BOX SCORE WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Saint Francis softball team used a two-out, two-strike single from Kate Blattenberger (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) in the top of the seventh inning to tie host George Washington at 7-7, but the Colonials pulled out an extra inning victory over the Red Flash on the first day of the Capital Invitational.

The Red Flash (10-3) entered its final at-bat down, 7-5, but SFU loaded the bases with one out and pulled to within a run on a Taylor Parsons (Bellefonte, Pa./Bald Eagle) sacrifice fly to score Davina Kachnovitz (Bear, Del./Glasgow), who led off the inning with a single. Blattenberger was the next hitter, and after working the count to 2-2, singled up the middle to score pinch runner Kelsie Marconi (Lowber, Pa./Yough) to tie the game.

With international tiebreaker rules in effect for the extra innings, each team starts with a runner at second. In the SFU eighth, Kindra Witthus (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) was sacrificed to third by Samantha Thomas (Sterling, Va./Park View) but was thrown out at the plate on a squeeze attempt by Lindsey Reid (Bear, Del./Caravel Academy).

After Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) set the Colonials down in order in the bottom of the eighth, the Flash pushed a run across in the ninth. Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area) moved to third base on a grounder and came home on a Parsons ground out to second. The Flash took that one-run lead into the bottom of the ninth.

A single for the Colonials put two runners on base, and Megan Linn hit a three-run homer to right to hand GW the 10-8 victory.

George Washington took a 4-0 lead in the third inning, but the Flash got all of those back in its fourth inning at-bat. The second of Blattenberger's three hits on the afternoon scored Chelsy Cosentino (New Kensington, Pa./Kiski Area) to make it 4-1. Aly Ramsaier (Mesa, Ariz./Mountain View) and Thomas each walked with two outs to load the bases, and Reid lined a triple into right center to clear the bases and tie the score.

GW scored solo runs in the fourth and fifth to make it 6-4, but Thomas' single in the sixth brought home Ramsaier, who tripled into the left field corner. George Washington added a run in the bottom half of the sixth to set up the Red Flash's comeback in the seventh.

Saint Francis plays two games tomorrow, facing Brown at 9:30 a.m. and George Washington at 4:15 p.m.