Feb. 24, 2008

Robert Morris Box Score
Saint Joseph's Box Score

TROUTVILLE, Va. - Junior Laura Determan (San Diego, Calif.) pitched a five-hitter with 10 strikeouts in the first game of the day and Villanova (3-1) broke out the offense with 14 hits in the second game on Sunday at the Hokies United Memorial Tournament at the Botetourt Sports Complex. The Wildcats finished the weekend with three wins in four games after knocking off Robert Morris (1-2) by a 3-1 count and Saint Joseph's (1-3) by a 10-4 score in the weather-shortened, two-day tournament.

Determan (2-0, 0.79 ERA) won both of her starts on the weekend and was in fine form against the Colonials on Sunday. She allowed just one hit through the first four innings and shut the door after giving up a solo home run in the fifth inning.

Villanova took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning and then broke a 1-1 tie with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Senior Jessica Curtis (Yorba Linda, Calif.) was 3-for-3 with two runs batted in for the game, including run-scoring singles in both the third and sixth innings. Freshman Christina Botkins (San Jose, Calif.) hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth to account for the go-ahead and eventual winning run.

Later in the day, the Wildcats broke the game open against the Hawks with two runs in the third inning and four in the fourth. Curtis had four hits and three runs scored and junior Meghan Morese (Laguna Hills, Calif.) went 3-for-4 with three RBI. Senior Jackie Dempsey (Lexington, Mass.) counted two doubles among her three hits and finished with two runs scored and two driven in.

Morese singled home a run in the top of the first inning and Villanova led throughout. Saint Joseph's scored three times in the bottom of the fourth inning to pull to within 7-4 before the Wildcats insured the margin with a single run in the fifth and two more in the seventh.

Senior Kat Walsh (Los Angeles, Calif.) started and earned the win for Villanova with 3 2/3 innings pitched in which she allowed four hits and struck out five. Senior Nicci Ward (Eagle River, Alaska) relieved and struck out five over 3 1/3 scoreless innings.

In their four games at the Virginia Tech tournament, the Wildcats outscored their opponents by a 22-9 margin and batted .333 as a team with a 2.52 earned run average. Curtis led the way offensively with eight hits in 13 at-bats (.615) and six runs scored, while Morese hit .538 (7-for-13). She and sophomore Eryn Teague (Wilmington, N.C.) each drove in a team high four runs on the weekend.

Villanova will now get ready for its annual appearances at a pair of tournaments in Florida. The Wildcats play in Altamonte Springs between February 29 and March 2 and then play in the Under Armour Invitational hosted by South Florida from March 6-9. Villanova plays Maryland at Noon this Friday (February 29) in its first game in Altamonte Springs.