LORETTO, Pa. - The Saint Francis softball team continues its march to the NEC Tournament with a pair of home doubleheaders this weekend. The Red Flash hosts Wagner (9-19, 1-9) on Saturday at 1 p.m. and LIU Brooklyn (14-23, 4-2) on Sunday at noon.

The Red Flash took three of its four conference games last weekend with a pair of 8-0, five-inning victories in a sweep at Mount St. Mary's on Saturday. The Flash followed that with a split at Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday.

Wagner was swept at home against Central Connecticut last Saturday before dropping two games at Sacred Heart on Sunday. LIU Brooklyn is tied with the Red Flash for third place in the NEC standings with a 4-2 mark in conference play. The Blackbirds split with Sacred Heart last Saturday.

BOWER NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore first baseman Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area) was named the NEC Player of the Week for her performance in the Flash's four conference games last weekend.
She went 7-for-9 (.778) with a home run and seven RBIs to pace the Red Flash to a 3-1 record. In a sweep of Mount St. Mary's on Saturday, Bower was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate, scoring three runs while driving in one.
In a split against Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday, Bower had another huge day. The sophomore went 3-for-5 with a double and home run while driving in six runs and scoring five more. Bower also walked three times and added two HBPs to raise her on-base percentage to .857 for the weekend.

PATRICK-SWIFT SETS WINS RECORD
Saint Francis head softball coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift became the program's all-time leader in wins with the Red Flash's 8-0 victory in game one of the team's NEC doubleheader at Mount St. Mary's on Saturday. That gave her 94 career victories, surpassing Rudy "Skip" Galayda's 93 wins from 1994-98.

NEC RACE HEATING UP
The Red Flash finds itself in the thick of the NEC Tournament. The teams with the top four conference records qualify for the tournament, and right now the Flash is sitting in a tie for third place with LIU Brooklyn. Heading into this weekend's action, the NEC has a pair of teams with undefeated conference records. Central Connecticut is 8-0 and Robert Morris is 6-0. Fairleigh Dickinson (5-5 NEC) is 1.5 games out of a playoff position behind SFU and LIU Brooklyn.

SENIOR DAY SATURDAY
The Red Flash will honor its four seniors prior to the doubleheader on Saturday. Seniors Taylor Parsons (Bellefonte, Pa./Bald Eagle), Lindsey Reid (Bear, Del./Caravel Academy), Maggie Creciun (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) and Elise Jancef (Wilson, N.Y./Wilson) are finishing their final seasons as Saint Francis softball players, and they have made quite an impact. The group's 96 wins in the past four seasons is the most for any class in SFU softball history.