BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2 NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (April 7, 2013) – The Saint Francis U softball team fought all day long but suffered a doubleheader sweep at the hands of Northeast Conference leading Central Connecticut on Sunday. The Flash fell by final scores of 8-5 and 12-11 in extra frames.

Central Connecticut (20-9, 10-0 NEC) put one on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first in game one on a couple of back-to-back singles. The Blue Devils added to their lead in the third when Kat Malcolm lifted a three-run homerun over the left field fence to give CCSU a 4-0 advantage. After a one-out single put a runner on first, Kelsey Barlow also lined a long ball out to left for two additional runs.

In the fourth the Red Flash (16-15, 1-3 NEC) cut the Blue Devils lead in half to make the score 6-3. Sabrie Neeb (Front Royal, Va./Skyline) and Taylor Darneille (Fircrest, Wash./Wilson) collected back-to-back singles and with two outs in the inning, Chelsea Rex (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola) collected her first homerun of the season. Rex's three-run shot was lined down the left field line.

The Blue Devils answered with two runs of their own however in the next half inning on a soft liner to left. SFU loaded the bases in the top of the fifth but a two-out groundout ended the Red Flash threat.

The Flash continued to battle in the game, getting one more in their half of the sixth. Kate Blattenberger (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) led off the inning with a towering solo shot to left, her second of the season. SFU put runners on second and third with one out but a foul out and strikeout closed the book on the top of the sixth. Still fighting in the seventh, Neeb launched her third homerun of the season to right center, a solo shot that finalized the score at 8-5.

Ketarah DeVries (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) (11-9) pitched six innings and suffered the loss in game one. All eight runs CCSU scored were charged to DeVries, marking the highest run total scored on her since the season opener.

CCSU struck early again in game two, plating four runs in the bottom of the first. Kelsey Barlow hit her second two-run homerun of the day in the inning. As was the case in the first game though, the Red Flash clawed their way back and cut into the Blue Devils lead in the top of the second. Blattenberger lined a single up the middle and Rex bounced her second homerun of the day off the left field fence for two runs.

The Blue Devils answered right back however, scoring three runs in their half of the second. In the fourth for the Red Flash, and what seemed to become a trend, Neeb sent her second homerun of the day out to left center to make the CCSU lead 7-3.

After CCSU got two more in the fourth, Davina Kachnovitz (Bear, Del./Glasgow) led off the sixth with her team-leading sixth homerun of the season. Kachnovitz's solo shot gives her a team-best 22 RBI on the year as well. Still in the sixth SFU continued to fight their way back, closing the deficit to a 9-8 CCSU advantage. With the bases loaded, Rex put together more clutch power hitting, sending her third homerun of the afternoon over the left center field fence for the grand slam.

CCSU did what it had done all day though and answered with a couple runs in their half of the sixth to make the score 11-8. In the seventh the Flash were poised to strike for more as they loaded the bases with no outs. After a strikeout, three consecutive singles from Blattenberger, Rex and Brianna Garcia (Riverside, Calif./Arlington) tied the game at 11.

On the first pitch in the bottom of the eighth however, Central's Evie Rentzel hit an opposite field walk-off homerun to win the game 12-11 and keep the Blue Devils undefeated in league play.

DeVries again got the start in game two and surrendered nine runs in 3.0 innings pitched. Rex (4-2) relieved DeVries in the fourth and took the loss after throwing the remainder of the game.

Saint Francis will take on Penn State in State College, Pa. this Tuesday night at 6 p.m.