Flash Points:

• SFU Softball makes the short trip to Penn State for a doubleheader on Wednesday.
• The Red Flash and the Nittany Lions are set for a 5 p.m. doubleheader on BTN Plus.
• Saint Francis is coming off a 4-0 NEC weekend, including a 22-run performance against LIU Brooklyn.
• SFU has 11 wins over Power Five opponents since 2015.

Game Notes | Live Stats Game 1, Game 2  | BTN Plus Game 1, Game 2
 
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis Softball team visits Penn State on Wednesday for a doubleheader against the in-state rival.  The Red Flash and the Nittany Lions will begin a twinbill at 5 p.m. at Beard Field at Nittany Lion Softball Park.
 
The Red Flash, led by Head Coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift, is 24-17 overall and 6-0 in NEC play after a 4-0 weekend in New York.  Saint Francis swept its twinbill at Wagner on Saturday, winning 6-0 and 2-1.  SFU followed that with two run-rule victories at LIU Brooklyn, claiming 9-0 (six innings) and 22-4 (five innings) victories.  The 22 runs set a new program record.
 
Penn State, coached by Amanda Lehotak, is 7-30 overall and 3-11 in the Big Ten after going 1-4 in conference play last week.  The Nittany Lions dropped both games of a doubleheader at Ohio State on Wednesday.  PSU won its series opener against Michigan State on Friday, but got swept in a doubleheader on Saturday.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Red Flash trails 34-6 in the all-time series against Penn State.  Saint Francis swept last year's doubleheader at Penn State, earning 2-0 and 1-0 wins.  SFU has four wins in the series since 2014.
 
Saint Francis has 11 wins over Power Five opponents since 2015, including eight over Big Ten teams. 
 
RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE
The Red Flash scored an impressive 22 runs against LIU Brooklyn on Sunday.  That set a new program record, topping 21 runs against Maryland-Eastern Shore in 1995.  The Red Flash had innings of seven and eight runs in the win.  The 22 runs are tied for the fifth-most in a Division I game this year and are the most in an NEC game since 2011.

Saint Francis scored a combined 31 runs in the doubleheader, just one run short of the program doubleheader record of 32 by Seton Hill in 1988.  SFU's 17 hits in game two are the program's most since 17 hits against Detroit Mercy in 2009.
 
LARGEST CONFERENCE WIN STREAK
The Red Flash currently has the longest conference win streak in Division I. 

Saint Francis has won 25 straight NEC games dating back to the 2016 season.  SFU's last NEC loss came on May 13, 2016 in the NEC Tournament vs. Robert Morris.  SFU's last NEC regular season loss came on May 5, 2016 against Central Connecticut State.  Of those 25 wins, 10 have come by run-rule and nine have been shutouts.  This season, SFU has led for 32 of the 35 innings its played against NEC opponents and has not trailed in any inning. Saint Francis is averaging 9.5 runs per game in NEC play this season, while batting .400 as a team and averaging nearly two homers per game.  The SFU pitching staff has an 0.60 ERA against NEC opponents.
 
CHALLENGING NON-CON SLATE
The Red Flash began the season with an extremely challenging non-conference slate, which includes 13 games against Power Five programs and 12 against teams who played in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.  SFU has already played two games each against current No. 11 Auburn, No. 16 Arkansas and No. 24 Oklahoma State and another game against No. 2 Oklahoma.

The Red Flash owns four wins over current RPI Top 100 opponents, including victories over Drake, Georgia State, Iowa State and Marshall.  SFU has played 16 games against the RPI Top 100 and five more against RPI Top 150 teams, with a 5-0 record against teams ranked 100-150.  The rest of the NEC has two combined wins against the Top 100.  SFU is currently ranked 110th in the RPI, 75 spots ahead of any other NEC team.
 
POWER SURGE
With four homers against LIU Brooklyn, Saint Francis now has 45 homers this season, already the third-most in a season at SFU.  SFU ranks 16th in the nation in home runs per game, with 1.10, and 17th in total homers.

Five SFU players have at least five homers this season, led by Madison Cabell (Ivor, Va./Southampton)'s 12.  Cabell paces the NEC in homers and RBI (40). 
Mikayla Bower (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport) has seven bombs, while Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois), Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) and Kassidy Troxell (Navarre, Ohio/Perry) each have five homers.
Only eight other teams in Division I have five players with at least five homers. Four of those teams have played against SFU this season: Arkansas, Auburn, Coastal Carolina and Oklahoma State.
 
STRONG IN THE CIRCLE
The Red Flash is off to a solid start in the circle this year, with a 2.73 team ERA and a .227 batting average against.  SFU's ERA ranks second in the NEC, despite 16 games against RPI Top 100 teams, 13 games against Power Five teams, seven games against ranked opponents and eight games against 2017 NCAA Tournament teams.  SFU posted back-to-back shutouts in its NEC opening series vs. Mount St. Mary's. 

Abby Trahan (Kaplan, La./Kaplan) is 18-11 with a 2.69 ERA in 33 appearances, with 20 complete games and six shutouts.  Trahan is one win away from tying the SFU season record, set by Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) in 2017.  She leads the NEC with 18 wins, ranking 11th in the nation, and ranks third with 132 strikeouts.  Trahan has 11 outings in which she has gone at least seven innings and allowed one or less earned run.  Trahan recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts on March 2 against Omaha and took a No-Hitter into the seventh in the second game against the Mavericks.

Adrian Smith (Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) owns a 2.83 ERA and a 6-6 record, including eight complete games and three shutouts.  She has eight outings in which she has gone at least five innings and allowed one or less earned run.
 
RECORDS WATCH
Several Red Flash already own career records or are approaching career records.  Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum) already has the SFU career marks for home runs (45), runs (167) and walks (140) and is now approaching the stolen base record.  Seneca is also the NEC's all-time leader in home runs.  Seneca's 50 career stolen bases are just five behind Kelly Slingwine (2006-09).  Seneca also ranks second at SFU with 151 career RBI.
 
Madison Cabell (Ivor, Va./Southampton) is the RBI leader in program history with 171. Cabell ranks second at SFU with 46 doubles, nine away from the record, and 34 homers.  She's also third at SFU in hits (186) and second in walks (86). 
 
Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) is second at SFU with 134 runs, while Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) is third in runs (119) and fifth in walks (76) and stolen bases (36).  Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) is third all-time in homers (31) and third in RBI (123).
 
SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS
Penn State, coached by Amanda Lehotak, is 7-30 overall and 3-11 in the Big Ten.  The Nittany Lions were 1-4 against Big Ten opponents last week.  They dropped two games against Ohio State, falling 9-1 and 7-4.  The Nittany Lions bounced back to win its series opener against Michigan State, 8-6, but fell in two games against the Spartans on Saturday, dropping 7-1 and 6-2 decisions.
 
The Nittany Lions are averaging 2.8 runs per game and batting .225 as a team.  Tori Dubois leads the team with a .316 average to go with seven homers, 22 RBI and 17 runs. Toni Polk has a .281 average with a homer and 13 RBI.
 
Penn State has a team ERA of 5.38 and allows an opposing average of .312.  Jessica Cummings has a 5-11 record and a 4.48 ERA in 31 appearances.  Madison Shaffer has made 28 appearances with a 2-16 record and a 6.09 ERA.