Villanova aiming to ‘own the moment’ in the Big East softball tournament

In 2021, Villanova’s softball team had one of its best seasons in program history. The Wildcats won their first Big East tournament championship, advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time, and won a tournament game for the first time.

The 2022 team came close. The Wildcats didn’t win as many games, but they repeated as Big East tourney champs and didn’t allow a run in three tournament games.

Villanova’s 2024 team did something neither of those teams could by winning the Big East regular-season championship. After going 19-5 in Big East play, the Wildcats (28-22) will open the conference tournament Thursday at Providence as the top seed for the first time.

However, they know it will mean little if they don’t win the championship. If the Wildcats lose twice in the double-elimination tournament, they’ll fall short of their ultimate goal: winning the title and qualifying for NCAAs.

“Being regular-season champions is great,” senior pitcher Caroline Pellicano said. “It’s a great thing. But it doesn’t mean anything at the end of the day. ‘Win when it matters’ is what we always say. So if you’re going to win [the] regular season [championship], prove it in the Big East tournament.”

There are two big differences between this year’s team and the ones in 2021 and ‘22. For one, the Wildcats don’t have Paige Rauch, Villanova’s best player ever, essentially its Shohei Ohtani, with her exploits at the plate and in the circle.

The second difference is that those teams weren’t motivated by revenge. Last year’s team was dominant and expected to win its third consecutive Big East tournament title but lost twice to Seton Hall.

Villanova coach Bridget Orchard learned that her team might hate losing more than it loves winning. Her players were angry — and focused to ensure that they don’t feel this way again.

“It’s like sticking your hand on an oven and burning yourself,” senior outfielder Tess Cites said. “… You’re like, ‘I never want to replicate that, ever again.’”

That mentality was defined at a preseason meeting. Orchard gathered her veterans, split them into four groups of three, and asked them to create a mantra for the season. Three groups came up with something similar, all aimed at staying focused in big moments. The winner, which the team made into wristbands: “Own the moment.”

That’s why, when asked about how it feels to make history, no one gushes with pride. It’s cool, but the Wildcats know that the moment, and the tournament that defines their season, starts Thursday.

What makes this team special, Orchard says, is how deep the lineup is. In 2021, for example, Rauch batted .417, but only one other regular starter batted over .300. This year’s team has five players batting from between .312 (utility player Elaina Wagner) to .339 (infielder Lilly St. Jean). Four have an OPS over 1.000.

Cites is the consistent presence, starting all 50 games and batting .327. Junior shortstop Ava Franz is batting .323 and leads the team in RBIs with 42. Utility player Brooklyn Ostrowski, a redshirt junior, leads the team with 11 home runs.

The pitching is the same way. Rauch threw a whopping 174⅔ innings in 2021, more than half the team’s innings. This year, four pitchers have thrown 60 or more innings, led by senior Alyssa Seidler’s 93⅔.

Seidler is the closest the Wildcats have to an ace, with a 3.29 ERA with 108 strikeouts in 28 appearances (18 starts). She had made 15 pitching appearances in her first three years but has stepped into a much bigger role this year.

“[It was] a little stressful at first, but, I mean, it’s so easy to perform when you have this huge support system behind you,” Seidler said. “… I know even if I make a mistake as a pitcher, my defense will support me, or if I give up a big hit, my offense is going to come back, and I have nothing to worry about.”

Sophomore Kat Gallant and junior Kelsey White are effective as well, having starting seven and six conference games, respectively.

However, Villanova’s top weapon is Pellicano, a pitcher one TV broadcast referred to as “the best closer in college softball.” Although the title largely was because few teams use one pitcher solely in relief (Pellicano has 30 appearances but just four starts, all in February), she has been dominant, boasting a 1.30 ERA in 37⅔ conference innings. She is used in the biggest spots and often for multiple innings, but Pellicano has shown she can handle it.

“Being a closer for our staff has been like the most vital role I’ve ever played,” said Pellicano, a Methacton graduate. “… Coach Orchard isn’t afraid to put me in any situation. She knows that I have the ability to get anything done.”

If you ask the Villanova players what makes them special, they say the camaraderie.

“We’re truly sisters,” graduate catcher Ally Jones said. “We fight like sisters. We play like sisters. We’ve got each other’s back, like sisters.”

This tournament is the sisterhood’s biggest test, literally the moment the Wildcats have been waiting for. They didn’t win enough nonconference games to earn an at-large bid, so winning the championship is the only way into the NCAAs.

Earning the top seed, and the bye that comes with it, means the path could be as simple as a win on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Villanova will play No. 4 Seton Hall or No. 5 St. John’s on Thursday in the second round of the six-team, double-elimination tournament.

There’s pressure, but the Wildcats also feel confident.

“We know what we can do,” Cites said. “We’ve done it in preseason. We’ve done it in conference. It’s just being able to translate that over to [the] postseason.”