LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University softball heads to Sacred Heart for a three-game series starting with a doubleheader on Friday, April 14 at 2 p.m. The series was moved up to Friday and Saturday after inclement weather in the Sunday forecast.
 
Saint Francis Quick Hits
» Grace Vesco earned her first NFCA Top Performer and fourth Northeast Conference Pitcher of the Week on April 11. She leads the team with 11 wins, 145 strikeouts and a .181 batting average against in 124.1 innings pitched. She is six strikeouts away from entering the top-five in single-season program history. She enters the weekend tied for the program record with 52 career wins and is 31 strikeouts shy of the career program record.
» Reigning NEC Player of the Week Rachel Marsden leads the Red Flash with 22 runs scored, six home runs and 21 RBIs. She also leads the team with a 2.52 ERA in 89 innings pitched.
» Jordan Pietrzykoski paces the team with a .336 batting average, three triples and adds 21 runs scored, seven doubles and 14 RBIs. She has a hit in 13 of the last 14 games and is 22-for-46 (.478) during that span.
» As a team, Saint Francis is second in the NEC with a 2.72 ERA and leads with 250 strikeouts and a .209 batting average against. At the plate, the Red Flash lead the NEC with nine triples – more than double any other team.  

Last Time Out
Saint Francis took a 4-0 loss to Pitt at home on April 11. After Vesco escaped a bases-loaded jam with one out in the second inning, Pitt recorded the first run with a home run in the third inning. In the bottom half, Saint Francis had runners on first and third with two outs but Pitt escaped the jam. In the fifth inning, Pitt hit a two-run home run and extended its lead to 3-0. Saint Francis had runners on first and second in the bottom half before Pitt made a pitching change after one out was recorded and escaped another jam. The Panthers added another run with an RBI single in the seventh before clinching its four-run victory.
 
Scouting Sacred Heart
The Pioneers enter the series with a 13-20 overall and 5-7 conference record this season. Sacred Heart has won four of its last six games, which included one victory over second-place Central Connecticut. Alyssa Gonzalez leads the team with 11 home runs, 25 RBIs and adds a .322 batting average. Carly Koltko leads Sacred Heart with a .392 batting average and Amy Petrovich leads with 23 runs scored. As a team the Pioneers lead the conference with a .263 batting average 151 runs scored and 32 home runs. Emily Heath leads the pitching staff with a 2.47 ERA in 39.2 innings pitched, while Sam Kowalski carries a 4.48 ERA and leads the team with five runs, nine complete games and 81 strikeouts in 89 innings pitched.
 
All-Time vs. Sacred Heart
Saint Francis owns a 29-15 all-time record over Sacred Heart since the first meeting in 2000. The Red Flash are on a current five-game winning streak and have won 12 of the last 14 meetings. The upcoming series marks Saint Francis' first time visiting Sacred Heart since the 2018 season.
 
Around the NEC
Saint Francis sits atop the NEC standings with a 10-2 record, while Central Connecticut and LIU follow at 8-4. Merrimack is the only other team above-.500 with its 7-5 record, followed by Fairleigh Dickinson, Sacred Heart and Wagner at 5-7. Stonehill rounds out the standings 0-12, as it still seeks its first win as a member of the NEC. Saint Francis visits Sacred Heart, LIU visits Stonehill, Wagner visits Merrimack and Central Connecticut visits Fairleigh Dickinson in NEC action this weekend.  

Next
Saint Francis kicks off a seven-game homestand with a doubleheader against Robert Morris on Tuesday, April 18 at 1 p.m.