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Saint Francis University Athletics

Allyn Bezjak Action
www.jdcavrich.com
1
Central Connecticut CCSU 23-14
2
Winner Saint Francis (Pa.) SFU 39-8
Central Connecticut CCSU
23-14
1
Final
2
Saint Francis (Pa.) SFU
39-8
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Central Connecticut CCSU 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 1
Saint Francis (Pa.) SFU 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 7 1

W: Vesco, Grace (22-3) L: A. Hunte (4-2)

Game Recap: Softball | | Maria Slovikovski

Bezjak’s Walk-Off Single Sends SFU to Saturday’s NEC Championship Game

LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis softball team (39-8, 22-2 NEC) continued play at the 2021 NEC Championships against No. 3 Central Connecticut (23-14, 20-8 NEC) on Friday with a 2-1 win. Allyn Bezjak drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning as Grace Vesco pitched the complete game.  
 

THOUGHTS
Head Coach Jessica O'Donnell: "We are feeling really excited and happy to have another opportunity to play, especially for a championship. The gratitude from this team is unreal. I am so proud of each and every one of them."
 
Saint Francis 2, Central Connecticut 1
Records: Saint Francis (39-8, 22-2 NEC), Central Connecticut (23-14, 20-8 NEC)
Location: Red Flash Softball Field (Loretto, Pa.)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Grace Vesco pitched the complete game for the Red Flash, giving up one run on four hits while striking out nine batters.

Lindsay Ward got the game's first hit, a single in the second, but the game remained scoreless. Central Connecticut got on the board first with a run on two singles in the top of the third.

Back-to-back one-out singles from Jordan Pietrzykoski and Lexi Hernandez forced a pitching change for the Blue Devils. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch before Allyn Bezjak tied the game with a sacrifice fly to score Pietrzykoski from third.

Mekenzie Saban led off the seventh inning with a double and advanced to third on a ground ball by Hernandez. Bezjak ended the game with a walk-off single to score Saban.

GAME NOTES
  • Vesco broke the single-season program record for strikeouts as she finished the game with 193 strikeouts this season. The previous record was 189.
  • The single-season team record for strikeouts was also broken as the SFU pitching staff has combined for 316 strikeouts this season.
  • This is Vesco's 22nd win of the season.
  • This is Saban's 20th double of the season, which is tied for the second-most doubles in a single season in program history. She is also tied for the second-most hits in a single season with 72.
  • The Red Flash is now tied for the second-most wins in a single season in program history.
  • This is Hernandez's eighth multi-hit game of the season.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Francis advances to the 2021 NEC Championship game on Saturday at noon. The opponent will be decided in the 4 p.m. game.
 
Follow Saint Francis Softball on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get up-to-date information and a behind-the-scenes look at the Red Flash program.

To learn more about Saint Francis University, visit francis.edu.
 
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