LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University softball heads back to North Carolina to face three different opponents at the Pirate Clash, hosted by East Carolina. The Red Flash are scheduled for two games against the Pirates, two against Radford and one against Bucknell.
 
Saint Francis Quick Hits
» Ashley Wruble earned the first Northeast Conference Player of the Week honor of her career after she went 5-for-12 with two runs scored, one double and one RBI at the Phoenix Classic. After a hitless first weekend, her season batting average stands at .227.  
» Grace Vesco earned her first NEC Pitcher of the Week after she earned the victory over Michigan State and recorded 11 strikeouts. She has a 4.33 ERA this season, with 29 strikeouts. She is fourth in program history with 430 strikeouts in her career.
» Madelyn Wilson was named an NEC Prime Performer and was the first Red Flash freshman this season to earn a weekly award. She leads Saint Francis with a .357 batting average with two runs scored and two RBIs. Her two RBIs both came in the seventh inning against Michigan State to add insurance runs.
» Rachel Marsden leads the Red Flash with a 3.37 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched this season. She has allowed a .239 batting average against. She also hit Saint Francis' only home run of the season against Michigan State and is tied with Brianna Sawyers for the team lead with four RBIs.

Last Time Out
Saint Francis went 1-3 at the Elon Classic, with its only win an 8-5 victory over Michigan State. The win was Saint Francis' second over a Big Ten program under head coach Jessica O'Donnell after the first occurred on April 3, 2019 against Penn State. In the win, Saint Francis pulled out to a 6-0 lead in four innings before Michigan State stormed back to 6-5. After Vesco produced an inning-ending strikeout with the bases loaded in the sixth, Wilson provided two insurance runs with a single up the middle. In a 4-3 loss to Elon, the Red Flash out-hit the Phoenix 10-4 and Elon scored three of its four runs unearned. In a 3-0 loss to Fordham, both teams each recorded three hits and the Rams scored all-three of its runs in the second inning (one unearned).
 
Scouting Bucknell
Bucknell heads into the Pirate Clash with a 2-6 record with an 8-2 win over Maine and 2-0 win over Hampton. With the schedule changes doe to impending weather in the forecast, the Bison will play a doubleheader against East Carolina on Thursday. Chase Knapp leads Bucknell with a .333 batting average, three doubles, one home run and five RBIs. MaKenzie Hilling is also tied for the team lead with one home run and five RBIs and Elena Horn leads the team with five runs scored. Madison Roukey leads the pitching staff with a 2.88 ERA and 17 innings pitched, while Olivia Marinelli leads the team with 12 strikeouts in only 8.1 innings pitched.
 
Scouting East Carolina
The Pirates enter the weekend with an 8-2 overall record, which includes two run-rule victories and six wins allowing two or fewer runs. Taylor Edwards leads qualified hitters with a .379 batting average, 11 runs scored and two triples. Anna Sawyers is second on the team with a .345 batting average and leads with nine RBIs. Addy Bullis paces the pitching staff with a 0.61 ERA, 4-0 record, .185 batting average against and is tied for the lead with 16 strikeouts in 23 innings pitched. Jordan Hatch holds a 1.13 ERA, 4-1 record, 16 strikeouts and a .236 batting average against in 31 innings pitched.
 
Scouting Radford
The Highlanders hold a 4-3 record and took one win, 3-0, and one loss, 4-3, to NEC member LIU during its first weekend of play. Radford also split its games against former NEC member Bryant with a 7-4 win and 4-3 loss. Laura Thompson leads the team with a .455 batting average, eight runs scored and seven walks for a .586 on-base percentage. Abby Wilson leads with 10 RBIs and Emily Smith has two home runs. Radford has five different pitchers with at least one start this season and Malorie Reeves paces the group with seven strikeouts in 12.1 innings pitched. Ellen Palya has allowed no runs on one hit with five strikeouts and earned two saves in five appearances.

All-Time vs. Bucknell
Bucknell holds a 31-16 all-time advantage over Saint Francis since the first meeting in 1987. Saint Francis swept its doubleheader last season against the Bison with 9-0 and 6-3 victories. Marsden led all current Red Flash players in the doubleheader with a .500 batting average and had a complete-game shutout on the mound. Bucknell swept a 2020 doubleheader with Saint Francis after a five-game Red Flash winning streak between 2016-19.
 
All-Time vs. East Carolina
Saint Francis holds a 7-4 all-time record over East Carolina since the first meeting in 1996. East Carolina took the last two meetings between the programs 4-2 in 2021 and 7-5 in 2019. Marsden pitched in the last meeting in 2021 and allowed all-four runs unearned on five hits with one strikeout. Jordan Pietrzykoski added one run scored and two walks in the game. Prior to the wins by East Carolina, Saint Francis had a five-game winning streak between 2017-18.
 
All-Time vs. Radford
Saint Francis holds a 2-1 advantage over Radford since the first meeting, a 10-1 Red Flash win in 1994. The other two games played were in a doubleheader split in 2002. Radford took the first game 3-2, while Saint Francis won the last 4-1.

Next
Saint Francis is set to face four opponents at the Cavalier Clash March 3-5, hosted by Virginia.