LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University softball has its second weekend tournament of the season Feb. 17-19 at the Phoenix Classic in Elon, N.C. The Red Flash will face Elon, Fordham, James Madison and Michigan State.
 
Saint Francis Quick Hits
» Jordan Pietrzykoski led the Red Flash with a .333 batting average and added one run, one double and two walks. She was named a Northeast Conference Prime Performer for the third time in her career.
» Rachel Marsden (1-1) allowed seven earned runs in 15.2 innings pitched with 11 walks and 23 strikeouts over the weekend. She threw a complete seven innings and allowed no earned runs on four hits with a career-high-tying 12 strikeouts against UIC.
» Grace Vesco (1-1) went eight innings and allowed one run on three hits with nine strikeouts in a start against UIC before she allowed four runs in one-third inning against Georgia Tech. She is currently at 411-career strikeouts, which is five away from sole possession of fourth place in program history.

Last Time Out
Saint Francis went 2-2 at its season-opening weekend at the Buzz Classic in Atlanta. The Red Flash swept its two games against UIC and lost its games against Georgia Tech and North Texas, who both received votes in national rankings. Saint Francis defeated UIC 2-1 in extra innings after Pietrzykoski scored the game-winning run in the eighth inning. The loss against North Texas came in five innings.
 
Scouting Elon
The Phoenix hold a 1-4 record this season with their only win an 8-7 victory over N.C. Central. Bella Devesa led Elon with a 9-for-15 line, two runs scored, two doubles and three RBIs during the first five games. Three Elon players hit a home run in the first four games, while six players recorded at least two RBIs. Meredith Wells leads the pitching staff with a 2.51 ERA, 10 runs (four earned) on 16 hits and four strikeouts in 14.1 innings pitched. The Phoenix were selected fourth in the CAA Preseason Poll.
 
Scouting Fordham
The Rams enter the weekend with a 1-4 record with its only win against Prairie View A&M. During its NFCA Leadoff Classic appearance, Fordham lost 9-0 in six innings to No. 21 Auburn and 13-3 in six innings to Missouri, who received votes. Freshman Holly Beeman was named the Athletic 10 Pitcher of the Week after she threw a one-hitter with six strikeouts in the victory over Prairie View A&M. Julia Martine led the Rams with a .294 batting average, three runs, two home runs and three RBIs over the weekend. The Rams advantaged to the NCAA Regionals last season after winning its ninth conference title in program history.
 
Scouting James Madison
The Dukes have an 0-2 record after three games of its opening weekend in Charleston, S.C. were canceled. The team suffered a 4-3 loss to Chattanooga and a 2-0 loss to Indiana State. Reed Butler led the team with two doubles, while Kaylee Gleason also recorded two hits and one run. Lexi Rodgers led the pitching staff with a complete game against Chattanooga and allowed the two runs on three hits with five strikeouts. The Dukes were picked fifth in the Sun Belt Preseason Poll and Hannah Shifflett was selected to the Preseason All-Conference team.  
 
Scouting Michigan State
The Spartans enter the weekend with a 3-2 record, with its only losses 4-0 to Texas A&M and 3-1 to Northern Kentucky. Camryn Wincher led the team with a .417 batting average, three runs scored, one double, two RBIs and four walks. Zaquai Dumas hit the only Michigan State home run and Mandy Esman led the team with five RBIs. In three starts and four appearances, Ashley Miller leads the pitching staff with a 1.47 ERA, 20 hits, one walk and 29 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched.

All-Time vs. Elon
Elon holds a 2-1 all-time advantage since the first meeting, a 10-2 Phoenix win, in 2007. The programs met twice last season and split the series 1-1. Elon won the first matchup 3-2 on Feb. 12 and Saint Francis won the last matchup 3-2 on March 13. In the last meeting, Pietrzykoski led Red Flash returners with a 2-for-4 mark hitting, while Marsden threw a complete game and allowed one earned run on four hits with eight strikeouts.
 
All-Time vs. Fordham
Fordham holds an 8-3 mark over Saint Francis since the first matchup in 2001. Nine of the 11 games played between the program came between the 2001-04 seasons. The last two games played between the programs, in 2017, was a 1-1 season series split on Feb. 17-18.
 
All-Time vs. James Madison
James Madison has a 9-2 all-time record against Saint Francis since the first matchup in 2002, which was a 2-1 Red Flash win. The Dukes are on a current six-game winning streak in the series. The programs last played in 2016 when James Madison was ranked 10th in the NCAA and the Dukes took a 5-0 win.
 
All-Time vs. Michigan State
Michigan State is 3-0 against Saint Francis since its 16-0 victory in the first matchup played in 2003. The programs last faced in 2019 when the Spartans took both games played on March 1-2 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Next
Saint Francis heads back to North Carolina for a Feb. 24-26 trip at the ECU Tournament, where the Red Flash face Bucknell, East Carolina and Radford.