken out in the second inning and replaced by Poppe.  

Although Hyson was able to finish the game only letting up two earned runs, Villanova’s Poppe struck out three Hoyas which brought her strikeout total to 90 for the season. 

The Hoyas scored their first run early in the first inning and continued to score two more in the second, bringing their lead to 3-0.  They then scored one more in the bottom of the fifth and their last in the sixth inning on an RBI single by the pitcher, Hyson. 

Villanova displayed its power at the plate in the final game of the weekend series.  The Wildcats scored their first run in the third inning, with a combination of Husk and Hercheberg’s hitting.  They then scored another in the bottom of the fifth and two more in the sixth.  However, it would not be enough to top the five runs of the Hoyas and thus Villanova ended the series with a loss. 

The next opponent the Wildcats will face is Towson, who has a record of 9-10.  They will play a doubleheader on Wednesday, March 25th at Villanova.  This will be the first home game of the season for the Wildcats.