ALTOONA, Pa. – The top-seeded Saint Francis bowling team got off the mat with a vengeance after dropping its first round match against the sixth-seeded Saint Francis Brooklyn Terriers, winning the next two rounds against Sacred Heart and LIU Brooklyn to advance to Sunday's final rounds of play.
 
In the opening match of the best-of-seven games series, Saint Francis Brooklyn went up 2-1 when the Red Flash caught fire. The Red Flash started game four with 10 strikes in a row. Christina Leid (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata) threw a perfect shot in the 11th frame, leaving a 10-pin for a 288 game to even the match 2-2.
 
In game five, the Red Flash started with the front four strikes to take a strong early lead. However, consecutive open frames by the Red Flash resulted in a 168 game. The Red Flash went on to lose that match 4-2.
 
"When you throw 14 out of 15 strikes, you finish the job especially when the lanes were not in transition at that point," head coach Tom Falbo said. "It ended up being the wake up call we needed, but at the time it was a tough way to start the day."
 
The second round saw an entirely different Red Flash team. Their execution and energy was notably different after defeating Sacred Heart, 4-2, then downing LIU Brooklyn, 4-1, in the afternoon to advance to Sunday's Round of play.
 
"We saw our bench again be our strength in the afternoon, and our team energy and consistency was so much better the last 2 matches than how we started the morning," Falbo said.
 
The Red Flash hs a first round bye in the morning. Saint Francis Brooklyn and Kutztown will play in the first round tomorrow. If Kutztown wins, it will be the Red Flash and the Golden Bears in the Championship Match, in which the Red Flash will have to beat Kutztown twice to claim the title. If Saint Francis Brooklyn beats Kutztown, the Terriers will get the bye to the Championship Match and play the winner of SFU-KU in the semi-final match.
 
Top Baker Frame Averages for the Red Flash: Shelby Derr (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) 22.5 (14 complete frames), Sarah Ross (Crescent, Pa./Moon Area) 20.7 (33 completed frames) Lauren Johnson (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast) 20.2 (32 completed frames), Ashley Howe-Yorio (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield Area) 19.1 (34 completed frames) and Briana Ord (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) 18.3 (24 completed frames).
 
"We saw good performances from the ladies today," Falbo said. "They all were resilient and strong throughout the day. We saw Shelby come in off the bench and do very well. We moved Ashley in the anchor spot and she gave us many strong frames to close out games. Sarah provides the energy in which inspires the ladies. Both she and Lauren were so consistent all day."