Flash Points:
- SFU Softball welcomes Central Connecticut State and Bryant to the Red Flash Softball Field this weekend.
- The Red Flash battles the Blue Devils on Saturday at 1 p.m. and the Bulldogs on Sunday at 12 p.m. with both on NEC Front Row.
- Saint Francis will honor its three seniors before Saturday's doubleheader as part of Senior Day.
- The Red Flash, 26-17 overall and 6-0 in NEC play, is riding a six-game win streak.
- Saint Francis has won 25 straight games against NEC teams, the longest streak in Division I.
Game Notes | Live Stats | NEC Front Row CCSU Game 1, Game 2 Bryant Game 1, Game 2
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis Softball team hosts Central Connecticut State and Bryant for a pair of NEC doubleheaders this weekend. The Red Flash battles CCSU on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Bryant on Sunday at Noon. Before Saturday's twinbill, Saint Francis will honor its three seniors as part of Senior Day. Both doubleheaders will be broadcast on NEC Front Row with
Matt Popelka and
Adam Evanko on the call.
The Red Flash, led by Head Coach
Jennifer Patrick-Swift, is 26-17 overall and 6-0 in the NEC this season. Saint Francis is currently on a six-game win streak, and has won 11 of its last 13 games, including a sweep over Penn State on Wednesday. The Red Flash won 8-2 in game one and 9-1, in five innings, in game two. Since 2015, Saint Francis has won 13 games over Power Five programs, including nine wins over Big Ten opponents and five over the Nittany Lions.
CCSU, coached by Breanne Gleason, is 14-23 this season and 5-3 in the NEC. The Blue Devils fell 2-1 against UConn on Wednesday. CCSU's NEC doubleheader vs. Bryant last weekend was postponed.
Bryant, led by Shayne Lotito, has a 10-23 overall and 4-4 in conference play. The Bulldogs split a twinbill against Sacred Heart last weekend, winning 5-2, but falling 2-0.
SERIES HISTORY
The all-time series between Saint Francis and Central Connecticut State is tied at 19-19-1. Saint Francis has won three straight games in the series, including a sweep in New Britain last year.
The Red Flash trails the all-time series 10-7 against Bryant. Saint Francis has won five straight games against the Bulldogs, run-ruling both games in a sweep in Smithfield in 2017.
SENIOR DAY
On Saturday, the Red Flash will honor seniors
Alexis Bower (Cogan Station, Pa./Williamsport Area),
Madison Cabell (Ivor, Va./Southampton) and
Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum), as part of one of the most decorated classes in program history. The group has led SFU to 140 wins over the last four years and played a major part in last year's NEC Title, NCAA Tournament appearance and NCAA Tournament win, all firsts in program history. The trio has combined for three NFCA All-Region selections, seven All-NEC honors and an NEC Rookie of the Year award.
TRAHAN SETS SEASON WINS RECORD
By earning both wins in Saint Francis' sweep over Penn State, sophomore
Abby Trahan (Kaplan, La./Kaplan) has set a new Saint Francis program record with her 20th win of the season. She passed
Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area)'s record of 19 wins in 2017, a season where Santai went on to win NEC Pitcher of the Year.
Abby Trahan (Kaplan, La./Kaplan) is 20-11 with a 2.69 ERA in 35 appearances, with 22 complete games and six shutouts. She leads the NEC with 20 wins, ranking eighth in the nation, and ranks second with 142 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.
Trahan is a major reason the Red Flash is off to a solid start in the circle this year, with a 2.69 team ERA and a .228 batting average against. SFU's ERA ranks second in the NEC, despite 16 games against RPI Top 100 teams, 15 games against Power Five teams, seven games against ranked opponents and eight games against 2017 NCAA Tournament teams. In NEC play, SFU is 6-0 with an 0.60 ERA and an opposing average of .192.
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.
RECORDING-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.
LONGEST 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.
POWER SURGE
With two homers against Penn State, the Red Flash now has 47 homers this season, already the third-most in a season at SFU. SFU ranks 18th in the nation in home runs per game, with 1.09, and 12th 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 (41).
Mikayla Bower (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport) has seven bombs, while
Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) has six and
Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) 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.
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 (168) and walks (142) 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 172. Cabell ranks second at SFU with 46 doubles, nine away from the record, and 34 homers. She's also third at SFU in hits (188) and second in walks (86).
Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) is second at SFU with 137 runs, while
Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) is third in runs (121) and fifth in walks (77) and stolen bases (36).
Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) is third all-time in homers (32) and third in RBI (126).
CHALLENGING NON-CON SLATE
The Red Flash began the season with an extremely challenging non-conference slate, which includes 15 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.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
Central Connecticut State, coached by Breanne Gleason, is 14-23 overall and 5-3 in the NEC this season. The Blue Devils are looking to snap a four-game skid, including a 2-1 setback at UConn on Wednesday.
CCSU is averaging 3.9 runs per game, ranking fourth in the NEC, and batting .264 as a team, good for second in the league. Sydney Bolan is batting .313 with a team-high six homers to go with 15 RBI. Lex Debrosse is hitting .295 with five homers and 20 RBI, while Brittany Camara is batting a team-best .323 with a homer and 22 RBI.
The Blue Devils' pitching staff has a 3.32 ERA, placing third in the conference, and allows an opposing average of .284. Emily Sargent is 7-10 with a 2.91 ERA in a team-high 25 appearances and 134.2 innings. Peyton Silverman is 4-7 with a 2.70 ERA in 12 appearances.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Bryant, led by Shayne Lotito, is 10-23 overall and 4-4 in conference play. The Bulldogs split a doubleheader at Sacred Heart last weekend, with a 5-2 win in game one and a 2-0 loss in game two.
The Bulldogs rank sixth in the NEC with 3.3 runs per game and seventh with a .243 team average. Freshman Morgan Powell leads the Bulldogs with a .343 average. Rachel Monroe has a .324 average with three homers and 17 RBI, while Kaleigh Goulart is batting .282 with two homers and 17 RBI.
Bryant has a team ERA of 6.03, ranking eighth in the NEC, and allows an opposing batting average of .319. Logan Paul has a team-best 4.76 ERA and a 4-3 record in 17 appearances and 39.2 innings. Gabrielle Ermish is 2-8 with a 5.58 ERA in 13 appearances, while Sarah McKeveny is 3-8 with a 5.79 ERA in 16 appearances.
