First Game
 
TEMPE, Ariz. – The Saint Francis softball team dropped a 4-0 decision to Grand Canyon in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader.  The Red Flash bats were held to a quiet afternoon, with only two hits.  Two SFU errors led to three unearned runs for the Antelopes.  Saint Francis is now 7-9 this season.
 
Junior Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) (2-4) took the loss.  She pitched the first 4.2 innings, allowing four runs, only one earned, on seven hits, while striking out two and walking one.  Ketarah DeVries (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) pitched the final 1.1 innings, giving up no runs on one hit and striking out two.
 
Grand Canyon's Taylor Nowlin pitched a complete game shutout for her fifth win this season.  She gave up only two hits, while striking out eight and walking seven.
 
Sophomore Madison Cabell (Ivor, Va./Southampton) and freshman Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) each had one hit, while freshman Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) drew three walks.
 
Saint Francis had at least one baserunner in six of the seven innings, including three innings with multiple batters reaching base.
 
The Antelopes scored the first run of the game, as Shea Smith drew a two-out, bases loaded walk to allow Briielle Breland to cross the plate in the second inning. 
 
Grand Canyon added three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.  The first run came in on a double to left by Madelyn Dowdle, which scored Nicole Newbury.  Two batters later, Breland doubled to center to plate Dowdle and Sierra Smith. 
 
The Red Flash loaded the bases in the top of the seventh, but could not get a run across.  Junior Kindra Witthus (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) led off the inning getting hit by a pitch.  After a strikeout, Norton and sophomore Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum) drew back-to-back walks to load the bases.  However, a strikeout and a groundout ended the inning.
 
Second Game
 
TEMPE, Ariz. – The Saint Francis softball team bounced back at the plate in the second game of its doubleheader, but fell 10-7 against Grand Canyon.  The Red Flash tallied 10 hits, but GCU scored six runs in the fifth to take a lead that SFU could not overcome.  SFU is now 7-10 this season.
 
Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area) started the game, pitching the first 4.1 innings.  She allowed five runs on nine hits, with a strikeout and three walks.  Bower is now 1-3 this season.  Blaire Lauthers (Doylesburg, Pa./Fannett-Metal) finished the fifth inning for Bower, giving up three runs on three hits, while walking one.  Ketarah DeVries (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) closed out the game, pitching an inning, while allowing two runs on two hits, striking out one and walking one.
 
Kailey Register started for Grand Canyon, pitching 4.2 innings, while allowing four runs on eight hits.  She struck out three and walked one.  Bailey Bergman got the win after following with two-thirds of an inning, allowing two runs, unearned, on a hit and walked a batter.  Taylor Nowlin finished the game with 1.2 innings, allowing a run, unearned, on one hit, walking two and striking out one.
 
Bower went 3-of-4, driving in two runs and scoring one, with a home run in the fifth.  Madison Cabell (Ivor, Va./Southampton) had two hits and an RBI, while Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum) had a knock and two RBI.  Kassidy Troxell (Navarre, Ohio/Perry) added an RBI double.
 
The Red Flash got on the board first with two runs in the top of the first.  After a leadoff double by Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) and a hit-by-pitch taken by Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove), Seneca doubled to center to drive in McKee.  Two batters later, Cabell singled to allow Norton to score.
 
However, the Antelopes answered with a two-run single in the bottom of the first by Sierra Smith to score Shea Smith and Camree Wartman to tie the game.
 
Saint Francis re-took the lead in the top of the fifth.  With two outs, Bower launched a solo home run.  Cabell followed with a double to right center.  Troxell matched Cabell with a double of her own to drive in the run and give the Red Flash a 4-2 lead.
 
Grand Canyon responded with six runs in the bottom of the fifth.  Briielle Breland tied the game with a two-run home run.  Kendsey Hill added an RBI double and later scored on a wild pitch.  Wartman and Sierra Smith followed with RBI singles to give GCU an 8-4 advantage.
 
SFU bounced back with two runs in the top of the sixth.  With the bases loaded and one out, Seneca grounded into a fielder's choice, which allowed Kindra Witthus (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) to cross the plate.  Bower followed with a single to center to drive in Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois).
 
The Red Flash added a run in the top of the seventh.  After Troxell reached on an error and walks drawn by McKenzie Burge (Osceola Mills, Pa./Phillipsburg-Osceola) and Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois), a wild pitch with the bases loaded allowed pinch-runner Kelsie Marconi (Lowber, Pa./Yough) to score and cut the deficit to 10-7.  However, a strikeout ended the game.
 
The Red Flash heads to Tucson this weekend for the Arizona Wildcat Invitational.  SFU starts the tournament on Friday with games against No. 10 James Madison (11 a.m.) and UTEP (3 p.m.).  The Red Flash finishes its Spring Break trip on Saturday against Mount St. Mary's (1 p.m.) and No. 15 Arizona (6 p.m.)