LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis softball team had a day full of dingers, sweeping Bryant on Saturday at Red Flash Softball Field.  The Red Flash won both games by mercy-rule, winning 10-1 and 14-4.  SFU blasted 12 home runs, including tying an NCAA Division I-record five in the first inning of the second game.  Saint Francis improved to 27-18 overall and 7-1 in conference play. 
 
Saint Francis set numerous records on the day with its blasts over the fence.  The Red Flash hit seven home runs in the first game, including four in the first inning.   SFU followed that with five homers in the second game.
 
In game one, SFU fell just one home run short of tying the NCAA Division I record for home runs in an inning.  Six teams have hit five home runs in an inning, with Temple as the last team in 2013 until the second game, when the Red Flash launched five dingers in the first inning. 
 
SFU's seven home runs in game one are the most by any NEC team this season and tied for second-most in Division I this year, trailing only Marist's nine homers on April 16.
 
The Red Flash broke the Northeast Conference single-season home run record with Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum)'s blast in the bottom of the third inning of the first game.  That was SFU's seventh of the game and 56th of the season, breaking the record set by Bryant in 2015.
 
Seneca's homer also tied her for the single-season record at Saint Francis with her 14th of the season.  That tied her with Jamie Krusinsky (2000).  Seneca broke the record with her first-inning blast in game two.
 
Freshman Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) hit two home runs, in the first two innings, accounting for three RBI in game one to set a new Saint Francis single-season RBI record.  Norton's second homer gave her 47 RBI on the year, passing Autumn Helsel (1997).
 
Fellow rookie Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) scored three runs on the day to tie the school record for runs in a season, tying Nicole Bender's mark, set in 2008.  
 
The Red Flash takes on Mount St. Mary's on Sunday, with a doubleheader starting at Noon.  SFU will celebrate Senior Day as it honors Kate Blattenberger (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) and Aly Ramsaier (Mesa, Ariz./Mountain View).
 
First Game
Junior Ketarah DeVries (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) started in the circle for the Red Flash.  DeVries threw three shutout innings, striking out one and walking one, while giving up only two hits.  Freshman Mikayla Bower (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport) finished the game, going two innings, while allowing one run on one hit, while striking out two and walking one.
 
Elle Madsen started for the Bulldogs.  She recorded only one out, while allowing four runs on three hits, all home runs, while striking out one and walking one.  Brandi Burgin replaced Madsen and threw 3.2 innings, giving up six runs on five hits, while striking out three and walking two.
 
Saint Francis hit seven home runs on the day, including two by Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area) and Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) as well as one each by Madison Cabell (Ivor, Va./Southampton), Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum) and Kassidy Troxell (Navarre, Ohio/Perry).  Bower had three hits on the day, with four RBI, while Norton drove in three runs.   All 10 SFU runs in the game scored on home runs.
 
The Red Flash jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning, launching four home runs.  After an out to start the inning, Norton hit a shot over the left field wall.  After a walk drawn by Seneca, Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area) crushed one to left center.  Cabell made it back-to-back homers with her shot to right field.  The third consecutive home run came off the bat of Troxell and landed over the left field wall to give SFU a 5-0 lead.
 
Saint Francis hit two more over the fence in the second inning.  Norton launched her second homer, in as many innings, over the center field wall to also score Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois).  After another walk by Seneca, Bower connected on her second blast, also to center, to extend the Red Flash lead to 9-0.
 
Seneca launched a homer to left in the bottom of the third for SFU's sixth of the day.  That homer made it 10-0 SFU.
 
Bryant scored in the top of the fourth.  With runners on second and third, Jessica Gradillas grounded out to Seneca as Hayley Bottino crossed the plate.
 
Second Game
Junior Blaire Lauthers (Doylesburg, Pa./Fannett-Metal) started the game, going 1.1 innings, while allowing two runs on three hits, with a strikeout and two walks.  Mikayla Bower (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport) replaced Lauthers and also went 1.1 innings, giving up two runs on three knocks.  Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) pitched the final 2.1 innings, allowing no baserunners and striking out three.
 
Hayley Bottino started in the circle for Bryant, recording two outs while allowing five hits and seven runs.  Colby Norris finished the game, giving up seven runs, six earned, on five hits and five walks.
 
Saint Francis launched five more home runs in game two, with one each by Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area), Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois), Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove), Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum) and Kindra Witthus (Hudson, Wis./Hudson).  Norton and Witthus each drove in three runs, while Seneca and Bower plated two.  Seneca scored four times.
 
After five runs in the first inning of the first game, the Red Flash went for 11 runs in the opening frame of the second contest.  Back-to-back one-out doubles by Norton and Seneca allowed a run to cross.  Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area) followed with a sacrifice fly to right to score Seneca.  After Madison Cabell (Ivor, Va./Southampton) was hit by a pitch and Kassidy Troxell (Navarre, Ohio/Perry) walked, Melanie Martire (Herndon, Va./Herndon) sent a groundball through the left side to score Cabell. 
 
That's when the Red Flash started putting the ball over the fence.  Kindra Witthus (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) hit a fly ball to left that snuck just inside the foul pole for a three-run shot.  Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) made in back-to-back homers with a shot to right.  After a walk drawn by Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois), Norton deposited a ball over the wall in center for her second of the game and fourth of the day.  Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum) followed by hitting a 1-1 pitch over the wall in right-center.  Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area) launched the fifth home run of the inning, and the third consecutive of the frame, to center field to make it 11-0 SFU.
 
Bryant answered with two runs in the top of the second on a home run to center by Jill Staley, which also scored Jessica Gradillas. 
 
The Bulldogs added two runs in the top of the third on a homer by Gradillas, which also plated Hayley Bottino, to cut the SFU lead to 11-4.
 
The Red Flash added a run in the bottom of the third.  With Seneca on third, Cabell drew a walk, with the last pitch being a wild pitch, allowing Seneca to cross and extend the SFU lead to 12-4.
 
Saint Francis plated two more runs in the bottom of the fourth.  After a leadoff walk by Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois), Norton lined a double to center to drive in McKee.  Later in the inning, Cabell singled to center to score Seneca to make it 14-4.