LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University softball concludes it nonconference tournament schedule with a trip to the Spartan Classic from March 11-13 in Greensboro, S.C. The Red Flash will face Delaware State, UNC Greensboro and Elon.
 
Saint Francis Quick Hits
» Grace Vesco earned her first Northeast Conference Pitcher of the Week this season after she went 2-1 with five earned runs and 14 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched in Jacksonville, Fla. She threw a complete-game three-hit shutout in a win over Holy Cross and allowed two runs in eight innings pitched in a win over Monmouth.
» Mekenzie Saban became the fifth player in program history to reach 200-career hits this past weekend. She currently stands at 205-career hits, which ranks fourth in program history. Her 50-career doubles rank second in program history and she is three shy of setting a new program record.
» Freshman Olivia Ulam leads the Red Flash with 11 RBIs and eight walks. She has started all-19 games and has a .358 batting average, second on the team.
» As a dual-threat player, Rachel Marsden leads Saint Francis with four home runs and a 3.49 ERA, six wins, nine complete games, 58 strikeouts and 69.2 innings pitched.
 
Last Time Out
The Red Flash went 3-2 at the North Florida/Jacksonville Spring Break Challenge after they suffered both losses to North Florida. In the opening game, Saint Francis mounted an eighth inning comeback after they fell down 2-0 in the extra frame. Hits from Mekenzie Saban and Olivia Ulam followed by Lindsay Ward scoring on a fielder's choice gave them a 3-2 victory. The Red Flash had another extra innings comeback victory against Jacksonville when Ward hit a game-tying single in the seventh and Lexi Hernandez hit the game-winning single in the eighth.
 
Scouting Delaware State
The Hornets enter the weekend with an 0-8 record, including a 9-0 loss to then-No. 21 Auburn. They had their closest defeat in a 1-0 loss to Hartford and 3-1 loss to Louisiana at Monroe. Delaware State was outscored 62-7 through the first two weeks. Jaelyn Baker leads qualified hitters with a .263 batting average and two RBIs. Sydney Hoffman leads Delaware State with a 5.25 ERA and .294 batting average against through 12 innings pitched.
 
All-Time vs. Delaware State
Saint Francis holds a 10-0 record over Delaware State since an 8-2 victory in the first meeting in 2002. In the last meeting in 2015, the Red Flash took a 5-3 win. Since 2010, the teams have met four times and Saint Francis outscored Delaware State 22-8 in the four victories.
 
Scouting UNC Greensboro
The Spartans enter the weekend with a 12-7 record that included losses to top-25 ranked Tennessee and Oregon. They have notable victories over North Carolina, Penn State and Virginia. Delaney Cumbie leads the team with a .375 batting average, Makenna Matthijs leads with five home runs and Grace Loftin has 17 RBIs. Reese Byrd leads the pitching staff with a 3.03 ERA and .240 batting average against through 32.2 innings pitched. Morgan Scott has a team-high 13 appearances, seven wins, eight complete games and 72 strikeouts in 76.2 innings pitched. Cumbie, Jordan Gontram and Blayke Batten all earned one Southern Conference Player of the Week honor this season.
 
All-Time vs. UNC Greensboro
The Spartans hold a 9-1 all-time advantage over the Red Flash since the first matchup in 1999. Saint Francis won the inaugural game 1-0 before they lost nine straight, the last time in 2018. Current Red Flash players Mekenzie Saban and Jordan Frank appeared in the 9-8 loss in 2018.
 
Scouting Elon
The Phoenix enter the weekend with a 13-6 record with notable wins over Michigan State and North Carolina and losses to top-25 Duke and Michigan. Rebecca Murray leads Elon with a .396 batting average and 12 steals, while Gabi Schaal has a team-high four home runs and 21 RBIs. In six appearances, pitcher McKenzie Weber has no earned runs allowed, three wins and 12 strikeouts through 24 innings pitched. Taylor Cherry leads the Phoenix with eight appearances, four complete games and 43 strikeouts in 37.2 innings pitched. Weber was named CAA Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 22 and Cherry was CAA Rookie of the Week on March 8.
 
All-Time vs. Elon
Elon holds a 2-0 record over Saint Francis with one win this season and one win in 2007. In the first matchup, the Phoenix took a 10-2 win and defeated the Red Flash 3-2 this season. In the last game, Rachel Marsden hit her first home run of the season and three Red Flash hitters had two hits. Elon's Gabby Shaal led the Phoenix with two one run scored, two RBIs and two walks.
 
Vesco Named NEC Pitcher of the Week, Four Prime Performers
Grace Vesco earned her first NEC Pitcher of the Week honor this season while Jordan Pietrzykoski, Mekenzie Saban and Olivia Ulam were named Prime Performer. Vesco went 2-1 with a complete-game three-hit shutout over Holy Cross and allowed two runs in a victory over Monmouth. Pietrzykoski had six hits, one run scored, two RBIs and one triple in Jacksonville, Fla. Saban had seven hits, that included three multi-hit games, two doubles and two runs scored. Ulam had seven hits that included a three-hit game against Monmouth, where she hit a game-tying single in extra innings before the eventual win.
 
Saban Achieves 200-Career Hits
With her extra-inning single against Monmouth, Mekenzie Saban became the fifth player in Saint Francis program history to achieve 200-career hits. The RBI single ignited a two-run comeback in the eighth inning that led to a 3-2 defeat of the Hawks. She raised her career total to 205 hits during the weekend and moved to fourth in program history. Hayley Norton holds the program record with 243 hits set from 2016-19.
 
Saint Francis Sweeps Second Major NEC Weekly Awards
Rachel Marsden earned her second straight NEC Pitcher of the Week while Mekenzie Saban earned her first NEC Player of the Week of the season and Olivia Ulam earned her first NEC Rookie of the Week honor. Marsden had a 1.08 ERA with 12 strikeouts and a complete-game one-hit victory over Akron. She also held No. 14 Clemson scoreless through 5.1 innings. Saban hit .500 with a team-high four runs scored, one double and one home run at the Clemson Classic. Ulam hit .500 with one double, one triple and five RBIs. She went 2-for-3 against Clemson and hit a three-run triple against Akron.
 
Saint Francis Dominates First NEC Weekly Awards
Lindsay Ward was named NEC Player of the Week and Rachel Marsden was named NEC Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 22. Jordan Pietrzykoski and Mekenzie Saban added Prime Performer selections. Ward was clutch with a two-run home run in the seventh inning of an eventual 6-5 win over South Dakota on Feb. 20. Marsden had four wins in her first seven appearances and a 2.65 ERA. Pietrzykoski led the team with a .394 batting average, .487 on-base percentage, 10 runs scored and four steals through the first 10 games. Saban hit .389 with two doubles and inched closer to the program record for career doubles, only five shy of tying.
 
Saban: Record Setter
Infielder Mekenzie Saban set a program record for highest batting average in a single season with her .452 mark in 2021. She had the second-most hits, 76, and doubles, 20, in a single season, falling just short of her own standard set in 2019 with 80 hits and 23 doubles. Saban also ranks third in single-season runs scored with 63 in 2019 and fifth with 19 stolen bases in 2021. She entered the 2022 season with 45-career doubles, fourth in program history, and 133 runs scored, fifth in program history.
 
Vesco No. 81 in Extra Inning Softball Elite 100 Rankings
Pitcher Grace Vesco was placed 81st in the first-ever Extra Innings Softball Elite 100 College Player Rankings. In 2021, Vesco set a new program record with 196 strikeouts and had the second-lowest ERA at 1.00. In her career, Vesco has just 239-career strikeouts in just 227.1 innings pitched.
 
1-2 Punch Returns
Grace Vesco and Rachel Marsden, both juniors, return after a historic 2021 season. The duo guided Saint Francis to a 1.47 staff ERA that ranked fourth in the NCAA Division I last season. Vesco's 1.00 ERA finished fifth in the nation and Marsden's 1.62 ERA finished 45th, the only two NEC pitchers in the top-125. Vesco's ERA was the second-lowest in program history and Marden's was third. The Saint Francis staffed tied for sixth-most shutouts in the nation last season with 19 and was 23rd with a 3.45 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
 
Four-Straight NEC Titles
The Red Flash have won four-straight Northeast Conference titles dating back to 2017. The only season during the stretch without a title was in the canceled 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two current players, Mekenzie Saban and Jordan Frank, were part of three of the titles. During the four championship seasons, Saint Francis has a combined 64-8 conference and 157-71 overall record.
 
Softball Picked First in NEC Preseason Poll
Saint Francis was picked to repeat as Northeast Conference Champions in this season's NEC Preseason Poll. The Red Flash earned six first-place votes and were selected to finish first for the first time since 2018. LIU was selected second in the conference and earned the remaining three first-place votes. Central Connecticut, Sacred Heart and Mount St. Mary's rounded out the top-five in that order.
 
Softball's Schedule Highlighted by Trip to Clemson
The Red Flash 2022 schedule features 14 home games and 40 away games, highlighted by a matchup at Clemson. The Tigers enter the season ranked No. 15 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and host Saint Francis, Akron and Boston University from Feb. 25-27. Saint Francis takes a trip to Jacksonville, Fla. where they will face Monmouth, North Florida, Holy Cross and Jacksonville from March 4-6. They have notable away games at in-state foes Penn State on March 22 and Pitt on April 6. Saint Francis' 24-game conference schedule begins at home on March 19 against LIU.
 
Petrie Joins Staff as Assistant Coach
Elysse Petrie joined head coach Jessica O'Donnell's staff in August 2021 as an assistant coach, working primarily with the pitching staff. She previously worked as a graduate assistant at Division II University of Indianapolis, where she guided one Midwest Pitcher of the Year and was part of the NFCA Midwest Coaching Staff of the Year. As a player, Petrie had the fewest earned runs allowed (178), second-lowest ERA (3.26) and second-fewest walks (76) in Centre College program history.
 
Frank Joins Staff as Graduate Assistant
Jackson Frank joined the softball program as a graduate assistant in January 2022. He is a former volunteer student manager on the Penn State baseball team, where he kept stats and opposing team scouting reports. As a player at Pennsylvania State University DuBois from 2017-19, he earned two United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Championships. He is the brother of current Saint Francis outfielder Jordan Frank.
 
Softball Adds Six Players in 2022 Signing Class
The Red Flash added Annabelle Farmer, Lauryn Kane, Savanah Nash, Brianna Sawyers, Tessa Thompson and Madelyn Wilson in the 2022 signing class. "This class is filled with incredible talent and experience," said head coach Jessica O'Donnell. "They have been competing nationally against the top competition for years and they are no stranger to winning the big games. We are looking forward to getting them on the field with us next year."
 
Next
Saint Francis plays its first home games of the season when they open conference play on March 19 and 20 against LIU. Saturday, March 19 is a doubleheader that starts at 1 p.m. and Sunday, March 20 is one game that starts at 12 p.m.