LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University softball opens Northeast Conference play with their home-opening series against LIU on Saturday, March 19 and Sunday, March 20. Saturday is a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. and Sunday is one game played at 12 p.m.
 
Saint Francis Quick Hits
» Rachel Marsden earned her third NEC Pitcher of the Week honor this season and she leads the conference with a 2.54 ERA, seven wins, two shutouts, 11 complete games and 69 strikeouts in 82.2 innings pitched. As a hitter, she leads the conference with four home runs.
» Mekenzie Saban became the fifth player in program history to achieve 150-career runs scored. She ranks top-five in the conference with a .427 batting average, 17 runs scored, five doubles, 12 RBIs, a .463 on-base percentage and five stolen bases.  
» Jordan Pietrzykoski ranks second on the team with a .351 batting average, 13 runs scored, six walks and a .407 on-base percentage. She is a three-time NEC Prime Performer.
» As a pitching staff, Saint Francis leads the conference with a 2.65 ERA, the only NEC program with lower than a 3.00 ERA and only one of three teams below a 4.00 ERA.
 
Last Time Out
Saint Francis went 2-1 at the Spartan Classic after two games were canceled, one against Elon and UNC Greensboro, on Saturday. Freshman Marissa Frederick earned her first collegiate victory in her first start with a complete-game one-hit shutout of Delaware State. The other Red Flash victory was a 3-2 win over Elon after the Red Flash dropped a Feb. 12 meeting with the Phoenix 3-2. Jordan Pietrzykoski hit a game-winning RBI double that drove in Mekenzie Saban in the sixth inning. The run scored was Saban's 150th of her career.   
 
Scouting LIU
The Sharks enter the first weekend of conference play with an 11-16 record. They enter the weekend on a five-game winning streak where they outscored five different opponents by a combined 39-18. LIU started the season with losses in 10 of its first 11 games. Camryn Lyman leads the Sharks with a .432 batting average and 15 runs scored. Ciara Granado leads the team with seven doubles and 13 RBIs and she enters the weekend as the most recent NEC Player of the Week. Alyssa O'Donnell leads the pitching staff with a 3.09 ERA, 13 appearances, five complete games, five wins and 21 strikeouts in 63.1 innings pitched. LIU was selected to finish second, behind Saint Francis, in the NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll and earned the remaining three first-place votes that did not go to the Red Flash.
 
All-Time vs. LIU
LIU holds a 45-26 all-time advantage over Saint Francis since the first matchup in 1988, a 4-0 win for LIU. Saint Francis is on a current six-game winning streak over the Sharks and are 5-0 against LIU since their rebranding after the 2019 season. All-five wins came in the 2021 season, including a 12-4 win for Saint Francis to clinch the Northeast Conference title. Saint Francis outscored LIU 35-10 during the 2021 season.
 
Around the NEC
Heading into the first week of Northeast Conference games, Merrimack sits atop the standings with a 5-4 record. Saint Francis has the most wins with 12, followed closely by LIU's 11. The Sharks had the most games played prior to the conference-opening weekend with 27, five more than the Red Flash. Merrimack and Saint Francis are the only programs with an above-.500 winning percentage. Central Connecticut remains winless with an 0-18 record and will face 6-11 Fairleigh Dickinson this weekend.
 
Marsden, Frederick Earn Major NEC Weekly Honors, Three Prime Performers
Rachel Marsden earned her third NEC Pitcher of the Week honor and Marissa Frederick was named Rookie of the Week on March 15. Jordan Pietrzykoski and Mekenzie Saban earned Prime Performers. Marsden had a 1.62 ERA with two complete games, one win and 11 strikeouts in 13 innings pitched in Greensboro, N.C. Frederick pitched a complete-game one-hit shutout to win her first collegiate start. Pietrzykoski hit .500 with the game-winning RBI double in the sixth inning of a 3-2 victory over Elon. Saban hit .625 with three runs scored, one home run and two RBIs at the Spartan Classic.
 
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
The Red Flash have a quick turnaround when they face Penn State on Tuesday, March 22 for a 6 p.m. start.