BUFFALO, N.Y. (Apr. 15, 2008) – After two games on Monday and a long trip on Tuesday morning, the Saint Francis softball team struggled on offense and defense in a pair of losses, 8-4 and 8-0, on Tuesday afternoon at Canisius.

The Red Flash fell behind early in both games, and couldn't keep up with the Griffins' bats.

Canisius scored three runs in the first inning of Game 1, and kept SFU off the board until the third inning. Senior Richele Hall (Beaver Falls, Pa. / Riverside) singled to lead off the frame, advanced to second base on a wild pitch, moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt by junior Janelle McCoy (New Paris, Pa. / Chestnut Ridge) and then scored on another wild pitch to make it 3-1.

But Canisius responded with three more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 6-1 lead. Hall and McCoy drew back-to-back two-out walks in the top of the fifth inning, and senior Nicole Bender (Patton, Pa. / Cambria Heights) made the Griffins pay with her seventh home run of the season to cut the lead to 6-4.

However, Canisius bounced back with two more runs in the bottom half of the inning to complete the scoring with an 8-4 victory.

The Griffins again scored three runs in the bottom half of the first inning of Game 2 for all the scoring they would need. The Red Flash, who committed a total of six errors in the two games, were held to just three hits in the contest as Canisius came out with an 8-0 victory in five innings.

The Red Flash dropped to 14-28 overall, while the Griffins improved to 23-10. Saint Francis will return to the diamond with a 3 p.m. doubleheader at Cleveland State on Thursday.