PITTSBURGH – The Saint Francis softball team completed the non-conference portion of its regular season schedule with a doubleheader at Pittsburgh on Wednesday afternoon. The Flash fell to the Panthers, 7-0 and 9-4.

In game one, the Flash had just three singles as the Panthers hit four home runs on its way to a 7-0 victory. The first of those four proved to be a crucial turning point. In the bottom of the third, Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) retired the first two hitters before allowing three consecutive singles to make it 1-0 Pitt with two runners on base. McKayla Taylor followed with a three-run homer to give Pitt some insurance at 4-0. The Panthers hit two solo homers in the fourth and another in the sixth to finish the scoring.

The Flash took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning of game two. Kate Blattenberger (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) led off the frame with a single up the middle. After two outs, she came around to score on Maggie Creciun (Norristown, Pa./Norristown)'s single.

Pitt came back with two runs in the bottom of the second. The first scored on a double steal with runners at the corners, while the second came around on an RBI single to right field. Pitt extended its lead to 3-1 with a solo homer to right center in the bottom of the third.

Blattenberger took care of the whole run-scoring process in her second at-bat. She lined a bullet over the 200-foot sign in center to cut Pitt's advantage to 3-2. That was her second homer of the season. But Pitt pushed its lead to 5-2 with a two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the fourth.

The Flash loaded the bases in the top of the sixth. Blattenberger reached base for the third time with a hit-by-pitch to lead off the frame. Pinch hitter Paige Richardson (Shippensburg, Pa./Mercersburg Academy) walked, and Lindsey Reid (Bear, Del./Caravel Academy) reached on an infield single off the pitcher's glove. After a pitching change, Parsons walked to force Blattenberger home to make it 5-3, but Savannah King forced Kindra Witthus (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) to pop out to first base.

Pitt added four insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it 9-3, but Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area) came back with a solo homer off the scoreboard in left to make it 9-4. Blattenberger reached base all four times to the plate in game two, adding a walk in the seventh. She also had one of the Flash's three hits in game one.

The Flash returns to action Saturday against Robert Morris to close the regular season, where the team has a chance to clinch a berth in the NEC Tournament. First pitch at Red Flash Field is set for 1 p.m. The games will air on NEC Front Row and 1400 WWGE-AM.