Flash Points:

• Saint Francis Softball is headed back to the Tucson Regional, hosted by Arizona, to start the NCAA Tournament.
• The Red Flash takes on the Wildcats, the No. 14 overall seed, on Friday at 11:30 p.m. ET on ESPN3.
• Saint Francis, the No. 4 seed, and Arizona are joined in the regional by No. 2 seed Mississippi State and No. 3 seed North Dakota State.
• The Red Flash is coming off its second straight NEC Championship after going undefeated in conference play and tournament play in back-to-back years.
• Saint Francis enters the tournament with a 19-game win streak.

NCAA Bracket | Ticket Information

LORETTO, Pa. – After repeating as NEC Champions, the Saint Francis Softball team is headed back to Arizona.  The Red Flash was selected as the No. 4 seed in the Tucson Regional, returning after playing in the same regional last season.  Saint Francis will meet Arizona on Friday, May 18 at 11:30 p.m. ET (8:30 p.m. MT) on ESPN3. The Red Flash and the Wildcats are joined in the Regional by No. 2 seed Mississippi State and No. 3 seed North Dakota State.
 
The Red Flash, led by Head Coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift, completed its second straight undefeated NEC season with an 11-1 win over LIU Brooklyn in Saturday's NEC Championship game. 
 
Saint Francis, 39-17 overall, went 16-0 in the NEC Regular Season and won all three NEC Tournament games for the second consecutive season.  The Red Flash has won 38 straight games against NEC opponents, tied for the fourth-longest conference streak in NCAA Division I history. 
 
Saint Francis enters the NCAA Tournament on a 19-game win streak, just two wins shy of the school record.  The streak began on April 14 at Wagner.  With three wins this past weekend, SFU has also won 21 straight home games.
 
The Red Flash is again among the top power-hitting teams in the nation, currently leading Division I with 83 homers.  SFU has set a new program and NEC season record with the 83 dingers.  Madison Cabell (Ivor, Va./Southampton) leads the team, and the NEC with 19 homers, while Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) has 15 and Mikayla Bower (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport) has 11.  Sierra and Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) own nine and eight homers, respectively, while Kassidy Troxell (Navarre, Ohio/Perry) has seven and Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum) has six.  The Red Flash is the only team in Division I with seven players with six or more homers.
 
Saint Francis began the NEC Tournament with an 8-5 win over LIU Brooklyn.  SFU hit five homers, with Norton's second bomb of the game breaking a 5-5 tie in the sixth.  Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) added a pair of insurance runs with a homer later in the inning. 
 
The Red Flash advanced to the NEC Championship game with a 9-7 comeback win over No. 3 seed Sacred Heart.  The Pioneers took a 7-3 lead in the second inning.  A two-run double by Taylor Hoover (Phillipsburg, Ohio/Northmont) cut the deficit in half in the fifth inning.  In the sixth, Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) launched a go-ahead grand slam.  Adrian Smith (Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) shutdown the SHU offense with 5.2 shutout innings in relief.
 
Saint Francis cruised to an 11-1 win in Saturday's NEC Championship against LIU Brooklyn.  The five-inning victory featured four homers by the Red Flash, with two by Cabell, one by Norton and one by Bower.  Smith threw a complete-game for her 11th win of the season.
 
Smith earned Tournament MVP honors after allowing just one earned run in 10.2 innings and striking out nine.  Hoover, Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) and Norton joined Smith on the All-Tournament team.  McKee and Norton both batted .500 on the weekend.  McKee went 5-for-10 with two homers, seven RBI and four runs, while Norton had six hits, with three homers, six RBI and five runs.  Hoover had a pair of clutch hits, with a game-tying homer in the first game against LIU Brooklyn and the double against Sacred Heart.
 
Arizona, the No. 14 overall seed in the tournament, is 40-14 overall this year, including a 13-11 record in the Pac-12.  The Wildcats, coached by Mike Candrea, were ranked No. 9 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll.  The matchup will feature two of the top home run-hitting teams in the nation, with Arizona entering the contest with 73 dingers.
 
Mississippi State, led by Vann Steudeman, is the No. 2 seed in the regional after going 36-21 overall, including a 7-17 mark in the SEC.  The Bulldogs reached the second round of the SEC Tournament. Mississippi State is ranked 21st in the nation with a 2.00 ERA.
 
North Dakota State, coached by Darren Mueller, won the Summit League Championship.  The Bison are 33-17 overall, including a 10-3 mark in conference play.  NDSU defeated South Dakota State in the Summit League title game.  The Bison have a 2.37 team ERA.