Weekend Notes | Live Stats
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis softball team hosts Central Connecticut State and Fairleigh Dickinson this week to conclude its regular season. The Red Flash welcomes CCSU for a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Thursday and the Knights for a 1 p.m. twinbill on Saturday.
The Red Flash enters the last week of the regular season with a 30-21 overall record, including 10-2 in NEC play. SFU split its doubleheader this past weekend at Robert Morris, falling 6-2 in the first game and winning 9-0 in the second contest.
SFU has clinched a spot in the NEC Tournament for the first time since 2008. The Red Flash is currently the No. 2 seed in the tournament, behind LIU Brooklyn. SFU still has a chance to host the tournament if it can sweep both doubleheaders this weekend and LIU splits with Wagner.
ALL-TIME SERIES
The Red Flash has a 16-18-1 all-time record against Central Connecticut State. Last year, SFU dropped both games of a doubleheader at CCSU. SFU's last win in the series came on April 18, 2014.
Saint Francis and Fairleigh Dickinson have each won 15 games in the all-time series. The Red Flash split the doubleheader last year, winning 8-6 in the first game, but falling 9-7 in the second contest.
SFU REACHES 30-WIN MARK
The Red Flash reached 30 wins for the second straight season and the third time in program history. SFU needs three victories to match the program-high 33 wins in 1998. Saint Francis has increased its win total each of the last five seasons.
Saint Francis also reached 10 wins in the NEC for the fifth time in program history and the first time since 2008.
DOUBLE-DIGIT DINGERS
Saint Francis has four players with double-digit home runs this season.
Madison Cabell (Ivor, Va./Southampton) hit her 10th bomb of the year on Sunday at RMU to join
Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum) (17),
Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) (14) and
Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area) (11). Seneca is currently tied for the NEC lead and has topped the previous NEC single-season record, previously held by Wagner's Andrea Lazzari (16, 2009). Mount St. Mary's Rachel Heinze also has 17 homers this year.
SFU is one of four teams in the nation that has four players with 10+ homers, joining Louisiana-Lafayette, Oregon and Pitt.
Prior to this season, the Red Flash never had two players hit 10+ home runs in the same season. SFU has 71 dingers as a team, more than doubling the previous school record of 33 homers in 2008.
Saint Francis is sixth in the nation in home runs and ninth in home runs per game (1.39).
APPROACHING NEC RECORDS
The Red Flash already set the conference record for home runs in a season, topping Bryant's 55 last season. However, SFU has a chance to top two more season records this weekend.
Saint Francis has scored 333 runs this season, 20 shy of the record held by UMBC, set in 2002. SFU already set a new school record, bettering 255 runs in 2006.
SFU also has 304 RBI this year, 16 behind the record held by UMBC, also set in 2002. The Red Flash set a new program record, topping the 231 RBI performance in 2006.
Individually, Seneca is tied for the NEC record in homers with 17. She also has 54 RBI, 10 behind the record set by Monmouth's Heather Gordon in 2007.
STRONG IN THE CIRCLE
The Saint Francis pitching staff has been solid in NEC play, allowing an ERA of 2.46 in conference games, leading to 10 NEC wins. SFU has allowed two or less runs in six of 12 games, including two shutouts. NEC opponents are hitting only .231 against the Red Flash.
Junior
Ketarah DeVries (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) leads the staff with a 1.43 ERA in seven appearances, covering 29.1 innings. DeVries is 5-1 with two complete games and a save. She has struck out 32 batters, while only walking 11.
Fellow juniors
Blaire Lauthers (Doylesburg, Pa./Fannett-Metal) and
Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) have been strong in conference play. Lauthers has a 1.14 ERA in 12.1 innings over five appearances, including a start. Santai is 4-0 with a 2.13 ERA in six appearances, including four starts. Santai has thrown 23 innings, with 15 strikeouts and no walks.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
Central Connecticut State is 16-24-1 overall, including 5-7 in conference play. Last weekend, CCSU dropped both games of its doubleheader on Saturday at Bryant, but split its Sunday twinbill against Sacred Heart.
The Blue Devils are batting .259 as a team and averaging 3.7 runs per game. Evie Rentzel leads CCSU with a .331 average, including three homers and 21 RBI. Eileen Purcell has a .323 average to go with three homers and 13 RBI, while Kaitlin Paterson has scored a team-high 23 runs to go with a .298 average.
In the circle, CCSU has a team ERA of 4.00 and allows an opposing batting average of .305. Emily Sargent has appeared in 32 games, with a 3.19 ERA in 158 innings. Alex Casanas has a 5.11 ERA in 23 games.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
Fairleigh Dickinson is 12-30 overall and 5-7 in the NEC. FDU split its doubleheader against Wagner, but fell in both games at Bryant.
FDU is batting .265 as a team and averaging 3.43 runs per game. Madelaine Wilen is batting .344 with five homers, 14 RBI and 28 runs, while Reann Cervantes is hitting .342 with four homers and 28 RBI. Kellie Nathem has four homers and 24 RBI to go with a .302 average.
The Knights have a team ERA of 6.21, while opponents hit .328 against them. Loren Stavrou has a 5.75 ERA in 30 appearances. Baylee Ports has made 19 appearances with a 6.28 ERA, while Cheryl Lopez has a 6.59 ERA in 38 appearances.
