LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University softball took a doubleheader sweep in its home and conference-opener on Saturday. Mekenzie Saban set a new program record with her 53rd-career double during game one.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
» Saban went a perfect 6-for-6 at the plate with five runs scored, three doubles, and three walks.
» Jordan Pietrzykoski was 3-for-5 with four runs scored and three RBIs. She added two walks and one stolen base.
» Olivia Ulam drove in a team-high five runs in the two games and Rachel Marsden added four.
» Jordan Frank hit her first home run of the season in the first inning of game two.
» Grace Vesco went seven innings and allowed one run on three hits with seven strikeouts in her game two victory.
» LIU's Camryn Lyman went a perfect 5-for-5 with one run scored and three RBIs in game one.
FLASH QUOTES
"You have to take care of your business in NEC play or you're not going to be there in May. It's important that we show up and play because every game is going to be a battle. The freshman are figuring that out and the returners have been here before and they know they have to play their best in these games." – Head coach Jessica O'Donnell on today's wins
"It was definitely amazing. My parents are here and it's the first time my whole family was able to get out this season so it was exciting to be able to do it in front of them, especially in the last home opener of my career." – Saban on setting a new program record with 53-career doubles
"Mekenzie is an incredible hitter and her work ethic is unbelievable. She fins the time to hit and do things on her own and I think that's the key. She takes care of what she needs to do and I'm not surprised but I'm super proud of her." - Head coach O'Donnell on Saban's career doubles record
TURNING POINTS OF THE GAME - GAME 1
» Saint Francis took an early 3-0 lead in the first after Ulam hit a two-run single and Lexi Hernandez hit an RBI single. LIU responded with a three-run second inning behind two RBI singles and one run scored on an error.
» LIU took the lead 4-3 in the third inning before Marsden hit a two-run home run for Saint Francis and gave the Red Flash a 5-4 lead. LIU tied the game again at five in the fourth before Marsden drove in two more runs in the bottom half and gave Saint Francis a 7-5 lead.
» The Sharks produced two RBI singles that tied the game at seven in the fifth inning. In the bottom half, Ulam hit a two-run single, followed by a Lindsay Ward sacrifice fly and Ulam scored on a wild pitch to take an 11-7 lead.
» LIU was within two runs with a two-run top of the sixth inning before Pietrzykoski and Ward RBI singles extended the lead back to four runs, 13-9.
» LIU got one more run in the seventh inning before Marissa Frederick shut down the inning and Saint Francis took a 13-10 game one victory.
TURNING POINTS OF THE GAME - GAME 2
» In the bottom of the first, Ward's ground-rule double drove in Saban to start the scoring.
Jordan Frank followed with a two-run home run in the next at-bat and gave Saint Francis a 3-0 lead.
» Pietrzykoski added cushion to the lead with an RBI single in the second inning before Vesco escaped a bases-loaded jam in the top of the third inning.
» LIU struck for its first and only run when Katie Hinkle hit an RBI single in the fourth inning and cut the Saint Francis lead to 4-1.
» The Red Flash responded with a three-run fourth inning behind RBIs from Ulam and Frank. Saint Francis added another run in the fifth inning before shutting down the Sharks in the final two innings to secure an 8-1 game two victory and doubleheader sweep.
FLASH NUGGETS
» Saban's new program record of 53-career doubles broke Taylor Parsons' previous program record set from 2012-15.
» Frank scored the 100th run scored of her career in game one of the doubleheader and finished the day with 101-career runs.
» With her seven strikeouts, Vesco now sits at 296-career strikeouts. Top-five in program history begins at 348-career strikeouts.
» Ulam, a freshman, now leads the Red Flash with 16 RBIs this season after her five RBIs on Saturday.
UP NEXT
Saint Francis hosts LIU on Sunday at 12 p.m. for the final game of the team's conference-opening series.
