LORETTO, PA- After a successful 3-1 opening conference weekend, the Red Flash inch closer to their home opener as they play their first games in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, traveling to State College for a double header with Penn State starting at 5 p.m.  
 
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
The Saint Francis senior class is re-writing the softball record books for not only the school but the entire Northeast Conference. During non-conference play, the Red Flash welcomed in three more members of the 200-career hit club. Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) was the first to reach that mark this season, and now sits with a school-record 215 hits and counting. Thanks to a six-hit weekend, Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) has matched Norton at 215 hits, twin sister Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) is hot on the leaders' heels with 211 hits of her own.  The three seniors will compete for the school record throughout the rest of the season and have an outside shot of the NEC record of 250 career hits.
 
Norton has continued to re-write history, becoming the first player in SFU and Northeast Conference history to reach 50 career home runs, doing so against George Mason on March 20^th. That milestone broke Jordan Seneca's (Plum, Pa./Plum) SFU and NEC record of 48 career home runs and sits fourth amongst active players in the NCAA. Against CCSU, Norton surpassed Madison Cabell's (Ivor, Va./Southampton) ('18) school and NEC record of 188 career RBI. Fittingly, the senior did it on her 51^st career home run and now sits third amongst active Division-I softball players with 192 career RBI.
 
Also, this season, Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) broke another of Jordan Seneca's (Plum, Pa./Plum) records with her 182^nd career run scored against George Mason. The senior has since padded her total with four more runs scored this last weekend to give her 188 career runs scored. That mark moves her into the top-five of active Division-I players.
 
HOT CONFERENCE START
Despite seeing the NCAA's 4^th longest conference win streak come to an end at 38, it was a successful weekend for the Red Flash. The Red Flash hit .296 as a team led by MeKenzie Saban's (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) .467 (7-15) performance with seven runs scored. Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) had a phenomenal weekend hitting .400 (6-15) with three doubles, a homer and 11 driven in, including six against CCSU on Monday.
 
Freshman Christina Clark (Avon, Ohio/Avon High School) paced the pitching staff, earning a pair of victories and a save in four appearances. Clark allowed just two runs and 11 hits over 13 2/3 innings while striking out nine.
 
SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS
Penn State enters the doubleheader at 17-17 on the season after a sweep at the hands of #25 Wisconsin and are 2-4 in the Big 10 after taking two-of-three at Michigan State to start conference play. The Spartans topped the Red Flash twice when the teams met up in Alabama at the Crimson Classic.
            Melina Livingston leads the team with a .368 average and six doubles. Chelsea Bisi paces the offense with six home runs and 17 runs batted in. The Nittany Lions are hitting .262 as a team but average 3.6 runs per game.
            The pitching has been stout for the Nittany Lions, with three pitchers sporting an earned run average under 2.50. Bailey Parshall leads the team with 132 strikeouts in 107 innings and a 2.47 ERA. Kylee Lingenfelter has a 2.14 ERA in 53 innings for Penn State.
           
SERIES HISTORY
Penn State leads the all-time series 34-8 but the Red Flash have won five of the last eight including the last four meetings between the teams.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Penn State will provide live stats for the double header and the games will be streamed on BTN To Go for a fee. You can also follow along on Twitter @RedFlashSB for in-game updates and graphics. All of the links can be found on the softball schedule page. 
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Francis will kick off their home schedule with Robert Morris on Saturday, April 6^th starting at 1 p.m. There will be a pre-game ceremony for the dedication of the Mikayla Focht hitting facility starting at noon.