LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University softball prepares to open the 2023 season at the Buzz Classic in Atlanta from Feb. 10-12. The Red Flash will face two opponents who received votes in preseason polls, Georgia Tech and North Texas, and two other opponents, UConn and UIC.
 
Saint Francis Quick Hits
» Saint Francis pitcher Rachel Marsden returns as the reigning NEC Pitcher of the Year. She was also named NFCA All-Region P/UTIL, All-NEC First Team Pitcher and All-NEC Second Team Designated Player. She had a 2.28 ERA, 20 wins, 144 strikeouts in 187 innings pitched and added 13 home runs and 35 RBIs as a hitter.
» Grace Vesco was selected a NFCA Third Team All-Region pitcher and First Team All-NEC pitcher during her junior season. She led Saint Francis with a 2.03 ERA, 162 strikeouts and a .187 batting average against in 155 innings pitched. She enters the season fifth in program history with 401 strikeouts and is one win outside the top five with 41.
» Olivia Ulam was an All-NEC First Team first baseman last season as a freshman and she hit .293 with eight doubles, five home runs and 20 RBIs. She also set a single-season program record with 450 putouts after she started all-55 games.
» Jordan Pietrzykoski ranked second on the team with a .331 batting average, 35 runs scored and led the team with 13 stolen bases on 15 attempts.
» Ashley Wruble ranked second on the team last season with a .444 on-base percentage and was one of four hitters to bat at least .300.

Last Time Out
Saint Francis participated in the NCAA Regionals at No. 3 Virginia Tech where they fell 4-0 to the Hokies and 4-0 to Miami (Ohio). In the first game, the Red Flash were no-hit in a 17-strikeout effort by back-to-back ACC Pitcher of the Year Keely Rochard. A few weeks prior to the NCAA Regionals, Rochard was selected second in the Athletes Unlimited Softball Draft. In the loss to Miami (Ohio) both teams recorded five hits each, but the RedHawks hit three home runs to earn the victory.
 
Scouting Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech enters the weekend receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Yellow Jackets went 38-18 overall, which included a 24-6 record at home, and 11-13 in ACC play last season. Georgia Tech played three common opponents as Saint Francis last season, Clemson, Furman and Penn State and went 3-3, while Saint Francis went 1-3 against those teams. Catcher Emma Kauf leads the Yellow Jackets as a Preseason All-ACC selection and was ranked a top 10 catcher in the NCAA Division I by D1Softball and Extra Inning Softball. She hit .360 with 37 runs scored, 25 doubles, six home runs, 37 RBIs and 19 walks last season. Georgia Tech returns its top three pitchers from last season led by Blake Neleman, who had a 2.51 ERA with 15 wins, 11 complete games, 220 strikeouts and a .203 batting average against in 184.1 innings pitched.
 
Scouting North Texas
The Mean Green enter the weekend receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Coaches' Poll and earned a No. 24 rank in the D1Softball Preseason Top 25. North Texas won its first Conference USA Championship last season and went 2-2 in the NCAA Regionals with wins over Fordham, 5-3, and Nebraska, 3-0. Kailey Gamble was ranked the No. 96 player in the D1Softball Preseason D100 and Extra Inning Softball Extra Elite 100. Last season she hit .327 and ranked top five in Conference USA with 16 home runs and 52 RBIs. Ashley Peters leads returning North Texas pitchers with a 2.43 ERA, 20 wins and 156 strikeouts in 172.2 innings pitched.
 
Scouting UConn
The Huskies enter the weekend with a 38-18 overall and 20-4 conference record in a season that ended in a 3-0 loss against Villanova in the Big East Championship. UConn was selected third in the Big East Preseason Coaches' Poll and received two first-place votes. 2022 all-conference players Lexi Hastings and Jana Sanden lead Huskies' returners. Hastings had a .318 batting average with 36 runs scored, 10 doubles and 26 RBIs, while Sanden had 12 doubles, five home runs and 37 RBIs. UConn lost its top two pitchers by ERA from last season, but returns Meghan O'Neil's 2.84 ERA, 13 wins and 131 strikeouts in 128.1 innings pitched.
 
Scouting UIC
The Flames enter the weekend after 13-32 overall and 10-15 conference record in 2022. UIC and Saint Francis played one common opponent in 2022, IUPUI, and the Flames went 2-1 against them while the Red Flash went 2-0 in five-inning wins. Maica Ingles leads returning players with a .296 batting average and added 30 runs, three doubles, three triples and 18 walks. Alyssa McIntosh leads the pitching staff with a 3.70 ERA and added three complete games in 64.1 innings pitched.

All-Time vs. Georgia Tech
Saturday's matchup is the first between Saint Francis and Georgia Tech in program history. During head coach Jessica O'Donnell's previous four seasons, the Red Flash hold a 2-4 record against ACC teams with a 6-3 win over Syracuse in 2011 and an 11-3 win over Pitt in 2019.
 
All-Time vs. North Texas
Saint Francis and North Texas hold a 1-1 record against each other after a series split in 2017. North Texas won its game 2-0 before Saint Francis won 11-2 in six innings. In the Red Flash victory, the Mean Green held a 2-0 lead after four innings before Saint Francis scored four runs in the fifth and seven runs in the sixth.
 
All-Time vs. UConn
Saint Francis won the only meeting between the two programs at a neutral site, in Oklahoma City, 4-3 on March 11, 2018. UConn held a 3-1 lead before Saint Francis scored three runs in the top of the seventh and took its one-run victory.
 
All-Time vs. UIC
The Red Flash took the only all-time meeting between the programs with a 4-3 eight-inning win in Rock Hill, S.C. on Feb. 28, 2021. Current Saint Francis outfielder Sydney Baker led the game with a 3-for-3 effort at the plate while Vesco recorded 10 strikeouts in the win.

Next
Saint Francis continues its tournament portion of the schedule from Feb. 17-19 at the Phoenix Classic in Elon, N.C.