Cancelled Event: Softball versus Tarleton State
Softball
vs Tarleton State
Cancelled
Providence College Athletics
Thursday, May 8
Villanova, Pa.
3:00 PM
Providence College
vs
Connecticut
Providence Softball BIG EAST Championship Quarterfinals Game Notes
5/7/2025 11:08:00 PM | Softball
The sixth-seeded Friars will play No.2-Seed Connecticut in a BIG EAST Championship Quarterfinals game on Thursday, May 8 at 3:00 p.m.
LIVE STATS AND STREAM... Providence's BIG EAST Quarterfinal game vs. UConn on Thursday, May 8 will be streamed on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) at 3:00 p.m. Live stats will also be available via the softball schedule on Friars.com.Â
ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP... The winner of Thursday's Quarterfinal game between No. 6 Providence and No. 2 Connecticut will automatically advance to the semifinal round on Friday, May 9 at 12 p.m. and play the winner of No. 1 St. John's against No. 4 Creighton. The loser of Wednesday's Quarterfinals matchup will play an elimination game against No. 5 Butler on May 8 at 6:00 p.m.
VS. CONNECTICUT...Â
2025 Season
UConn Leads: 2-1
The Huskies are 7-1 all-time against the Friars in the Big East Championship.
Providence's History In The BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP... Â Â Â Â Â
The Friars captured their lone BIG EAST Title in 1994 under the direction of Head Coach Jennifer Finley. Providence defeated Connecticut in Jamaica, N.Y., 1-0, with Kim Robbins being named the Most Outstanding Player.Â
Providence holds a 10-16 overall record in the BIG EAST Championship with one title and two runner-up finishes. The Friars fell to Connecticut in the 1992 BIG EAST Title game, 2-1, before reaching the title game for a second-consecutive season in 1995 but were defeated by Connecticut, 3-1.Â
The Friars' last time in the BIG EAST Softball Championship was in 2019 where the Friars fell, 4-0, in a Semifinals match against DePaul.Â
Wednesday's game against Villanova marked second-year Head Coach Kelsey Christensen's BIG EAST Championship debut.Â
FRIARS RECORD HISTORIC SEVEN-RUN COMEBACK UPSET WIN OVER THE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS, VILLANOVA, TO RECORD FIRST POSTSEASON WIN IN THIRTY YEARS...
After qualifying for the BIG EAST Softball Championship for the first time since 2019, the sixth-seeded Friars recorded a historic eight-inning comeback win over No. 3Â Villanova on May 7.Â
The Friars recorded eight of their 10 runs in the final three innings to secure their first postseason win since 1995. With the victory, the Friars improved to a 23-29 overall record. Sophomore Cameron Dunn (Bothell, Wash.) paced the Friars with two home runs and three RBI. Senior Jessica Walter (Middletown, Del.) was credited with the win for Providence, pitching 4.1 innings while recording seven strikeouts.Â
PC's win over Villanova was its first of the season as the Wildcats swept the Friars in a three-game series the weekend prior to tournament play (May 2-4). The Friars took the lead in the all-time postseason record over the Wildcats, now leading 3-2.Â
CONFERENCE PLAY...
Providence won 11 of its conference games to clinch a spot in the BIG EAST Softball Championship for the first time since 2019. Heading into the final weekend of BIG EAST play, Providence sat in contention with three other teams (VU, SHU & CU) but was able to secure the sixth-seed after leading the tie-breaker over Seton Hall.
POWER FROM TOP TO BOTTOM...
The Friars have hit 29 home runs this season. Cameron Dunn holds a team-high 10 home runs while Gabriella Sebastian and Julia Renny are behind with four. Nine separate players have tallied a home run for Providence this season.Â
In the First Round game against No. 3 Villanova, Dunn recorded two home runs and three RBI to spark the comeback win for the Friars.Â
HITTING MACHINE...
Junior Elisa Smith has led the Friars' lineup throughout the regular season. She holds a team-best .390 batting average, 62 hits, six triples and a .470 on-base percentage, ranking her among the Big East's top hitters. She is currently first in the conference in triples, seventh in batting average, eighth in on-base percentage and ninth in hits. Lee's performance in the regular season earned her a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team; her first All-BIG EAST recognition of her career.Â
Smith was a key player in the Friars win over Nova as she went 3-5 at the plate, registering a RBI single and recording three clutch putouts.Â
PITCHING DOMINANCE...
Providence's success this season has been helped by graduate student Tori Grifone's effort in the circle. She enters the BIG EAST Championship with a team-high 10 wins. Over 110 innings pitched, she has posted a 3.82 ERA while holding opponents to a .249 batting average and recording 64 strikeouts. In Big East play, Grifone ranked sixth in ERA (3.43) and third in opposing batting average (.240). She tallied a season-high eight strikeouts in a win over Creighton earlier this year. Grifone's effort in the regular season earned her a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team; her first All-BIG EAST recognition of her career.Â
Senior Jessica Walter has also had a stellar performance in the circle for the Friars. The Middletown, Del. product leads the squad in ERA (3.56) and has posted a 7-1 record. She was awarded the win in the Friars' comeback victory over the Huskies, pitching the last 4.1 innings while recording seven strikeouts. Walter closed the game out in the bottom of the eighth, as she struck out two batters in a three-up, three-down inning. The victory marked her seventh of the season.Â
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES...Â
UConn claimed the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST Championship with an 18-6 conference record.Â
The Huskies have a strong foundation with five All-BIG EAST First Team members, Kaitlyn Breslin, Rosie Garcia, Grace Jenkins, Payton Kinney and Cat Petteys; the most nominations of any conference team. Jenkins, the BIG EAST Player of the Year, leads UConn with a conference .475 batting average, nine home runs and 33 RBI. She is the BIG EAST leader in doubles (12), runs scored (33), and on-base percentage (.580). Petteys, the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, has had an impressive rookie season. Petteys is one of the top performers in conference, holding a .427 batting average, ten home runs, 31 RBI and nine doubles. The rookie shortstop leads all freshmen in the conference this season with 12 home runs, 60 hits, 42 RBI and a .506 on-base percentage. Petteys' 12 home runs this season are the most ever posted by a UConn freshman.
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