CLEVELAND, Ohio (Apr. 17, 2008) – Junior shortstop Kelly Slingwine (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine Richland) drove in all four Saint Francis runs and junior pitcher Laura Caldwell (Bellefonte, Pa. / Bellefonte) won her third straight start in leading the Red Flash softball team to a split at Cleveland State on Thursday afternoon.

SFU won Game 1, 4-3, but dropped the night cap 8-0 in five innings.

Slingwine, who was 3-for-4 in the first game, had an RBI single in the fifth inning and slugged her fourth home run of the season, a three-run shot, to give SFU a 4-0 lead in the top of the seventh inning. Caldwell breezed through the first six innings, but gave up a solo homer, a walk and a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning before getting the final out to fly out. She struck out four, walked one and scattered seven hits in the contest.

Senior Nicole Bender (Patton, Pa. / Cambria Heights) collected two hits and scored two runs in the game.

Slingwine, sophomore Kelly Cortese (Coatesville, Pa. / Bishop Shanahan) and freshman Raquel Rugani (McKees Rocks, Pa. / Montour) collected the only three hits for the Red Flash in Game 2. The Vikings broke a scoreless tie with four runs in the third, three more in the fourth and one more in the fifth to end the game.

Saint Francis will kicks off a pivotal Northeast Conference slate of games this weekend with Mount St. Mary's and Monmouth coming to town for doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The Red Flash will honor two seniors on Sunday, Bender and Richele Hall (Beaver Falls, Pa. / Riverside), the final conference home games of their careers.