BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Freshman Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area) carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning of the Saint Francis softball team's 4-2 victory over Brown on Saturday at the Capital Invitational. She also supplied the team's first burst of offense in the game, sending a two-out, two-run single to center to chase Samantha Thomas (Sterling, Va./Park View) and Davina Kachnovitz (Bear, Del./Glasgow) to the plate.

That hit was the first for either team in the game, and it remained the only hit for the Flash until the top of the sixth. Senior catcher Chelsy Cosentino (New Kensington, Pa./Kiski Area) singled and Sabrie Neeb (Front Royal, Va./Skyline) followed on the next at-bat with a two run homer to left center. It's Neeb's team-leading third home run of the season.

That four-run lead was plenty for Bower, who allowed the first hit in the previous half-inning. After allowing just two walks and striking out five, her bid for a no-hitter ended with two outs in the fifth on a clean single up the middle. She moved her record to 5-1 on the season.

Brown scored single runs in the sixth and seventh innings and had the tying run at second base with just one out in the seventh, but Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) came in and closed the door by recording the final two outs without the Bears inching any closer.

In the second game, tournament host George Washington used a four-run sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie on its way to a 6-2 win. The Red Flash scored both of its runs in the fourth after falling behind 1-0. Kachnovitz led off the frame with a double and later stole third. After a walk to Cosentino, the GW defense tried to cut Kachnovitz down at the plate on a grounder to first by Neeb. The throw was late and the score was tied. Taylor Parsons (Bellefonte, Pa./Bald Eagle) followed with an RBI single to score Cosentino to make it 2-1. The Colonials tied the score in the fifth and took the lead in the sixth.

The Flash faces Brown again tomorrow while also playing Manhattan for the second time this season to wrap up the Capital Invitational.