CLEARWATER, FLA.- Saint Francis continues its trek through the south this weekend with five games in three days as part of the University of South Florida-Clearwater Parks and Rec Tournament.
 
The Red Flash will not play the host Bulls in the tournament, and will face off against Villanova and South Dakota State on Friday, Providence and Western Michigan on Saturday and Army on Sunday. All of these games will happen in Clearwater, just across the bay from USF's Tampa campus.
 
 
ABOUT THE RED FLASH
Saint Francis enters the weekend at 8-10 on the season after a 1-3 weekend at the Easton Crimson Classic hosted by Alabama. SFU got a lights-out performance from Christina Clark (Avon, Ohio/Avon High School) against Southern Mississippi. The freshman tossed a four-hit shutout in a 1-0 victory over the Golden Eagles. Against the #5 Crimson Tide, senior Mikayla Bower (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport) was excellent in the circle, holding the Tide to three runs over six innings in a tightly contested 3-1 setback.
 
Offensively, the Red Flash have been had a balanced offense led by senior Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove). Norton comes into the weekend hitting .491 and is just two hits shy of 200 and just four away from the school record of 202 set by Madison Cabell (Ivor, Va./Southampton) last season. She is also just one home run shy of Jordan Seneca's (Plum, Pa./Plum) career mark of 48.
 
Elsewhere, Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) has been swinging a hot bat as well, with a .346 average and an on-base percentage of .477, thanks to seven walks and six hit-by-pitches. MeKenzie Saban (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) leads the team in runs scored with 20 and has a team high five doubles.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
 
VILLANOVA
It will be a reunion of sorts for head coach Jessica O'Donnell who was on the Wildcats' staff prior to taking over at Saint Francis. Villanova was picked second in the Big East after a conference semi-final trip last season and is 7-9 so far this season. Paige Rauch has been Villanova's best hitter and pitcher this season, hitting a team-best .326 with six home runs and sporting a 5-3 record with a team-best 2.40 earned run average. Villanova has hit just .228 as a team but sports a team ERA of 3.70.
 
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
The Jackrabbits come into the weekend 14-4 on the season and were picked second in a split Summit League pre-season poll. SDSU has had a potent offense to start the season and are averaging over five runs a contest. They are led by Ali Herdliska who is hitting .453 with five home runs and pre-season honoree Julia Andersen who is hitting .333. In the circle, Kendra Conard is one of three pitchers with an earned run average under 3.00.
 
PROVIDENCE
The Friars are 4-6 this season and should be well rested, having not played since February 17^th after having a tournament at Morgan State rained out. Providence was picked eighth in the Big East after a 13-win season in 2018. Pre-season honoree Emma Lee leads the Friar offense as the only player with an average north of .300 at .314. Providence comes into the weekend hitting .232 as a team. In the circle, Julia Murphy has been an ace reliever, posting a 1.80 era in five appearances. Daniela Alvarez has a team-high five starts and is 3-2 with a 2.12 era.
 
WESTERN MICHIGAN
Picked fourth in the Mid-American Conference poll, the Broncos are 2-8 so far this season but have played a gauntlet of a schedule. Seven of the teams eight losses have come against "Power-5" or AAC teams. The Broncos are led on offense by Mackenzie Swinehart who is hitting .406 on the season. WMU is averaging just under three runs per game and is hitting .242 as a team. In the circle, Sydney Stefanick has both Bronco wins and is 2-2 with a 2.47 earned run average so far this season. Western Michigan has stuck with a three-pitcher rotation with Jordan Kurth and Reily Galloway splitting the starts with Stefanick.
 
ARMY-WEST POINT
The Black Knights were tagged third in the Patriot League and enter the weekend in Florida with a 5-10 record. Grace Mattimore leads an offense that has averaged just over four runs per game with a stout .417 average and a team-best 13 runs driven in. In the circle, Jolie Duong has gotten the majority of the starts and sits 4-5 so far on the season with a team-best 3.93 earned run average.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
With the tournament showcase happening off USF's campus, there will be no live streaming of the games. Live stats will be provided for most games and you can follow @RedFlashSB for in-game updates as well. Live stats links can be found on the softball schedule page.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Francis heads to Bloomington, Indiana next weekend for the Hoosier Showcase. The Red Flash will take on a pair of MAC teams in Ohio University and Toledo in addition to the host Hoosiers.