Softball Series Notes 2019 Bash in the Boro Schedule Page
LORETTO, PA- Saint Francis begins its defense on their back-to-back Northeast Conference titles this weekend as they travel south to participate in the Bash in the 'Boro hosted by Georgia Southern.
The Red Flash open the series with a neutral site contest with Savannah State on Friday afternoon before taking on the host Eagles on Friday evening. Saturday's slate has Saint Francis taking on UT-Martin at 9 a.m. before a rematch with Georgia Southern at 4:30 p.m. The weekend wraps with another 9 a.m. tilt, this time against Winthrop.
ABOUT SAINT FRANCIS
The Red Flash bring back six players who started at least 50 percent of the games last year and four of the top five run producers from a season ago and are coming off a year where SFU went 39-19 and 16-0 in the Northeast Conference. First-year head coach
Jessica O'Donnell has brought in a trio of hurlers to go along with
Mikayla Bower (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport) in the circle. You can read about the
newcomers and the
returners in our two-part season preview.
ABOUT SAVANNAH STATE
The first game of the 2019 season will be the first-ever meeting between the Red Flash and the Tigers. Savannah State went 14-23 overall last season and 8-7 in the MEAC before bowing out in the conference tournament after going 1-2. The Tigers are picked to finish fifth in the MEAC's Southern Division. Cortni Jones was named a pre-season first-team honoree in the MEAC after hitting .398 last year. Sophomore Tanisha Williams went 4-4 in nine games last season and led the Tigers with a 2.56 ERA over 52 innings.
ABOUT GEORGIA SOUTHERN
The Eagles went 28-25 last season including going 12-15 in the Sun Belt. Georgia Southern was picked seventh in the Sun Belt in the conference's pre-season poll. Hannah Farrell is the leading returner on offense. She enjoyed an all-region season in 2018 where she hit .327 with nine home runs. The Eagles set a school record with 48 long balls a season ago. Rylee Waldrep is the leader in the circle after going 10-10 with a 3.94 ERA last season. Georgia Southern has won all three previous meetings with the Red Flash with the last meeting coming in 2010.
ABOUT UT-MARTIN
The Skyhawks went 25-32 last season and 9-13 in the Ohio Valley Conference. They were picked seventh in the OVC pre-season poll as they return just two starters from last year's team. Alli Fulcher leads the offense coming off a .293 average last season. The Skyhawks do return a pair of solid starting pitchers in Hannah Ridolfi and Caitlin Karo. Ridolfi led the team with 181 innings last season and a solid 2.48 era. Karo went 16-11 as a freshman with a strong 2.70 era. The Skyhawks have won the only two meetings between the teams with the last matchup coming in 2012.
ABOUT WINTHROP
Winthrop brings back eight starters and their entire pitching staff off a 17-32 campaign that saw the Eagles go 7-14 in Big South Play. Ashlee Westbrooks leads four all-conference players from last season with a .340 average in 2018 including 12 doubles. Southpaw senior Kiley Majette was third in the Big South in strikeouts last season and tossed 171 innings last year while sporting a 3.17 earned run average. The Eagles and Red Flash have met 10 times with Winthrop taking eight of them including five-straight.
FOLLOW ALONG
Both games against Georgia Southern will be streamed and all five games with have live stats. Links can be found on the softball schedule page as well as on the Bash in the Boro schedule page. You can also follow @RedFlashSB on Twitter for in-game updates and graphics.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Francis will head back south next weekend to take part in the East Carolina Pirate Clash. The Red Flash will take on Purdue, Cleveland State and East Carolina as part of a five-game, three day event.
