The Saint Francis University bowling team took control on the opening day of the 6th Annual Mount Shootout, rolling their way to a perfect 5-0 record at the Clearview Lanes in Mount Joy, Pa., against Friday's slate of baker competition.

The Red Flash (42-42, 9-5 NEC) put on an outstanding performance to open this weekend's tournament, as they were the only team to go undefeated in baker play on Friday. However, with total pinfall determining the tournament standings, the Red Flash currently sit in fifth place in the 16-team field, trailing one team they defeated on the day and another team they have a winning record against this season.

AGAINST ALL ODDS
The performance at the Mount Shootout was unusual on a number of levels for this season's edition of the Red Flash bowling squad.

While the Flash have achieved two wins before their first defeat in multiple competitions this season, they have yet to achieve a 3-0 record to begin a tournament. They not only reached that mark today but surpassed it following their upset victory over No. 13 Mount St. Mary's in the fourth match of the day. They have the potential to surpass the five-win threshold when they face off against another five teams on Saturday.

The number of wins wasn't the only impressive feat in Friday's remarkable performance. Coming into this weekend, the Red Flash had just one tournament in which they had bowled at least four matches toppling 1,000 pins. In Friday's competition alone, the Frankies bowled four such matches to open the day, finishing just 30 pins shy in the fifth and final match of the day.

STAYING THE SAME
While fourth-year head coach Ashley Bingham has been retooling the lineup at the beginning of 2024, she found success sticking with the same five bowlers in the same order. The Red Flash featured a lineup starting with seniors Emma Meade and Marissa Metcalfe, followed by sophomores Ayanna Carroll and Mackenzie Keane, with senior Samantha Timm cleaning up the back end in the anchor role.

Each bowler had standout performances in at least one match on Friday. Timm led the steamrolling of Norfolk State by bowling ten strikes while filling nine of ten frames in the first game. Metcalfe filled all her frames against Chestnut Hill while going 5-for-5 in strikes in the seventh frame. Meade carried the load against Howard by bowling strikes in seven of her ten frames, including both frames she bowled in the 239-pin game four. Carroll starred in the win over Mount St. Mary's after filling nine of ten frames while striking on eight attempts, including her last three to secure the victory over the Mountaineers. Keane had her moment at the end of the day against Bryant, filling all ten frames while scoring five of her nine strikes in the ninth frame of Friday's final match.

The team posted some noteworthy combined numbers in each match as well. The Flash filled 2 of the five games against Norfolk State, one of which was a 279-pin performance that was capped off by a nine-strike stretch. Another pair of fully-filled games was posted against Chestnut Hill, where the team managed to put away the Griffins with games of 233 and 224 pins in the fourth and fifth games, respectively. The win over Howard featured a 239-pin showing where four of the five bowlers struck on both opportunities. The upset of No. 13 Mount St. Mary's left little room for error, and the Flash were up to the challenge, rolling three games of 200 or more pins while closing out the Mountaineers by filling the remaining necessary frames. While the win over Bryant didn't match the point total of the other matches, the team came together in the clutch to put away the Bulldogs with four strikes in the final five opportunities.

HEY, YOU FORGOT ABOUT US
The rankings for the National Tenpin Coaches Association came out earlier this week, and while many teams shuffled in the latest standings, Saint Francis was left knocking at the door for the third consecutive poll this season. While the Flash moved up a spot through votes received, they remain outside the top 25.

The bowlers appeared to use the snub as fuel heading into this weekend's competition, as the Red Flash came out firing from the first match on. While the first three matches had 100-pin margins of victory, Saint Francis managed to defeat No. 13 Mount St. Mary's as well as Bryant, a team that was holding its own among the best of the weekend's competitors.

FRIDAY'S RESULTS
SFU 1058, Norfolk State 792
SFU 1013, Chestnut Hill 913
SFU 1000, Howard 860
SFU 1037, No. 13 Mount St. Mary's 1024
SFU 971, Bryant 937

SATURDAY'S SLATE
Coppin State
Lincoln Memorial
Alvernia
No. 4 North Carolina A&T State
Kutztown

FOLLOW ALONG
The Mount Shootout, as well as most other tournaments, will be live-streamed on the team's Facebook page, and the latest updates will be posted on the team's Facebook and X pages.

For more information on the Red Flash, visit sfuathletics.com and follow RedFlashBowling on Facebook, Instagram, and X.