First Game
 
TEMPE, Ariz.-The Saint Francis softball team fell 9-2 against No. 21 Minnesota in Saturday's first game at the Diamond Devil Invitational, hosted by Arizona State.  The Red Flash cut the deficit to two runs in the top of the fifth, but the Golden Gophers sealed the win with five runs combined in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings.  The Red Flash is now 6-6 this season.
 
Junior Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area)(1-1) took the loss, her first this season.  She pitched 2.1 innings, allowing three runs on five hits, while striking out one.  Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) took over after Bower to throw 2.1 innings, giving up four runs, two earned, on two hits, while walking three and striking out one.  Ketarah DeVries (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) closed out the final 1.1 innings, striking out one and walking two, while allowing two runs, both unearned, on two hits. 
 
Minnesota's Megan Anderson earned the win, pitching four innings, allowing two runs on five hits, while striking out five and walking one.  Sara Groenewegen, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, threw the last three innings, allowing no hits, while striking out three and walking two.
 
Saint Francis sophomore Madison Cabell (Ivor, Va./Southampton) recorded two hits, including a double, and stole a base.  Freshman McKenzie Burge (Osceola Mills, Pa./Phillipsburg-Osceola) added an RBI double.  Bower and sophomore Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum) each had a hit, with Bower hitting a double.
 
The Red Flash threatened to score in the top of the second.  Bower led off the inning with a double to left.  Three batters later, Cabell singled to center to put runners on the corners. During Burge's following at-bat, Cabell stole second.  However, Burge struck out to end the inning. 
 
The Golden Gophers got on the board first, plating three runs in the bottom of the third.  A single to right by Danielle Parlich drove in Sam Macken.  The next batter, Taylor LeMay, doubled to center to score Parlich and Kayla Wenner.
 
Minnesota added a run in the bottom of the fourth on a leadoff home run to left by Maddie Houlihan.
 
The Red Flash responded with two runs in the top of the fifth.  After Cabell doubled to right-center to start the inning, Burge lined a double to left-center to score pinch-runner Kelsie Marconi (Lowber, Pa./Yough).  A walk drawn by junior Kindra Witthus (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) and a sacrifice bunt by freshman Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) put runners on second and third.  Two batters later, an illegal pitch allowed Burge to score and cut the deficit to 4-2 Minnesota.
 
However, Minnesota scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth.  The first run came on a passed ball as Dani Wagner crossed the plate.  A single to center by Jessie Isham drove in Houlihan and Paige Palkovich.
 
The Gophers got their final two runs on a two-run homer to left by Groenewegen in the bottom of the sixth.    
 
The Red Flash drew back-to-back walks to start the top of the seventh, however a line-out double play and a groundout ended the inning.
 
Second Game
 
TEMPE, Ariz. – The Saint Francis softball team battled hard against No. 19 Arizona State in Saturday's second game at the Diamond Devil Invitational, but came up short in a 12-9 decision.  The Red Flash tallied eight hits, including two homers by Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum).  The Red Flash is now 6-7 this season, while the Sun Devils improved to 13-2.
 
Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) started the game and re-entered the circle in the bottom of the fifth, pitching the final four outs of the game.  Santai pitched a total of 3.1 innings, allowing one run on five hits, while walking two.  Junior Blaire Lauthers (Doylesburg, Pa./Fannett-Metal)(2-2) took the loss after entering in the bottom of the third.  Lauthers gave up two runs and walked two batters.  Ketarah DeVries (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) pitched 2.2 innings, allowing nine runs, four earned, on eight hits, while striking out two and walking one.
 
Kelsey Kessler earned the win to improve to 4-1 on the year.  She pitched the final 1.2 innings, striking out three, while not allowing a baserunner.  Breanna Macha started the game, allowing five runs on four hits and walking five batters in 3.2 innings.  Macha entered the game with a 1.85 ERA and only two walks in 30.1 innings.  Dale Ryndak threw 1.2 innings, giving up four runs on four hits, with two walks and two strikeouts. 
 
The Red Flash offense was led by Seneca, who launched a solo home run in the fourth and a grand slam in the sixth.  It was SFU's first grand slam this year and the first since Taylor Parsons (Bellefonte, Pa./Bald Eagle) on April 19, 2015 vs. LIU Brooklyn.  Seneca earned her first multi-home run game of her career and her third game this season with five RBI.
 
Senior Aly Ramsaier (Mesa, Ariz./Mountain View) added two hits, driving in a run and scoring a run.  Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) scored two runs, while plating one, while Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) had a hit and an RBI.  Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area) also had an RBI.
 
The Red Flash took an early lead in the top of the first.  McKee led off with a double to right.  Norton followed by drawing a walk.  A fielder's choice by Seneca put runners on the corners.  Bower then flew out to left, which allowed McKee to score to complete the sacrifice fly. SFU held a 1-0 lead.
 
Arizona State tied the game in the bottom of the second on a single to left center by Nichole Chilson, which scored Breona Peralta.
 
The Sun Devils added five runs in the bottom of the third, highlighted by a two-run homer to right center by Chilson.  Nikki Girard contributed a two-run double, while Sashel Palacios added an RBI double.  ASU led 6-1 after three innings.
 
Saint Francis responded with four runs in the top of the fourth, led by Seneca's home run to center field to start the inning.  With two outs and runners on first and second, Ramsaier singled to left to plate freshman Kassidy Troxell (Navarre, Ohio/Perry).  A walk drawn by Kindra Witthus (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) loaded the bases.  McKee then worked a walk to score Madison Cabell (Ivor, Va./Southampton).  The next batter, Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove), was hit by a pitch to score another run as Ramsaier crossed the plate to bring the Red Flash within one run, 6-5.
 
However, Arizona State got five more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Girard hit a three-run home run to left, while Chilson and Chelsea Gonzales each had an RBI single to extend the ASU lead to 11-5.
 
Gonzales homered to left in the bottom of the fifth to advance the Sun Devils lead to 12-5.
 
The Red Flash got another big at-bat from Seneca in the top of the sixth.  After walks drawn by Witthus and McKee, Norton singled up the middle to load the bases.  Seneca then launched a ball over the centerfield wall to clear the bases and bring SFU within three runs, 12-9.
 
The Red Flash returns to action on Sunday with a 1 p.m. contest against Mount St. Mary's, followed by a 3 p.m. matchup against Arizona State.