LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University softball's Grace Vesco and Kaylie Walters earned Northeast Conference Pitcher and Rookie of the week, respectively, the conference announced on Tuesday. Savannah Nash was named an NEC Prime Performer alongside Vesco and Walters.
 
Vesco, a graduate student, had a 1.17 ERA with a 2-0 record, one complete game, five hits, three walks and 16 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched. She earned a complete-game extra innings victory over Charleston Southern where she allowed two runs (one earned) on one hit, no walks and eight strikeouts.
 
During a 4-3 victory over Siena, in which she took a no-decision, Vesco earned the 600th strikeout of her collegiate career. She entered the 2024 season already atop the program's career strikeout and win rankings. Vesco currently ranks 11th among active NCAA Division I pitchers with 602 career strikeouts.
 
Walters shined in her first collegiate weekend with a .462 batting average, five runs scored, one RBI, four walks and two strikeouts. She also went 5-for-6 on stolen base attempts. During the 4-3 victory over Siena, Walters broke a 3-3 tie with the go-ahead RBI on a single in the seventh inning.
 
Her .588 on-base percentage ranked second among NEC players and first among players with double-digit at-bats. She is tied for 11th in the NCAA Division I with her five steals and was the only NEC player to record more than two on the opening weekend.
 
Nash, a sophomore, hit .357 with two runs scored, one double, one triple and four RBIs at the CSU Kickoff Tournament. In a 4-1 victory over Siena she went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, which marked the first three-hit performance of her career.
 
Vesco earned the 13th NEC Pitcher of the Week and 18th NEC Prime Performer selection of her career. Nash earned the second NEC Prime Performer of her career.
 
Saint Francis returns to the field at the Wofford Invitational Feb. 16-18, where the Red Flash will face Northern Kentucky, Rhode Island and Wofford.