LORETTO, Pa. (Apr. 14, 2010) – Freshman Taylor Darneille (Fircrest, Wash. / Wilson) hit a pair of solo home runs, but it wasn't enough as the Saint Francis softball team suffered a 3-2 loss against Canisius in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon.

The Golden Griffins struck early in Game 2 on their way to a 15-2, five-inning win over the Red Flash in Game 2, spoiling the first games of a 12-game homestand for the Red Flash.

SFU dropped its 11^th straight game to fall to 9-28 overall, and will try to bounce back with a 3 p.m. Thursday twinbill against in-state rival Bucknell.

Canisius (19-13) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning of Game 1, only to see Darneille smash a two-out solo homer to right-center in the bottom half of the inning.

Lauren Hope singled, stole second, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a fielder's choice to give the Griffs a 2-1 lead in the third inning. But Darneille struck again in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 2-2 with her team-leading fourth home run of the season.

The teams remained deadlocked at 2-2 until Emily Helbig delivered an RBI single in the top of the seventh inning to give Canisius a 3-2 lead.

Saint Francis appeared to have something cooking in the next half frame when sophomore Katie McMellen (Kingsville, OH /Edgewood) (Kingsville, Ohio / Edgewood) reached on a single and freshman Heather Stiglich (Newhall, Calif. / William S. Hart) was hit by a pitch to start the inning. However, Canisius ace Amanda Baun got a lineout and a double play to end the Red Flash threat, and secure the 3-2 win for the Griffs.

Darneille was 2-for-3, while McMellen, senior Courtney Francis (Jefferson, Ohio/Jefferson Area) (Jefferson, Ohio / Jefferson Area) and junior Raquel Rugani (Montour, PA/Montour) (McKees Rocks, Pa. / Montour) each had a single.

Sophomore Megan Layne (Vallejo, Calif./Rodriguez) (Vallejo, Calif. / Rodriguez) had a strong game, giving up just three runs in a complete game. She scattered 11 hits, struck out two and walked three.

Canisius took advantage of five hit batters and three Red Flash errors on its way to a 15-2 victory in Game 2. The Griffs scored five runs in the first inning, three in the second, and four more in the third to take a 12-0 lead.

Darneille delivered an RBI single, and a Rugani single and Canisius error led to another Saint Francis run in the bottom of the third inning to cut the deficit to 12-2. However, the Griffs scored three more runs in the top of the fifth inning to put the game out of reach.

Francis was 2-for-2, while freshman Carmen Gurrola (Arleta, Calif. / John F. Kennedy), senior Stephanie Griffin (Dupont, PA /Pittston Area ) (Dupont, Pa. / Pittston Area) and freshman Misty Hammel (Oakville, Ontario / Holy Trinity) each had singles. The seventh inning single for Hammel was the first hit of her career.