DOVER, Del. – The Saint Francis softball team pounded out 12 hits in defeating Central Connecticut State, 8-6, in round-robin action of the Delaware State Capital Classic on Sunday morning. However, Katrina Gaudier held the powerful Red Flash offense in check as Drexel won the championship game over SFU, 15-0, in five innings.
The Red Flash won the first three games of the weekend, but the loss to Drexel dropped SFU's overall record to 10-12 on the season. The Flash will compete at the UMBC Dawg Pound Classic next weekend, beginning with a 1:45 p.m. Friday contest against tournament-host UMBC. Saint Francis will also play Niagara at 3:40 p.m. Friday.
Saint Francis 8, Central Connecticut State 6
Senior Hilary McNelis (Tyrone, PA /Tyrone) (Tyrone, Pa. / Tyrone), junior Stephanie Griffin (Dupont, PA /Pittston Area ) (Dupont, Pa. / Pittston Area) and freshman Kaitlyn Andler (Evanston, Ill. / Evanston) collected two hits each to lead the Red Flash to an 8-6 non-conference game against the Blue Devils.
CCSU tallied four runs off starter Jerrica Smith (Breezewood, PA /Everett) (Breezewood, Pa. / Everett), chasing the junior from the game after just one-third of an inning. Smith allowed just one hit, but struggled with her control in walking four batters. However, freshman Megan Layne (Vallejo, Calif. / Rodriquez) settled things down, and gave up just two runs (one earned) over the final 6.2 innings.
After falling behind 5-0, Saint Francis began to chip away. Andler started a three-run rally with a leadoff single in the third inning. Senior Kara Stroup (Valencia, PA /Mars) (Valencia, Pa. / Mars) had a two-run single, and senior Kelly Slingwine (Gibsonia, PA /Pine Richland) (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine Richland) later stole home to make it 5-3.
Sophomore Raquel Rugani (Montour, PA/Montour) (McKees Rocks, Pa. / Montour) sparked another three-run rally for the Red Flash in the fourth inning. She led off with a single, and was pinch-ran for by sophomore Michelle Spisak (McKees Rocks, Pa/Sto-Rox) (McKees Rocks, Pa. / Sto-Rox). Griffin had an RBI single in the inning, but SFU took advantage of two CCSU errors to score two more unearned runs and take a 6-5 lead.
However, a two-out walk cost Layne in the bottom half of the inning when Jaclyn Logan doubled to left-center to tie the ballgame at 6-6.
A Slingwine RBI double in the sixth, and a McNelis home run in the seventh inning provided the two-run difference in the Red Flash victory.
Layne gave up two runs, one earned, on four hits in 6.2 innings. She struck out four and walked three. She improved to 4-1 on the season with the win.
Drexel 15, Saint Francis 0 (15 innings)
Gaudier walked four and struck out one in a no-hitter to give Drexel a 15-0 revenge victory over the Red Flash. Saint Francis had defeated the Dragons, 6-1, on Saturday.
Drexel scored seven runs in the first inning, and six in the second inning to take a commanding lead. The Dragons improved to 9-7 on the season with the win.
