LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University softball split a doubleheader against Mount St. Mary's on Wednesday. The Mountaineers won game one 2-1 while the Red Flash won in game two 5-2 to even the series.
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
» Rachel Marsden earned the game two win after she allowed two runs on six hits with no walks and four strikeouts. She hit a solo home run during the 5-2 win.
» Grace Vesco took the loss in game one after she allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
» Olivia Ulam hit her third home run of the season with a solo shot in game two.
» Saint Francis head coach Jessica O'Donnell won her 100th game with the Red Flash.
» Mount St. Mary's Abigayle Perry went 1-for-3 with two RBIs in the Mountaineers' game one victory.
 
FLASH QUOTES
"It felt really good to hit the home run after I haven't been hitting as well as I've wanted to. I try to go up there and help my teammates out and not think too much in the box. We need to keep the momentum from the second game into tomorrow."– Freshman Ulam on her home run and how the team can win game three.
 
"We were overthinking in the first game and you can't go into the box overthinking. With the preparation that was put in, they knew the pitches they would get and just need to stop thinking up there and trust their mechanics and work they put in." – Coach O'Donnell on trusting the mechanics at the plate.
 
"It feels good, but for me it is more of testament to the players that have come through the program. The players are the ones that go out and play the game and I'm proud of them and the work they put in. They trust me to be their head coach and trust me in different game mentality aspects. I'd also like to thank my mentors, former coaches I've worked with and administration that trusted me and brought me in here to lead the program. They all guided and trained me to be the best head coach I could be." – Coach O'Donnell on the 100th win of her head coaching career with Saint Francis.
 
TURNING POINTS OF THE GAME – GAME 1
» After two scoreless innings to start the series, Mount St. Mary's loaded the bases with one out in the third. Vesco escaped the jam with a one-out strikeout and two-out groundout and kept the game scoreless.
» In the fourth, the Mountaineers scored the game's first run after Julia Vincent, a pinch runner, scored on a sacrifice bunt. Mount St. Mary's added another run on a sacrifice groundout in the sixth inning and took a 2-0 lead.
» Saint Francis loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth before Jordan Frank hit an RBI infield single and cut the deficit to 2-1. The next at-bat, Ulam flied out to the warning track in left-center field.
» With Saint Francis unable to tie the game in the seventh inning, Mount St. Mary's clinched its 2-1 game two victory.
 
TURNING POINTS OF THE GAME – GAME 2
» Saint Francis opened the game two scoring with a Lauren Aubry infield single that resulted in a Mountaineers' throwing error that scored two runs.
» In the fourth inning, Marsden and Ulam hit back-to-back solo home runs and extended the Saint Francis lead to 4-0.
» Mount St. Mary's responded with a two-run single in the fifth inning and cut the Saint Francis lead to 4-2. Saint Francis scored another run in the sixth inning with an Ashley Wruble infield single and extended the lead to 5-2.
» The Mountaineers were only able to produce one baserunner in the final two inning before Saint Francis clinched its 5-2 game two victory.

FLASH NUGGETS
» Coach O'Donnell earned her 100th win with Saint Francis which also marked her 100th collegiate win as a head coach. She has a 235-199-2 Division I record between her stint with Saint Francis and as an assistant coach with Villanova.
» Vesco took sole possession of fifth in Saint Francis history with 354-career strikeouts.
» Marsden took the Northeast Conference lead with her 27th RBI this season. She remains tied with Sacred Heart's Alyssa Gonzalez for the Northeast Conference lead with 10 home runs.

UP NEXT
Saint Francis and Mount St. Mary's play a crucial third game of the series on Thursday, April 21 at 12 p.m.