BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2 Lubbock, Texas - Senior Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) threw the first Saint Francis perfect game since 2008 to highlight a 2-0 day in which the Red Flash defeated East Carolina, 11-0, and Texas Tech, 3-1,  to match its longest win streak in program history at 12 games.

Head Coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift's Reaction

"It was a great day for the Saint Francis softball program," said head coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift. "Both wins were team wins with great offense, defense and pitching. Ethel has been lights out and I am so proud of her perfect game because she works so hard and nobody wants it more. In the second game we scored three early runs and then won the game with our pitching and defense. We love to hit but we have proved we can also win the low-scoring ball games."

Game One

The Red Flash smashed 14 hits and Santai blazed through the East Carolina order five consecutive times to notch an 11-0 victory in five innings. 

Saint Francis busted the game wide open with six runs on seven hits in the second inning. Junior Madison Cabell (Ivor, Va./Southampton) opened the inning with a double and moved to third on an infield single by sophomore Kassidy Troxell. Senior Kelsie Marconi (Lowber, Pa./Yough) then dealt the first blow with a two-run double to left center and the runs would pile up from there.

After a Kindra Witthus (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) single put runners on the corners, Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) smoked a three-run shot to left, her fourth of the season, to give Saint Francis a 5-0 lead. Sophomore Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) singled later in the inning and scored on a double from sophomore Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) to close the scoring in the frame.

The Red Flash backed up its six-run second inning with a five spot in the third. Marconi got things started with her second double of the game and scored on a double by sophomore McKenzie Burge (Osceola Mills, Pa./Phillipsburg-Osceola). Witthus drove in Burge with an rbi single to make the score 8-0 and scored on a sac fly from Norton. An rbi single by Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) and run-scoring double by Cabell closed the scoring. 

Santai needed just 51 pitches to retire all 15 East Carolina hitters, pitching to contact and relying on her defense as she finished with just one strikeout. The last perfect game by a Saint Francis pitcher was by Laura Caldwell vs. Sacred Heart on Apr. 27, 2008.

Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) extended her streak of recording two or more hits to eight games and her hitting streak to 11. Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois), Cabell, Marconi and Witthus also added two hits. 

Game Two 

The Saint Francis offense did all of its damage in the first two innings and then turned it over to Santai and the rest of the pitching staff as it downed Texas Tech 3-1.

Junior Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum) continued her torrid pace with her sixth home run in her last six ball games to give Saint Francis a 1-0 lead in the first. It was her third home run of the tournament against the Red Raiders as she hit two grand slams in the win last night.

Norton followed Seneca's blast with a single and moved to second on a Texas Tech error. Cabell drew a walk and then Marconi was hit in the helmet by a pitch with two outs to make the score 2-0 in favor of the Red Flash.

Saint Francis capitalized on two walks and two Texas Tech errors in the second inning to increase its advantage to 3-0. Cabell brought the run home when her grounder with the bases loaded and two outs was booted by the second baseman.

Santai matched her efficiency from the first game with 5.2 innings of shutout ball. A Red Raider two-out double in the third inning snapped a streak of 25 hitters retired dating back to last night.

She ran into her first trouble of the day in the bottom of the sixth when a Red Raider two-out rally loaded the bases. The coaching staff turned to freshman Abby Trahan (Kaplan, La./Kaplan) and she delivered by striking out the next hitter on a nasty change up to get out of the inning.

Saint Francis loaded the bases in the seventh but Witthus grounded into a 5-2-3 double play to end the inning.

Texas Tech homered off Trahan to open the 7th and senior Ketarah DeVries (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) was called into action. She got the first hitter to fly out to Norton in foul territory and then struck out the next two to earn her first save of the season.

Santai moved to 3-0 on the week and 8-1 on the season. She threw 10.2 innings without allowing a run for the day. 

The 12-game win streak equals the mark set in 1998.