BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2 UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Saint Francis softball team dropped both games of its doubleheader at Penn State on Wednesday.  The Red Flash fell 6-0 in the first game and 4-2 in the second contest.  The Nittany Lions held the SFU offense to eight hits on the day.  The Red Flash is now 29-20 this season.
 
Junior Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area) launched a two-run home run in the second game.  The blast was Bower's 25th of her Red Flash career.  That homer puts her into a tie with Kara Stroup (2006-09) and Nicole Bender (2005-08) for second place on the career home runs list at SFU.  Bower is now five homers behind Jamie Krusinsky (1999-02) for the SFU all-time mark.
 
The Red Flash resumes conference play this weekend with a doubleheader at Robert Morris on Sunday.  The twinbill starts at 2 p.m.
 
First Game
 
Junior Ketarah DeVries (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) started in the circle for the Red Flash, going six innings.  DeVries allowed six runs, five earned, on nine hits.  The junior struck out one and walked three.
 
Marlaina Laubach threw a complete game for Penn State.  She allowed five hits, while striking out three and walking two.
 
Freshman Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) had two hits for the Red Flash, including a double.  Junior Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area) and freshmen Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) and Kassidy Troxell (Navarre, Ohio/Perry) each had a hit.
 
Erin Pond drove in two runs for Penn State, while Lexi Knief added a triple and an RBI.  
 
Penn State got on the board with a run in the bottom of the first.  Pond drew a walk with two outs and the bases loaded to allow Macy Jones to score from third. 
 
Saint Francis threatened to score in the top of the third.  Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) singled to right to lead off the inning.  Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) followed by lining a single to center.  However, Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) grounded into a 5-3 double play and Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum) fouled out to the catcher to end the inning. 
 
The Nittany Lions added a run in the bottom of the third.  After a triple down the left field line by Knief, a wild pitch allowed her to cross the plate, giving PSU a 2-0 advantage.
 
Another Red Flash threat came in the top of the fourth.  Bower singled to center to start the inning.  Madison Cabell (Ivor, Va./Southampton) drew a walk to put runners on first and second.  However, Troxell grounded into a 1-5-3 double play before a groundout by Melanie Martire (Herndon, Va./Herndon) ended the threat. 
 
Penn State extended its lead to 3-0 with a single up the middle by Pond in the bottom of the fifth, scoring Alyssa VanDerveer.
 
PSU scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth.  Singles by Jones and Knief plated two runs, while Shelby Miller added a sacrifice fly. SFU trailed 6-0.
 
Second Game
 
Junior Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) threw a complete game in the second contest.  Santai went six innings, allowing four runs, one earned, on six hits.  The junior struck out one batter and did not walk any.
 
Madison Seifert pitched all seven innings for Penn State.  Seifert gave up two runs on three hits, while striking out three and walking three. 
 
Junior Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area) led the SFU offense with a two-run homer.  Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) added a single and a run, while Kassidy Troxell (Navarre, Ohio/Perry) had a base knock.
 
Alyssa VanDerveer drove in two runs for Penn State, while Macy Jones scored two runs and added a homer.  
 
Penn State scored the first run of the second game on a leadoff home run by Jones in the bottom of the first.
 
The Nittany Lions added two runs in the bottom of the third.  Lexi Knief singled to right to drive in Shelby Miller.  An error allowed Knief to reach third on the play.  VanDerveer followed with a sacrifice fly to center to score Knief to extend the PSU lead to 3-0.
 
Penn State got a run in the bottom of the fifth.  A double by Knief put runners on second and third with one out.  A groundout to Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum) by VanDerveer allowed Knief to cross the plate to give PSU a 4-0 advantage.
 
Saint Francis got two runs back in the top of the sixth.  McKee reached on an infield single to second to lead off the inning.  Three batters later, Bower sent a towering shot off the scoreboard in left.  It was Bower's 11th home run of the season.  SFU cut the deficit to 4-2.