LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University softball travels to Central Connecticut for their first road conference series of the season on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's doubleheader starts at 1 p.m., while Sunday's game begins at 12 p.m.
 
Saint Francis Quick Hits
» Mekenzie Saban earned her first NFCA Top Performer honor and second NEC Player of the Week this season on March 22. She went 1-for-2 with one walk against Penn State on Tuesday after she went 7-for-9 with seven runs scored, three doubles and one home run in a series sweep over LIU. Her .465 batting average ranks 15th in the NCAA Division I.
» Grace Vesco pitched two scoreless innings in relief with one strikeout against Penn State. She lowered her season ERA to 2.97 and has a .189 batting average against. Vesco now sits at 299 strikeouts in her career.
» Rachel Marsden continues to pace the NEC with nine wins, 11 complete games, two shutouts and 80 strikeouts in 96.2 innings pitched. She also leads the conference with seven home runs and 17 RBIs as a hitter.
» Olivia Ulam is second in the conference with 16 RBIs and Jordan Frank is tied-fifth with 14. Lindsay Ward is top-five with 17 runs scored and three home runs.
 
Last Time Out
Saint Francis took a 2-1 defeat against Big Ten opponent Penn State on Tuesday, March 22. The Nittany Lions started their hitting with three straight hits and had the bases loaded with no outs. They scored one run on a sacrifice fly before Rachel Marsden limited the damage to just that run. Lindsay Ward led off the second inning with a game-tying solo home run. In the bottom half, Penn State led off with back-to-back doubles and took a 2-1 lead. The Nittany Lions were able to protect the one-run lead for the remainder of the game. Marsden and Grace Vesco combined to no-hit Penn State over their final four innings. Jordan Frank was the only Saint Francis player with multiple hits with her 2-for-3 day.
 
Scouting Central Connecticut
The Blue Devils enter this weekend's doubleheader with a 1-2 conference and 3-20 overall record. They started the season 0-18 before a 2-1 defeat of Fairleigh Dickinson in the conference-opener on March 18. Central Connecticut enters the weekend after sweeping a doubleheader against Yale on Wednesday. Kim Howard leads the Blue Devils with a .339 batting average, three home runs and she adds nine runs scored, two doubles and 11 RBIs. Bri Walker leads with five doubles and 15 RBIs. Kaylee Whittaker leads the pitching staff with a 6.46 ERA, five complete games and 30 strikeouts in 52 innings pitched.
 
All-Time vs. Central Connecticut
Saint Francis holds a 28-19-1 all-time advantage over Central Connecticut since the first matchup in 1991. The Red Flash are riding a current 12-game winning streak since May 5, 2016. Saint Francis outscored Central Connecticut 79-20 during the streak. Prior to the streak, Central Connecticut won 10-of-11 meeting between 2011-16. Last season's 2-1 Red Flash victory advanced Saint Francis to the NEC Championship game after former Red Flash player Allyn Bezjak hit a walk-off single in the seventh inning that drove in Mekenzie Saban.
 
Around the NEC
Heading into the second weekend of conference play, Saint Francis remains the only undefeated team after its three-game sweep of LIU. Fairleigh Dickinson and Bryant are the only programs with a 2-1 record after the Knights took two-of-three against Central Connecticut and the Bulldogs took two-of-three against Sacred Heart. Merrimack and Mount St. Mary's split its two-game series, while Wagner was the only team that has not started conference play. Wagner is set to open conference play against Mount St. Mary's, while Sacred Heart has the week off from conference play and will face UMass Lowell.
 
Saban Earns NFCA Top Performer Recognition
Mekenzie Saban was named a National Fastpitch Coaches' Association Top Performer on March 22. She went 7-for-9 with seven runs scored, three doubles, one home run and one RBI in a three-game sweep of LIU to open conference play. She set a new program record with her 53rd-career double in the first game of the series. The Top Performer selection is the third of her career after she was selected twice last season.
 
Saban Named NEC Player of the Week, Three Prime Performers
Mekenzie Saban earned Northeast Conference Player of the Week and Madeline Barnes and Grace Vesco joined Saban as NEC Prime Performers on March 22. Saban hit .778 in the series after a perfect 6-for-6 day with five runs scored and three doubles in a Saturday doubleheader sweep. Barnes earned her selection after she went 3-for-5 with three runs scored, two home runs and five RBIs in Sunday's win. She hit a game-tying three-run home run in the fourth inning and walk-off two-run home run in the sixth inning. Vesco earned her honor after she allowed two earned runs on four hits with nine strikeouts in nine innings pitched.
 
Saban Sets New Program Record for Career Doubles
Mekenzie Saban hit her 53rd-career double during a March 19 win against LIU to set a new program record. She entered the game three doubles shy of setting the record and hit all-three in the same game. Her performance broke Taylor Parsons' record of 52 doubles set from 2012-15.
 
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 head back on the road with a trip to Bryant on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3.