Weekend Notes | Live Stats
 
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis softball team visits George Mason this weekend for the Cherry Blossom Classic.
 
The Red Flash is 12-12 on the season after a three-game sweep over Cornell last weekend.  SFU earned two mercy-rule wins on Saturday, before a 9-7 comeback win on Sunday. 
 
Saint Francis begins the Cherry Blossom Classic on Friday with a 12:15 p.m. first pitch against Canisius. The Red Flash gets a re-match against Cornell at 2:30 p.m.  On Saturday, SFU has a 2:30 p.m. contest against Cornell and a 7 p.m. game against George Mason.  The tournament wraps up on Sunday with a 12:15 p.m. game against Georgetown.
 
BOWER NAMED NEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area) was selected as NEC Player of the Week for the second straight week for her performance against Cornell.  The Red Flash have won NEC Player of the Week each of the four weeks the award has been given out.
 
Bower hit three home runs against the Big Red, including a game-tying three-run shot in the bottom of the sixth in Sunday's 9-7 win.  Bower totaled five hits in nine at-bats, with five RBI and five runs scored.  She hit solo homers in each of the first two games of the weekend.
 
She also earned a win in the circle in Saturday's first game, pitching a complete game, while allowing four runs on six hits, striking out two and walking four. She also got a save in Sunday's win, pitching a perfect seventh inning.
 
Bower's younger sister, Mikayla, also had a strong weekend, going 6-for-10 with a double, a home run, five RBI and four runs scored.  She had two walk-off hits in Saturday's mercy-rule wins and went 4-for-4 with four RBI and three runs scored in the second game of the day.
 
STRONG BATS
Saint Francis has had a strong year at the plate.  Eight SFU batters are hitting over .300 and five have at least 21 hits on the year.  SFU leads the conference and ranks 19th in the nation in runs per game (6.75) and places second in the NEC in batting average (.300).
 
Freshmen have made a major contribution, with 112 of the team's 189 hits (59%).  Rookies have also scored 75 of the squad's 162 runs (46%).
 
Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) leads the team with a .353 average, including eight extra base hits and 19 runs.  Madison Cabell (Ivor, Va./Southampton) is hitting .347, while Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) is batting .338 with seven doubles, three triples and four home runs.  Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum) leads SFU with six homers and 26 RBI, while hitting .301.
 
TAKING THE TOUGH ROAD
Through 24 games, Saint Francis ranks 31st in the nation in strength of schedule.  That is the toughest schedule so far this year for any Northeast Conference team. 
 
SFU has played five games against ranked opponents, including two against No. 19 Arizona State and one game each vs. No. 21 Minnesota, No. 10 James Madison and No. 15 Arizona.  The Red Flash's opponents have combined for a .593 winning percentage.
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIFFINS
 
Canisius is 4-16 this season after an 0-4 weekend at the Capital Invitational.  Canisius fell against George Washington (4-3), Gardner-Webb (2-1) and Akron (5-1/3-0).
 
The Golden Griffins have a team batting average of .224 and average 2.5 runs per game.  Moriah Harris leads the team with a .360 average, while Lindsey Silfer has five homers and 16 RBI to go with a .321 average.  Harris has three home runs and seven RBI. 
 
Canisius has team ERA of 4.70.  Opponents are hitting .320 against the Golden Griffins.  Erika Mackie has made 12 appearances, including nine starts, with a 3-7 record.  She has a 3.38 ERA in 60 innings, with 31 strikeouts and 25 walks.
 
SCOUTING THE BIG RED 
 
Cornell is 0-8 on the year. 
 
The Big Red is hitting .281 as a team and averaging 4.9 runs per game.  Meg Parker hit two home runs last weekend against SFU and now has three on the season to go along with a team-best .360 average.  Emily Wienberg is batting .333 with 10 hits and four RBI out of the leadoff spot.  Leanne Iannucci is hitting .304, while Jessica Bigbie owns a .300 average.
 
The Big Red has a team ERA of 10.72 and an opponent batting average of .380.  Maddie Orcutt leads Cornell with 22.2 innings over five appearances, including three starts.  Sierra Stone has appeared in four games, with two starts, while Parker has made three starts.
 
SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS
 
George Mason is 8-9 this year.  The Patriots went 1-2 last weekend at the Stetson Classic.  GMU defeated Wagner (6-2), but lost against UT Martin (2-1) and Stetson (1-0).
 
The Patriots are batting .267 as a team and averaging 4.8 runs per game.  McKenzie Jones leads the team with a .333 average, while Liz Seymour has a .327 average and 11 RBI.  Casey Price is hitting .320 with a team-best 18 RBI.
 
The GMU pitching staff has a team ERA of 3.94 and holds opponents to a .244 average.  Marina Vitalich has a 3.30 ERA in 46.1 innings.  She is 4-5 in 10 appearances, including eight starts and six complete games.  Sarah Kleinfelter is 3-3 with a 4.19 ERA in eight appearances, covering 34.1 innings.
 
SCOUTING THE HOYAS
 
Georgetown is 5-16 this season.  The Hoyas were 0-5 at last weekend's Arizona State Louisville Slugger Invitational.  They suffered losses to Ohio State (8-4), No. 21 Arizona State (13-0/8-3), No. 9 James Madison (2-1) and No. 23 Nebraska (12-4).
 
The Hoyas own a team batting average of .271 and average 4.7 runs per game.  Samantha Giovanniello has a .357 average with five homers and 20 RBI.   Mallory Belknap is batting .304, while Grace Appelbe is hitting .302.  Sarah Bennett has three home runs and 19 RBI to go with a .295 average.
 
Georgetown has a team ERA of 6.93.  Opponents are batting .361.  Giovanniello leads the team with a 5.68 ERA in 72.2 innings, covering 16 appearances, including 13 starts.  She has a 4-10 record.