After 12 innings, and three hours, Seton Hall softball fell to Villanova on Wednesday night, 4-3.
The Wildcats' Jess O'Boyle sent a solo home run over the left field wall in the top of the 12th, securing the victory for Villanova.
"We played like champions and we battled all the way," head coach Ray Vander May said. "We had our opportunities but we just couldn't push that winning run across."
The Pirates split the doubleheader against the Wildcats, winning the first game 1-0. Their conference record is now 3-8 and 12-21 overall.
Senior pitcher Danielle Zanzalari threw all 12 innings, allowing only one earned run.
Seton Hall fell behind quickly in the second game by going down 2-0, until a pair of fourth inning doubles by freshman Brittany Hammer and sophomore Laura Canulli cut the deficit in half.
Sophomore Kristen Kaelin drove an RBI single up the middle that scored
the tying run, making the score 2-2.
The score remained tied into the 11th inning when two Wildcats reached base on singles.
After a groundball to second base, a missed tag and a throwing error, Villanova took a commanding 3-2 lead.
Junior Jamie Gates and Bennett both reached base on singles to start the inning.
Junior Brittany Schillizzi's line drive to third was bobbled, allowing the tying run to cross the plate.
After retiring the first batter in the 12th, Zanzalari gave up a solo home run to O'Boyle for the 4-3 loss.
"I think we played great. We showed a lot of heart and we kept fighting," junior Michelle Reed said. "We didn't get some hits to fall but overall I think we did a great job."
Reed and Schillizzi both had three hits in the game, while Schillizzi added an RBI, while Kaelin and Canulli drove in the other two RBI's in the game.
Seton Hall tallied 15 hits in the game, compared to the Villanova's 10.
"Offensively, we have to start coming up with the big hit - the clutch hit," Vander May said. "Especially in key situations."
Senior pitcher Ashley Forsyth threw her third complete-game shutout in the first game of the twin bill against Villanova.
She allowed only six hits and struck out three to improve her record to 7-8 on the year.
The only run was scored in the third inning during a two-out rally for the Pirates.
Seton Hall won two out of three games against St. John's in Queens last weekend.
The Pirates won the first two games, 4-0 and 3-2, while dropping the third contest, 4-0.
After a doubleheader in Brooklyn against Long Island University on Thursday, Seton Hall returns back to South Orange for a three-game series against Georgetown this weekend.
Matthew Bryant can be reached at matthew.bryant@student.shu.edu.
