Box Score
CHICAGO – Fourth-seeded Villanova capitalized early to defeat No. 1 St. John’s, 6-4, in the first semifinal of the 2019 BIG EAST Softball Championship presented by Jeep. The Wildcats held off a late surge by the Red Storm in the bottom of the seventh inning to advance to their first title game since 2003. They will face the winner of the second semifinal between No. 2 seed DePaul and No. 3 seed Providence on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. CT on FS1.
The Wildcats came out hot as sophomore Angela Giampolo hit a leadoff home run to start the game up 1-0. After Villanova starting pitcher Sara Kennedy retired the first three Red Storm batters in order, the Wildcats kept their momentum going in the second. Sophomore Julia DaCosta reached base on a line drive before Giampolo hit an RBI single and advanced to second on an error. Junior Becky Ducar advanced to third on another error, while DaCosta scored to put the Wildcats up 2-0. After BIG EAST Player of the Year sophomore Paige Rauch drew a walk, senior Delaney Switzer hit a bases-clearing triple through the gap in right center to give Villanova a 5-0 advantage in the top of the second. Senior Christina Melendez made some noise for the Johnnies with a single to get on base; however, Kennedy was able to escape and preserve the shutout.
BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year senior Madison Morris sent the Villanova batters down in order in the top of the third, including a strikeout. Junior Marissa Rizzi connected on a single to center field, but the Red Storm could not get a run across in the bottom half. Both teams went down quietly in the fourth. Rauch collected the only hit by either squad with a single.
After the Wildcats went down in order in the top of the fifth, sophomore Amelia Ditolvo hit a leadoff single for the Johnnies, but Villanova converted a double play to tag Ditolvo and record the second out at first. Sophomore Kalei Sorensen drew a walk just before junior Gretchen Bowie hit an RBI single to put the first run on the board for St. John’s.
In the top of the sixth, still up by four runs, Villanova stayed quiet at the plate. In the bottom portion of the inning, Cody hit a leadoff infield single, but was unable to score to keep the deficit, 5-1.
Giampolo recorded her third hit of the day on a single to center. Rauch drove in Giampolo with a deep triple to right field to put the Wildcats up 6-1 in the top of the seventh. Freshman Kaitlyn Lologo got the Red Storm offense going with a single to center, followed by a single by freshman Meisha Murray. Bowie then connected on a three-run home run to pull St. John’s within two runs, 6-4, with just one out. Kennedy closed out the inning with a strikeout to advance Villanova its first BIG EAST Championship title game since 2003.
Giampolo went 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored. Kennedy had six strikeouts in the win. Bowie finished 2-for-4 at the plate with a game-high four RBI for the Red Storm. Morris closed out with a game-high eight strikeouts and four earned runs. The BIG EAST regular-season champions St. John’s falls to 26-22 on the year, while Villanova improves to 29-23.