LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University softball took a 3-0 win over Mount St. Mary's to clinch a 2-1 series victory over the Mountaineers. The win moved the Red Flash to 13-2 in conference play this season.
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
» Rachel Marsden pitched a complete game and allowed no runs on four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts. She hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning as a batter.
» Madeline Barnes went 2-for2 and produced the game's first run with a solo home run in the sixth inning.
» Lindsay Ward scored one run for Saint Francis, while Mekenzie Saban and Olivia Ulam each recorded one hit.
» Mount St. Mary's Brianna Manni went 2-for-2 with one stolen base.
 
FLASH QUOTES
"Maddie started us with a home run and we're the type of team that starts to hit once one person does. I know going up there for my final at-bat that I could get it done and the energy from Maddie's home run definitely helped. Today was a big confidence and momentum builder heading into the final weeks."– Junior Marsden on the magnitude of Barnes' home run and the series victory.
 
"I went up there looking for a changeup because I knew she was using it to get ahead in counts and my goal was to just hit the ball hard. The win was a huge confidence boost, especially against a good team like them." – Junior Barnes on her home run and the series win.
 
"The team gets fired up when someone gets a big hit and we have to find a way to continuously find that energy. Maddie had a day today, throwing out a runner that completely took away their momentum and then heading up to the plate with the home run. She was seeing the pitcher well and she had all the confidence." – Head coach Jessica O'Donnell on the spark Barnes provided for the team.
 
"With Mount coming in as the second seed, this series gives us a lot of confidence. We knew they were going to be a good team and we were going to have three tough games."– Coach O'Donnell on the confidence this series win provides.
 
TURNING POINTS OF THE GAME
» The game started with two hitless innings before Mount St. Mary's Manni produced the first hit in the third. Saint Francis had runner on the corners in the bottom half but could not produce a run.
» In the fifth inning, the Mountaineers had two runners on base but Marsden produced a groundout. Barnes threw out pinch runner Julia Vincent when she tried to steal second in the sixth inning and ignited the Red Flash offense in the bottom half.
» Barnes led off the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run that gave Saint Francis a 1-0 lead. Marsden followed later in the inning with a two-run home run and extended the lead to 3-0.
» With Mount St. Mary's unable to score in the seventh inning, Saint Francis clinched its 3-0 win and series victory.

FLASH NUGGETS
» Marsden hit her conference-leading 11th home run and produced her 29th RBI of the season. She lowered her ERA to 2.20 and earned her 16th victory of the season.
» Barnes hit her fourth home run of the season and second in the past four games. Four of her past 12 hits since March 20 against LIU are home runs.
» With the game three victory, Saint Francis won its 12th conference series in a row dating back to 2019.

UP NEXT
Saint Francis heads to Fairleigh Dickinson for a three-game series starting with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 23 at 1 p.m.