LORETTO, PA- Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) slugged three home runs across the two games and the Red Flash earned a split with NEC-leading LIU Brooklyn, falling in game one 11-3 and rallying to take game two 9-5.
 
RED FLASH LEADERS
 
Norton belted two homers in her first two at-bats in game two, giving her 15 on the season, matching her career high set in both her freshman and junior seasons. MeKenzie Saban (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) also enjoyed four hits on Sunday, with each hitting a game-two homer. Freshman Allyn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin High School) went 3-3 in the nightcap with a double.
 
GAME ONE RECAP
Game one was a tight-knit affair until LIU took control of game one with a seven-run sixth inning bookended by home runs.
 
The Blackbirds grabbed an early 3-0 lead, striking for three in the third inning. A solo homer and a two-run single highlighted the inning. Saint Francis answered back with a Tayven Rousseau (Beaver, Pa./Beaver) walk and singles by Saban and Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois). That setup Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) for an RBI double, a gapper that scored Rousseau but Saban was out at the plate thanks to a strong LIU relay. After Norton was intentionally walked, SFU couldn't convert on the bases loaded opportunity.
 
LIU stretched the lead to 4-1 on a run-scoring single in the fifth. Norton cut that lead to 4-3 with a towering two-run drive in the bottom half of the inning. The Blackbirds then struck for the seven-spot in the sixth using five hits and three walks in the inning. A Castillo three-run home run to center capped the inning. Saint Francis didn't score in the bottom of the inning, ending the game after six innings.
 
GAME ONE SCORING RECAP
T3| Martinez homered to left field…Griffin singled, Lyman reached on fielder's choice, Griffin safe on throwing error by pitcher…Dickson grounded out to pitcher, Griffin to third, Lyman to second…Castillo singled to center, Griffin and Lyman scored…3-0LIU
B3| Rousseau walked…Saban singled to left, Rousseau to second…C McKee singled to center, Rousseau to third, Saban to second…S McKee doubled to right, Rousseau scored, Saban out at home RF-2B-C…3-1 LIU
T5| Hinkle singled to right…Griffin sacrificed to pitcher, Hinkle to second…Dickson singled to left, Hinkle scored…4-1 LIU
B5| S. McKee singled to shortstop…Norton homered to right…4-3LIU
T6| Cisneros homered to right…Bermea singled, advanced to third on error by RF…Martinez hit by pitch…Day singled up the middle, Bermea scored, Martinez out CF-3b-SS…Griffin hit by pitch, Day to second…Lyman singled to left, Day scored, Griffin scored, Lyman to third on error by LF…Dickson walked…Castillo homered to center, Lyman scored, Dickson scored…11-3 LIU
 
 
GAME TWO RECAP
Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) continued to swing a hot stick, homering on a line shot over the right center field wall in the first to give SFU an early lead. After LIU tied it in the second, again the Red Flash answered using an Allyn Bezjak (Uniontown, Pa./Albert Gallatin High School) double and Saban run-scoring grounder to take a 4-2 lead. Again, LIU batted back to tie it, this time using a pair of solo homers in the third only to see Norton have another answer. The senior hit a titanic blast that just stayed fair down the right field line and landed in the middle of the batting cages to give the Red Flash a lead they would not give up.
 
Saint Francis broke it open in the fourth with two-run homers from Saban and Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) to lead 9-4. That was enough for senior Mikayla Bower (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport), who threw a complete game for the Red Flash and earned her seventh win of the season. LIU did threaten late, loading the bases in the seventh, but the senior got a pop-out to Saban in foul territory to clinch the victory.
 
GAME TWO SCORING RECAP
T1| Griffin singled to right, advanced to second on an error by RF…Dickson singled to right, Griffin scored…1-0 LIU
B1| S. McKee singled down the left field line…Norton homered to right center, McKee scored…2-1 SFU
T2| Berea singled to left…Martinez doubled to left, Berea scored 2-2
B2| Troxell walked…Rousseau walked, Troxell to second…Bezjak doubled down left field line, Troxell scored, Rousseau to third…Saban grounded to first, safe on error by 1B, Rousseau scored…4-2 SFU
T3| Dickson homered to right…Garcia homered to center…4-4
B3| Norton homered to right…5-4 SFU
B4| Bezjak singled to left…Saban homered to right center, Bezjak scored…C McKee hit by pitch…S McKee homered to center…9-4 SFU
T6| Martinez singled to left…Hinkle sacrificed to pitcher, Martinez to second…Griffin doubled to left, Martinez scored…9-5 SFU
 
 
With the split, the Red Flash sit at 8-6 in the NEC and 24-28 while LIU Brooklyn is 10-2 in the NEC and 28-15 overall. Saint Francis will head to New Jersey on Saturday to close out the regular season for their make-up double header against Fairleigh Dickinson. First pitch on Saturday is set for noon.