Loretto, Pa. - Saint Francis softball is following in the footsteps of Manifest Destiny by heading west to seek its fortune as the team embarks a spring break trip to the comfy climate of California. The journey includes two tournaments and a trip to San Francisco. The first leg of the trip is the Stanford Softball Tournament starting this Friday with games against Rhode Island, Stanford, and Pacific.
Scouting Rhode Island
The Rams are also making the long journey west looking to ignite their bats. Rhode Island is 4-9 after going 1-4 at the Bailey Memorial Tournament. The Rams are hitting .181 on the season but several players have been strong with the stick. Ari Castillo leads the herd with a .310 average. Rachel Zingerman has six hits and four of them have been for extra bases (two doubles and two home runs) to collect eight RBIs. The pitching has been relatively solid posting a 4.00 ERA. Sarah Gunderson is the staff ace with a record of 4-2 and a 3.10 ERA. URI's fielding percentage is .972.
Scouting Stanford
Stanford is 13-3 on the season and has been receiving votes in the NFCA Poll. The Cardinal are well-balanced hitting .302 as a team and pitching to the tune of a 1.41 ERA. The offense has scored 81 runs and conquers opposing teams with superior speed and base-running as the Cardinal are 38-39 in stolen base opportunities. Stanford has some power hitting 23 doubles and eight home runs. Second Team All-PAC 12 Teaghan Cowles is replicating her 2019 success by batting .352 with three doubles, three triples, one home run, and six RBIs. Stanford has a breakout candidate in Taylor Gindlesperger who has already surpassed her 2019 stats by hitting .377 with 20 hits, two doubles, one home run, and 13 RBIs. The pitching is led by a freshman star in Tatum Boyd. Boyd has gone 5-0 with an ERA of 0.69. Fielding has been steady at .974.
Scouting Pacific
The Tigers after three weekends of play are 8-5. Pacific's offense has been average scoring 51 and batting .255 with 14 doubles, four triples, and four home runs. Jessica Mabrey is off to a roaring start in 2020 batting .375 with two doubles and one home run. Phoenix College transfer Hanna Krosky has started eight games in the field hitting .400 with three RBIs and a triple. Where the Tigers roar is in the pitching game compiling a team ERA of 1.93. Myka Sutherlin has pounced on opposing hitters throwing 37 strikeouts in 32 innings with an ERA of 0.88 and a 4-0 record. Bethany Hammer has been a solid #2 option posting a 1.91 ERA. Pacific's defense has committed 11 errors in the young season.
Let's Win Two
Rachel Marsden (Erie, Pa./McDowell) pitched brilliantly at the Frost Classic and the NEC awarded the freshman hurler for her efforts by christening her with the NEC Pitcher of the Week and the NEC Rookie of the Week selections. Marsden earned the complete game victory over Miami (Ohio) and tossed 15 strikeouts in 18 innings.
How to Follow Along
Even with the team in another time zone, the Red Flash remain in reach. Follow along on Twitter at @RedFlashSB. Additionally, Stanford will be streaming every game. The streaming link is available on the softball schedule page at the SFU Athletics website.
