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LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis softball team begins the 2016 campaign this weekend at the Seahawk Softball Bash, hosted by UNC Wilmington.  The Red Flash opens the tournament at Boseman Field against the host Seahawks at 10 a.m. on Friday.  Later that day, SFU will play Army West Point at 3 p.m.
 
On Saturday, the Red Flash, led by Head Coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift, takes on UNC Wilmington at 10 a.m. and Eastern Kentucky at 3 p.m.  The tournament wraps up on Sunday as Saint Francis plays Army West Point at 12:30 p.m.
 
RED FLASH PICKED FIFTH BY NEC COACHES
Saint Francis was selected to finish fifth in the Northeast Conference in a poll voted on by the league's coaches.  The results of the poll were announced on Wednesday.
 
LIU Brooklyn is picked to finish first, with Robert Morris, Bryant and Central Connecticut State following behind.
 
Saint Francis went 31-19 last season, including 9-7 in NEC play.  It was the first winning season for the Red Flash since 2002 and the second time in program history reaching the 30-win mark. 
 
COLLEGE SPORTS MADNESS PRESEASON ALL-NEC
The Red Flash had four players named to the College Sports Madness Preseason All-NEC teams.  Juniors Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area) and Blaire Lauthers (Doylesburg, Pa./Fannett-Metal) were named to the First Team, while sophomore Madison Cabell (Ivor, Va./Southampton) and junior Kindra Witthus (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) earned Second Team honors.
 
Bower was selected First Team as both an infielder and pitcher.  She batted .318 in 50 games last season including 47 hits, 11 doubles, two triples and six home runs, while batting in 30 runs and scoring 38.  She led the team in home runs and on-base percentage (.421).  In the circle, Bower posted a 2.97 ERA in 70.2 innings, going 6-6 in 19 appearances, with 14 starts and three complete games.  Bower also struck out 50 batters.
 
Lauthers ranked among the Top 90 in Division I last season with a 2.41 ERA in 96 innings.  She went 13-7 in 29 appearances, including 14 starts, while striking out 35.
 
Cabell started 43 games last year, including 42 at third base.  She batted .264 with 33 hits, nine doubles, a triple and four home runs.  Cabell ranked second on the team with 38 RBI and scored 17 runs.
 
Witthus started 50 games, with 40 of those at catcher.  She placed third on the squad with a .270 batting average and four home runs.  She added five doubles and two triples among her 40 hits and drove in 26 runs.  From behind the plate, Witthus threw out 11 of 19 potential base-stealers.
 
EXPERIENCE IN THE CIRCLE
Saint Francis boasts one of the most experienced pitching staffs in the nation.  The team returns its top four pitchers and 95 percent of its innings pitched from 2015.  SFU is the only team in the NEC returning its top four pitchers and joins Bryant as the only two schools returning their top three pitchers.  Among the Top 25 by RPI in 2015, only six of those teams returned their top four or four of their top five pitchers.
 
All four returning pitchers are juniors, with each throwing at least 35 innings last year. 
 
Joining Bower and Lauthers in the circle this season are Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) and Ketarah DeVries (Forreston, Ill./Forreston). 
 
Saintai compiled a 3.33 ERA in 107.1 innings, posting an 8-4 mark in 31 appearances, with 16 starts, in 2015.  She struck out 67 batters.
 
DeVries had a 4.56 ERA in 35.1 innings, while leading the staff with a .231 batting average against.  She went 3-1 in 15 appearances, including five starts.
 
Freshman MiKayla Bower, sister of Alexis, will also see time in the circle.  As a senior at Williamsport High School last season, she went 9-4 with a 1.03 ERA in 14 appearances.  Bower struck out 100 batters, while only walking 12, in 81.2 innings.
 
MAKING A DEBUT
Nine Red Flash freshmen will make their debuts at the collegiate level this weekend.
 
The newcomers include Bower, utility McKenzie Burge (Osceola Mills, Pa./Phillipsburg-Osceola), outfield/third base Brandi Dalious (Harrington, Del./Polytech ), outfielder Halle Marion (Middletown, Pa./Middletown), catcher/third base Melanie Martire (Herndon, Va./Herndon), shortstop Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois), catcher/outfielder Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois), outfielder Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) and third baseman Kassidy Troxell (Navarre, Ohio/Perry).
 
ABOUT THE SEAHAWKS
UNC Wilmington went 19-27 last season, including 5-16 in the Colonial Athletic Association.  The top returning hitter for the Seahawks is junior infielder Claudia Spinelli, who hit .307 last season, with three home runs and 21 RBI.  Sophomore infielder Sarah Davis hit .306 in 46 starts, with a homer and 22 RBI. 
 
The Seahawks return their top two pitchers from last season.  Junior right-hander Peyton Jordan went 8-10 in 31 appearances, including 12 starts.  She posted a 2.81 ERA in 112 innings, while striking out 70 batters and walking 23.  Davis compiled a 3.48 ERA in 114.2 innings, while going 7-7 in 23 appearances.  Davis stuck out 70 batters and walked 58.
 
ABOUT THE BLACK KNIGHTS
Army West Point had a 23-27-1 record in 2015, including a 9-9 mark in the Patriot League.  They are led by senior infielder Kasey McCravey, who hit .401 last year with eight homers and 42 RBI.  Junior Caroline Smith batted .322 in 42 games, while sophomore Kristen McPeek posted a .310 average in 43 starts.
 
The top returning pitcher for the Black Knights is junior Kristen West.  In 2015, West had a 2.77 ERA in 31 appearances, including 12 starts.  She went 8-10, while pitching 136.2 innings.  Smith went 12-13 last year, with a 4.72 ERA in 32 appearances.
 
ABOUT THE COLONIALS
Eastern Kentucky went 24-28 in 2015, including 13-10 in the Ohio Valley Conference.  The Colonials' top returning hitter is sophomore outfielder Paige Murphy, who posted a .349 average in 52 starts last season, including four home runs.  Sarah Fobbs, a senior outfielder, also returns after hitting .312 last season with eight homers and 25 RBI.
 
Rachel Minogue pitched the most innings of any returning Colonial last year.  Minogue went 8-9 in 27 appearances, including 13 starts.  She had a 4.94 ERA in 89.1 innings, with 53 strikeouts and 44 walks.