The UConn softball team is hoping to improve from 6-0 to 9-0 at Burrill Family Field this weekend, but the Villanova Wildcats stand in their way.
Villanova (8-27 overall, 4-8 in the Big East), took the first two games of a series against Georgetown last weekend before dropping the last game 7-5. The Wildcats lost seven of their last eight before taking two wins from the Hoyas.
Connecticut is coming off an impressive three-game sweep of DePaul where they outscored the Blue Demons 28-9, including two mercy rule victories. The Huskies are fourth in the Big East with a record of 6-3 in conference play.
UConn has owned the all-time series against Villanova dating back to their first meeting in 1992. Despite the Huskies’ 51-19 record against the Wildcats, the last 10 games are even at five wins apiece since 2023. Still, Connecticut is riding a two-game winning streak against Villanova after winning on the road 6-3 and 9-8 in March of last year.
The Huskies will look for Kaitlyn Kibling and Savannah Ring to continue powering the offense from the top of the order after both players had phenomenal weekends against DePaul.
Batting out of the leadoff spot, Kibling had a four-hit weekend including a mammoth three-run home run on Friday. She scored five runs, stole a base and only struck out once in three games. The senior will be expected to get things started for the Huskies’ lineup this weekend.
Ring had eight hits and six runs against DePaul, including a walk off two-run home run on Sunday. She is hitting .339 on the year after a three-hit outing on Sunday. Hitting second in the order, Ring will look to drive in Kibling while also setting up the third and fourth hitters with possible runners in scoring position.
On the pitching side for UConn, Caprice Bohmer will do the heavy lifting after a spectacular performance against DePaul. Bohmer pitched in all three games earning two wins and a save. The freshman struck out 18 batters over the course of 12.1 innings while only allowing four runs. Look for Jessica Walter to also accumulate some innings for the Huskies.
On Villanova’s side, Maranda Runco is a force to be reckoned with. The junior has slugged eight home runs this season, including two against Georgetown on Saturday. Pitchers are aware of her power as she has tallied 33 walks during the season, including 5 intentional walks. Runco was given a free pass four times in a game against DePaul early in March, 3 times via intentional walks.
The Wildcats pitching staff all have ERAs over six on the season. Kat Gallant, Maggie King and Lexi Kobryn are the main innings eaters, with Gallant throwing 62 innings on the season. The Connecticut native’s best outing of the season was against DePaul on March 6. She threw seven innings of two-run baseball. Kobryn threw six innings of one-run ball against Georgetown on Friday before the Hoyas tagged her for four runs on Sunday.
If the Huskies can take two or three games from the Wildcats this weekend, they will have a great deal of momentum for next weekend’s series with top Big East foe Butler.
Friday will be a doubleheader for the two teams. The first pitch of game one will be at 3 p.m. and then the second game is expected to start at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Saturday’s game will begin at 3 p.m. and fans can tune into ESPN+ for all three Husky games.