Tournament Central
 
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Saint Francis softball team earned a 7-0 win against Robert Morris on Thursday in its opening game of the NEC Tournament. The teams battled through four scoreless innings until the Red Flash posted seven runs in the fifth inning.  The Red Flash tallied six hits.  SFU, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, is now 34-22 overall. 
 
The Red Flash will take on LIU Brooklyn on Friday at 10 a.m. LIU Brooklyn, the top seed in the tournament, defeated fourth-seeded Bryant, 4-3, on Thursday.
 
With its 34th win, Saint Francis has set a new single-season wins record, topping 33 victories by the 1998 team.
 
SFU also now has 431 hits on the year, setting a new program-high mark by bettering 429 hits by the 2006 squad.
 
Junior Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) started in the circle for the Red Flash, firing five shutout innings for her eighth win of the season.  Santai allowed just two hits and a walk, while tying a season-high with seven strikeouts.  With Santai pitching, RMU only had one inning with more than one baserunner and two 1-2-3 innings.  Fellow junior Blaire Lauthers (Doylesburg, Pa./Fannett-Metal) entered after a Santai walk to start the sixth.  Lauthers threw the last two innings, giving up just two hits.
 
Kaitlin Ellzy got the start for Robert Morris, going 4.2 innings.  Ellzy allowed six runs, two earned, on three hits.  She struck out five and walked one.  Laura Colter pitched the final 1.1 innings for RMU, giving up one run on three hits and striking out one.
 
Freshman Kassidy Troxell (Navarre, Ohio/Perry) hit a two-run homer and Madison Cabell (Ivor, Va./Southampton) added a two-run double.  Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) had two hits, while driving in a run and scoring a run.
 
Robert Morris had just four hits on the day, with none going for extra bases. 
 
After four scoreless innings, the Red Flash exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth.  Saint Francis sent 11 batters to the plate.  Pinch-hitter Melanie Martire (Herndon, Va./Herndon) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning.  Kindra Witthus (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) then dropped a sacrifice bunt, with an error by the second baseman allowing her to reach and pinch-runner McKenzie Burge (Osceola Mills, Pa./Phillipsburg-Osceola) to go to third.  Witthus then stole second during Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois)'s at-bat.  McKee followed with a groundball to the first baseman.  Burge beat the throw home for SFU's first run. 
 
Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) then reached on an infield single to second, which allowed Witthus to score.  With Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) batting, a steal play allowed S. McKee to cross the plate and C. McKee to go to second. 
 
Two batters later, Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area) reached on an error, moving McKee to third.  After pinch-runner Kate Blattenberger (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) stole second, Cabell lined a double to left-center to bring in both runners. 
 
Troxell then launched her 6th homer of the year, this time a two-run shot to left-center as pinch-runner Kelsie Marconi (Lowber, Pa./Yough) also scored to give SFU a 7-0 lead.