Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

LORETTO, Pa. (April 15, 2012) – For the second consecutive day, the Saint Francis University softball team split a pair of Northeast Conference games, this time against the Bryant Bulldogs, falling 8-7 in eight innings in game one and taking game two by a 7-3 final.

Sunday's twin bill with the Bulldogs marked the team's “Hitting for Hope” charity day in which they were playing for the Novasky Foundation and Emily Whitehead, a local six-year-old girl who is in need of a bone marrow transplant.

Despite the high amount of runs in the first game, it remained scoreless until the Red Flash (17-21, 6-8 NEC) broke through with a run in the bottom of the fourth on a Taylor Darneille (Fircrest, Wash./Wilson) solo shot to center field. The next seven half innings would include at least one run scored as Bryant (12-18, 5-5 NEC) kept the streak alive with two runs in the top of the fifth on back-to-back solo homeruns.

In their half of the fifth, Brianna Garcia (Riverside, Calif./Arlington) led off with a poke single down the left field line and advanced one bag on a successful sacrifice bunt by Paige Smith (Saugus, Calif./Valencia). After Garcia moved to third on a passed ball, Davina Kachnovitz drove in her teammate on a two-bagger to left field. Taylor Parsons then drew a one-out walk to line up a two-RBI ground-rule double to right center by Darneille to give the Flash a 4-2 lead after five.

In the sixth, both teams exchanged two-run innings, which still gave SFU the two-run advantage heading into the seventh. With two runners on, two outs and a two strike count, pinch hitter Christina Eringis lifted Bryant to a one-run lead on a three-run blast over the left center field fence. Saint Francis was not done though and clawed its way to one run on one hit when Chelsy Cosentino (New Kensington, Pa./Kiski Area) tied the game at seven on a passed ball. Unfortunately the Bulldogs would have the same type of lucky fortunes in the top of the eighth as they tallied the game-winning run on a dropped third strike passed ball.

Chelsea Rex took the loss in the opening game, dropping her to 10 losses on the year. Rex threw 7.1 innings and gave up six earned runs on seven hits while striking out six. Megan Layne (Vallejo, Calif./Rodriguez) worked 0.2 innings in the eighth and notched one strikeout.

The Red Flash got off to a flying start in the second game, plating three runs in the bottom of the first. A single to left field put Smith on the base paths, allowing Kachnovitz to launch her fourth homerun of the season, a two-run shot to left. The third run of the inning came off the bat of Karlie Miller (Wildomar, Calif./Temescal Canyon), with a single through the left side.

In the third, SFU tacked on another run, this time off the bat of Kaitlin Andler (Evanston, Ill./Evanston) that allowed Miller to score from third. Miller collected a second RBI-single in the home team's next at-bat, giving Saint Francis a 5-0 advantage after four innings of play. The Bulldogs notched a few one-run innings but with a two-run sixth for insurance, the Flash secured the 7-3 victory.

Brooke Koch (Jersey Shore, Pa./Jersey Shore) picked up her seventh pitching victory of the season in game two after tossing six innings of six-hit ball, giving up just one earned run. Layne threw the final inning of the contest surrendering a run that was unearned. Kachnovitz went 4-for-8 on the day, driving in three runs and scoring two more.

Saint Francis continues its home stand Tuesday afternoon with a non-conference doubleheader against visiting Akron. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.