BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2 Greenville, N.C. - The Saint Francis University softball team received dominant pitching and timely power-hitting as it went 2-0 on the first day of the Pirate Clash hosted by East Carolina. Senior Ketarah DeVries (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) (Forreston, Ill.) highlighted the day with her third career no-hitter, striking out 12 and walking just one in a 1-0 victory over East Carolina in the nightcap. 

Jennifer Patrick-Swift's Reaction

"On a day when our bats were a little quiet, it was great to see our pitching staff step up and get the job done to get two big team wins," said head coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift. "Everyone had the confidence that we'd find a way to get those wins and that belief was the key to making it happen."

Game One

The Red Flash took on four-time defending Atlantic-10 champions Fordham in the first game, overcoming an early 2-0 deficit to win 5-3 in nine innings. The Rams tacked on two runs in the first inning off Saint Francis starter Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) (Pine Grove, Pa.). The Red Flash regained the lead in the third inning thanks to Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove)'s (Spring Grove, Pa.) first home run of the season, a three-run blast. Fordham would tie the game in the bottom half of the inning. From there, freshman Abby Trahan (Kaplan, La./Kaplan) (Kaplan, La.) took over. She worked 6.2 scoreless innings against the high-powered Fordham offense, setting the Red Flash up to win in extra innings. Fordham threatened in the bottom of the seventh inning with a leadoff double. The runner advanced to third on a fly out to right field before Trahan buckled down to get a strikeout and another fly out.

Senior Kelsie Marconi (Lowber, Pa./Yough) (Lowber, Pa._ was the spark plug for the Saint Francis offense, grounding a one-out single through the left side. Senior Kindra Witthus (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) (Hudson, Wis.) followed with a walk to put runners on first and second. The SFU coaching staff got aggressive and attempted a double steal on the next pitch, which ended up being the difference as an errant throw allowed Marconi to score on the play and give the Red Flash a 4-3 lead. 

Sophomore Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) (DuBois, Pa.) followed with an rbi single to round out the scoring.

Norton was the top hitter for Saint Francis finishing with a double and three walks in addition to the three-run homer. Marconi added two hits. Trahan's final line read 6.2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB and 6 Ks.

Game Two

DeVries was the story in this one from start to finish, allowing just two base runners and fanning 12. Junior Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum) (Plum, Pa.) provided the offense with a solo shot in the first inning, her team-leading third, which would hold up to be the game's only runs. 

DeVries got better as the game wore on, retiring the final 15 batters she faced, seven via the strikeout. She struck out the side in the seventh inning to close the door. 

Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) (DuBois, Pa.) and sister Sierra collected the other two Saint Francis hits. Cheyenne's was a double off the wall in the fourth inning.

Up Next

Saint Francis is back in action tomorrow with games against Cleveland State at 11:45 a.m. and Fordham at 4:15 p.m.