PROVIDENCE – The 2024 BIG EAST Softball Championship finale will feature top-seeded Villanova and #3 Creighton with first pitch of the series scheduled for Saturday, May 11 at 4 p.m. ET. Contested at Glay Field on the campus of Providence College, the matchup features both BIG EAST Co-Coaching Staffs of the Year.
Fans can catch all the action live on FS2 or via live stats at friars.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary.
#1 Villanova 4, #2 UConn 1
BOX SCORE
Top-seeded Villanova earned a berth to the 2024 BIG EAST Softball Championship game for the fifth consecutive season behind a 4-1 victory over second-seeded UConn.
Villanova struck first, scoring in the bottom of the first off a line out from Ally Jones that sent Tess Cites home.
In the third, Bridget Orchard’s squad added three more runs beginning with a bases-loaded walk drawn by Cites to score Chloe Smith. Elaina Wagner followed with a fly out, plating Brooklyn Ostrowski. Elizabeth Gray contributed an insurance run behind a left field foul out from Lilly St. Jean.
BIG EAST Player of the Year, Lexi Hastings, logged UConn’s lone run – an RBI single to score Kaitlyn Kibling.
Villanova’s Kelsey White earned the start, tossing 5.1 innings and striking out six. Caroline Pellicano pitched 1.2 innings in relief with one strikeout.
UConn’s Hallie Siems started in the circle, pitching one inning with one strikeout. Teammate Payton Kinney also hurled one inning with one strikeout. Meghan O’Neil took over the final four innings, striking out five.
#3 Creighton 2, #3 St. John’s 1
BOX SCORE
Third-seeded Creighton edged #5 St. John’s, 2-1, in a must-win elimination showdown.
The Red Storm registered the afternoon’s first run behind a solo homer from London Jarrard in the third inning.
Creighton countered in the fifth beginning with an RBI single from Lily West to score Alyssa Gappa. Madeleine Vejvoda followed with an RBI single of her own, effectively sending the winning run across the plate (Nielsen).
The BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year, Natalia Puchino, went the distance for the Bluejays. Her lone strikeout dismissed St. John’s final batter to keep Creighton in contention.
Ana Serafinko pitched her third complete game of the Championship, striking out eight.
#2 UConn 6, #3 Creighton 10
BOX SCORE
Third-seeded Creighton upset No. 2 UConn, 10-6, in a tightly contested semifinal elimination game to advance to the 2024 BIG EAST Softball Championship series for the second time in program history.
UConn’s Hope Jenkins gave the Huskies an early lead, launching a three-run homer to open the contest. Teammate Rosie Garcia stretched the lead further the following inning, registering an RBI single to score BIG EAST Player of the Year Lexi Hastings and go up 4-0.
Undeterred, the Bluejay bats came alive in the third inning beginning with an RBI single from Madeleine Vejvoda. Next, Lily West singled to right field, advancing Vejvoda, before Emma Rosonke drew a walk to load the bases. Senior Alyssa Gappa capitalized on the opportunity, launching her third pitch over the left field fence in the go-ahead grand slam.
With their season on the line, UConn kept the pressure on Creighton, leveling the score the following frame with an RBI double off the barrel of Garcia. The Huskies regained the lead the next at-bat thanks to a subsequent RBI double from Jana Sanden.
The highly contentious matchup continued in the fifth inning with Gappa striking gold yet again, singling down the left field line to score Elly Beeson and level the score, 6-6.
Creighton opened the floodgates in the sixth inning, tacking on an additional four runs. First Vejvoda contributed a single. Dalton followed close behind, scoring both Vejvoda and Seville. Gappa punctuated a standout performance with another RBI double for a whopping six runs batted in on the night.
The Bluejays outperformed the Huskies at the plate, ten hits to six. In addition to her game-best six RBI, Gappa also led both programs with three hits.
Three pitchers saw time for both teams. Brooklyn Patchen, Brooke Shifflett, and Kenzie Schopfer took to the circle for Creighton. Hallie Siems, Payton Kinney, and Meghan O’Neill represented the Huskies.