VILLANOVA, Pa. – The UConn softball team lost to the Villanova Wildcats in their conference opener on Friday afternoon, 10-2 in six innings at the Villanova Softball Complex. UConn moves to 11-8 overall this season.
Graduate student Payton Kinney made her eighth start of the season in the circle for the Huskies. Kinney went just 1.1 innings giving up two runs on three hits with one strikeout.
Villanova opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning, on a two-run double, giving the Wildcats an early 2-0 lead.
Junior Hope Jenkins came on in relief for Kinney in the middle of the second inning, making her 13thappearance of the season. Jenkins went 3.1 innings giving up two earned runs on five hits adding four strikeouts.
Villanova extended their lead in the third inning on a solo home run, making it 3-0.
Junior catcher Grace Jenkins got the Huskies on the board in the top of the fourth inning with her BIG EAST leading sixth home run of the season, a solo shot to center field, trimming into the deficit, 3-1.
Villanova responded right back in the bottom half of the fourth inning, scoring a run on a double, giving the Wildcats a three run lead once again, 4-1.
Villanova broke the game open in the fifth inning with a two-run double, putting UConn in their largest deficit of the game at 6-1.
Freshman Amber Bretton came on in relief for Jenkins in the middle of the fifth inning, making her ninth appearance of the season. Bretton went 1.0 inning giving up two earned runs on just one hit.
UConn got a run back in the top of the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly from junior infielder Kaiea Higa, scoring Lexi Hastings from third base, making it 6-2.
Villanova scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, ending the game in a run-rule at 10-2.
Freshman Stella Kiemele came on in relief for Bretton in the middle of the sixth inning, making her ninth appearance of the season. Kiemele threw just one pitch in her outing, as Villanova scored the game winning run on a wild pitch.
News and Notes
- Grace Jenkins recorded her fourth multi-hit game of the season.
- Payton Kinney threw just 32 pitches.
- Stella Kiemele threw one pitch in the sixth inning.
Up Next
Game two between UConn and Villanova will be on Saturday, March 8. First pitch is set for 1:00pm and will be streamed on FloSports.
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