ELON, N.C. – Saint Francis University softball defeated Michigan State 8-5 after it opened the day with a 4-3 loss against Elon. The day moved Saint Francis to 3-4 this season. 
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
» Rachel Marsden (1-3) allowed four runs (one earned) on four hits with eight strikeouts against Elon. At the plate she went 3-for-8 with two runs scored, one home run and three RBIs.
» Grace Vesco (2-1) earned the victory over Michigan State and allowed five runs on seven hits with 11 strikeouts.
» Jordan Pietrzykoski went 4-for-7 with one run, two RBIs and one walk.
» Ashley Wruble led Saint Francis with a .625 average (5-for-8), two runs scored and one double.
 
TURNING POINTS OF THE GAME (Elon)
» Elon scored the game's first two runs with a sacrifice fly in the first inning and an RBI double in the second. Marsden responded in the third with an RBI single and cut the deficit to 2-1.
» After two scoreless innings, Elon added to its lead with a two-run double in the fifth and took a 4-1 lead. Saint Francis' Savannah Nash walked with the bases loaded and Brianna Sawyers hit a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 4-3 in the sixth.
» In the seventh inning, Saint Francis had runners on first and second with one out but could not get the tying run across.
 
TURNING POINTS OF THE GAME (MSU)
» Marsden started Saint Francis' scoring with a two-run home run in the first inning, followed by an RBI single in the second by Pietrzykoski to open a 3-0 lead.
» In the fourth, Sawyers hit a two-run single and Pietrzykoski hit an RBI groundout and extended the lead to 6-0.
» Michigan State responded in the fifth with an RBI double, followed by an RBI single and cut into the lead 6-2. In the sixth, the Spartans added three more runs on a two-run single and a hit-by-pitch. In the sixth, Vesco got a strikeout with the bases loaded to end the inning with a 6-5 lead.
» In the seventh inning, Madelyn Wilson hit a two-run single up the middle and increased the Red Flash lead to 8-5. Michigan State's first two hitters in the bottom half reached base before Vesco retired the next three hitters and clinched the win.

FLASH NUGGETS
» Vesco moved up to fourth in program history with 423-career strikeouts and tied for 4th with her 43rd-career win. Her 11 strikeouts are the most in her last 15 starts.
» Marsden's home run was the first by a Red Flash player this season and she leads Saint Francis with four RBIs this season.
» The win over Michigan State is Saint Francis' second over a Big Ten program under head coach Jessica O'Donnell – the first on April 3, 2019 against Penn State.

UP NEXT
Saint Francis wraps up the Phoenix Classic on Sunday against Fordham at 12 p.m.