Flash Points:

• SFU Softball travels to Bryant and Central Connecticut State this weekend.
• The Red Flash visits Bryant on Saturday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.
• Saint Francis then meets CCSU on Sunday for a Noon twinbill.
• The Red Flash is 35-9 overall and 8-0 in the NEC.
• Saint Francis has already set a program record for wins and is off to its best start ever in conference play.

Bryant Live Stats (Game 1, Game 2)
CCSU Live Stats (Game 1, Game 2)
 
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis Softball team continues Northeast Conference play this weekend as it travels to Bryant and Central Connecticut State.  The Red Flash takes on the Bulldogs on Saturday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.  On Sunday, Saint Francis battles the Blue Devils in a Noon twinbill. 
 
The Red Flash, led by Head Coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift, is 35-9 overall and 8-0 in the NEC.  Saint Francis has already set a new program record for wins and is off to its best conference in program history.  The Red Flash swept its NEC doubleheader last weekend, defeating Robert Morris, 7-2 and 10-6, and Mount St. Mary's, 6-1, 3-0.
 
Bryant, coached by Shayne Lotito, is 10-31 overall and 5-5 in the NEC.  The Bulldogs went 3-1 last weekend, splitting a doubleheader against Sacred Heart, winning 2-0 but falling 2-1.  Bryant then swept FDU, winning 7-0 in both games.  On Wednesday, Bryant fell 12-4 and 7-6 against Providence.
 
Central Connecticut State, led by Breanne Gleason, 10-21 overall and 4-6 in conference play.  Last weekend, CCSU split a doubleheader against Mount St. Mary's, falling 1-0 and winning 11-1.  CCSU also split a twinbill at Manhattan, dropping an 8-1 decision in game one, but bouncing back for a 5-2 win in game two.  CCSU fell 6-0 against Seton Hall on Wednesday.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Saint Francis is 5-10 in the all-time series against Bryant.  The Red Flash has won three straight games against the Bulldogs, including a sweep last season.  SFU hit 12 home runs in that doubleheader, including tying an NCAA Record with five in the first inning of the second game.
 
The Red Flash trails the all-time series, 19-17-1, against Central Connecticut State.  Saint Francis split last year's doubleheader, falling 5-4 in the first game and winning 8-0 in the second game.
 
PROGRAM WINS RECORD
With its sweep over Mount St. Mary's, the Red Flash reached the 35-win mark.  That set a new program wins record, topping 34 wins by last year's team.  Saint Francis already has 35 wins with 10 games left in the regular season.
 
The Red Flash has improved its win total each of the last six seasons.  Saint Francis improved from 10 wins to 22 from 2011 to 2012, followed by 25 wins (2013), 26 wins (2014), 31 wins (2015), 34 wins (2016) and now 35 wins in 2017.
 
Saint Francis has also set the program's road wins record.  SFU picked up its 15th and 16th road wins last weekend, topping 14 road wins by the 2008 team.
 
RED HOT FLASH
With its doubleheader sweeps over Robert Morris and Mount St. Mary's, the Red Flash has won 23 of its last 24 games, with its last two losses coming in extra innings against Tulsa (3-1 in eight innings on March 3) and Pitt (8-3 in nine innings on April 5).
 
SFU's loss against Pitt snapped a program-record 15-game win streak, but SFU has quickly put together a new eight-game win streak.  SFU has three streaks of four or more wins this season. 
 
400 CAREER STRIKEOUTS
After becoming Saint Francis' all-time wins leader with a win over Bucknell on April 11, senior Ketarah DeVries (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) reached the 400-career strikeout mark last weekend.  DeVries had a dominant performance in game two against Mount St. Mary's, firing seven shutout innings and striking out 10 batters.  After a bloop single in the first inning, DeVries retired 19 straight batters to end the game. 
 
DeVries now has 47 career wins and 410 strikeouts.  DeVries is fourth all-time at SFU in strikeouts, just five away from third place, held by Megan Layne (2009-12).  She is also third all-time in appearances (120), five away from second place, also held by Layne. 
 
GRAND SLAMS
In SFU's game one win over Mount St. Mary's, sophomore Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) hit a first inning grand slam to left center.  That was McKee's first career grand slam and Saint Francis' fifth this season.  Sophomore Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum) has hit three grand slams, including two in the same game against Texas Tech on March 17.  Senior Kindra Witthus (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) hit a grand slam on February 12 against Campbell.
 
STEALING BASES
As a team, the Red Flash stole seven bases in its doubleheader at Mount St. Mary's, raising its season total to 80.  SFU has set a new program record, topping 73 by the 2014 team.  Saint Francis is just five stolen bases shy of the NEC record, set by UMBC in 1999 and 2000.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Saint Francis is ranked 57th in the latest RPI poll.  The Red Flash's ranking is a result of nine wins against RPI Top 100 teams, including wins over Fordham and Tulsa, who rank in the RPI Top 50.  The rest of the NEC has combined for three RPI Top 100 wins this year, with LIU Brooklyn owning all three.  SFU has played 17 games against RPI Top 100 opponents.  SFU is one of 17 teams with 35 or more wins.
 
SENECA'S RIDICULOUS STATS
Junior Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum)'s monster season is a big reason for the Red Flash's success this season.  Seneca ranks seventh in the nation in RBI (52) and her 48 runs are tied for sixth in the nation.  Accounting for 100 runs, Seneca has produced more runs this year than 18 Division I teams.  Seneca has hit 16 home runs, good for fifth in the nation, and more than 89 Division I teams.
 
Seneca became just the 11th player in NCAA history to hit two grand slams in a game in a 12-10 win over Texas Tech on March 17, leading to being named National Player of the Week by FastPitchNews.
 
Seneca, who has earned five NEC Player of the Week awards this season, has been mentioned in two different ESPNW articles.  She also ranks 52nd in slugging percentage (.727), 16th in walks per game (0.86), 53rd in total bases (88) and 100th in on-base percentage (.479). 
 
NATIONAL LEADERS
Seneca isn't the only member of the Red Flash among the national ranks.  Sophomore Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) is 11th in the nation in doubles, with 15.  Her sister, Cheyenne, has been a strong presence at the top of the lineup.  She is tied for the national lead in runs (54) and ranks second in runs per game (1.23) and 49th in hits (55).
 
Sophomore Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) is now 32nd in home runs (11).  Senior Kindra Witthus (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) is 70th in walks per game (0.61) and 55th in on-base percentage (.500). 
 
In the circle, senior Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) is 78th in ERA (1.82), while DeVries is 23rd in hits allowed per seven innings (4.34) and 96th in strikeouts per seven innings (6.9).  Freshman Abby Trahan (Kaplan, La./Kaplan) is 50th in walks allowed per seven innings, giving up only 1.30.
 
TOP OF THE NEC
Saint Francis leads the NEC in several team categories.  The Red Flash leads the conference in runs per game (6.16), home runs per game (1.05), triples per game (0.25), slugging percentage (.472) and stolen bases per game (1.89).  Saint Francis also owns the league's top ERA, allowing only 2.26 runs per game.
 
STRONG IN THE CIRCLE
The Red Flash pitching staff has been strong all season, holding an NEC-best 2.26 ERA and holding opposing batters to a .211 average. 
 
Senior Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) leads the NEC with a 1.82 ERA.  She owns a 13-1 record, with seven complete games, and two saves.  She threw a perfect game in an 11-0 win over East Carolina on March 18, needing just 51 pitches to get through five perfect innings.  Santai has seven outings this year in which she has pitched at least five innings and allowed one or less earned runs.  Santai earned NEC Pitcher of the Week honors after going 5-0 last week with a 1.38 ERA in six apperances.
 
Fellow senior Ketarah DeVries (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) has a 9-5 record in 24 appearances to go with a 2.37 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 88.2 innings.  DeVries threw a no-hitter against East Carolina on February 17, striking out 12 batters and walking just one.  She has eight outings of five or more innings and one or less earned run.  DeVries struck out 10 batters in a five-inning outing in the season opener against NC Central and allowed just one hit, while striking out eight, in a win over ECU on March 19.  DeVries struck out 10 batters and retired 19 straight to end the game in SFU's second game at Mount St. Mary's.
 
Freshman Abby Trahan (Kaplan, La./Kaplan) is 12-3 this season with a 2.53 ERA in 96.2 innings.  She has struck out 69 batters and walked just 18, while throwing five complete games. Trahan threw a six-inning No-Hitter against Cleveland State on February 19.  She has seven outings of five or more innings and one or less earned run.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Bryant is 10-31 overall and 5-5 in the NEC.  The Bulldogs went 3-1 last weekend, splitting a doubleheader against Sacred Heart, winning 2-0 but falling 2-1.  Bryant then swept FDU, winning 7-0 in both games.  On Wednesday, Bryant fell 12-4 and 7-6 against Providence.
 
The Bulldogs rank eighth in the NEC in runs per game (2.51) and ninth in batting average (.209).  Senior Taylor Burger leads Bryant with a .266 average.  She has 25 hits go to with three RBI and 10 runs.  Freshman Nicole Zukowski is batting .264 with three home runs, 10 RBI and 11 runs, while sophomore Kaleigh Goulart has hit three homers and driven in 13 runs.
 
Bryant has a team ERA of 4.80 (sixth in the NEC) and allows an opposing batting average of .325.  Freshman Gabrielle Ermish leads the Bulldogs with a 2.93 ERA in 93.1 innings.  Ermish is 8-6 in 19 appearances.  Sophomore Brandi Burgin is 2-10 with a 5.97 ERA in 27 appearances, while sophomore Colby Norris is 0-10 with a 5.84 ERA in 22 appearances.
 
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
Central Connecticut State is 10-21 overall and 4-6 in conference play.  Last weekend, CCSU split a doubleheader against Mount St. Mary's, falling 1-0 and winning 11-1.  CCSU also split a twinbill at Manhattan, dropping an 8-1 decision in game one, but bouncing back for a 5-2 win in game two.  CCSU fell 6-0 against Seton Hall on Wednesday.
 
The Blue Devils rank sixth in the NEC in runs per game (3.45) and seventh in batting average (.235).  Junior Brittany McNulla leads the team with a .327 average, with 32 hits, including eight doubles and two homers.  McNulla has driven in a team-best 23 runs.  Junior Brittany Camara is batting .303 with seven RBI and 20 RBI.  Junior Alexis Debrosse is hitting .267 with four homers, 17 RBI and 21 runs.
 
In the circle, CCSU has a team ERA of 4.14 (third in the NEC) and allows an opposing batting average of .290.  Sophomore Alex Casanas has a 3.73 ERA in 45 innings, with a 3-2 record in 10 appearances.  Junior Emily Sargent is 5-16 in 25 appearances, with a 4.14 ERA in 133.2 innings.  Freshman Sarah Ogilvie has a 5.64 ERA in 22.1 innings over seven appearances.