BOX SCORE
PROVIDENCE – The Villanova Wildcats won their third BIG EAST Softball Championship in four years with a 4-1 victory over Creighton at Glay Field on the campus of Providence College. The tournament’s top seed earned the BIG EAST’s automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Softball Championship and will learn their fate during the Selection Show on Sunday, May 12 at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2).
Graduate catcher Ally Jones headlined the victory, launching two homers for all four runs of the afternoon. During her first plate appearance, Jones sent a three-run home run over the centerfield fence to score Lilly St. Jean and Tess Cites. In the sixth inning, the New Jersey native registered a solo homer on her second hit.
Creighton’s lone run came off the bat of Sydney Potter, an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth to score Elly Beeson. The Bluejays out-hit the Wildcats, 6-2.
Villanova’s Alyssa Seidler earned the start in the circle, tossing five innings and striking out six. Caroline Pellicano closed the contest, refusing to relinquish a run.
Natalia Puchino went the distance for the Bluejays, striking out three over seven innings of work.
Pellicano was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after tossing six innings throughout the tournament while boasting a perfect 0.00 ERA with three strikeouts.
She was joined on the BIG EAST All-Tournament squad by teammates Jones, Alyssa Seidler, and Kelsey White. Jones led the Wildcats’ offense, batting .429 with three hits, three runs, and five RBI. Seidler led the Villanova staff with 11 strikeouts in eight innings of work while White threw eight innings with six strikeouts, owning 0.88 ERA.
Creighton was represented on the All-Tournament team by Puchino and outfielder Sydra Seville. Puchino pitched a Championship-high 27 innings, striking out 12 with a 2.33 ERA. Seville registered 7 hits (.467), including a home run, four runs and an RBI.
Rounding out the All-Tournament selections were Butler outfielder Cate Lehner, UConn pitcher Hope Jenkins, and St. John’s outfielder Cate Lehner.