LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University softball is set for its second meeting of the season with Penn State on Tuesday, April 23 at 6 p.m.
 
Saint Francis Quick Hits
» Olivia Ulam has seven multi-hit efforts in the last 10 games and owns a .355 batting average. She leads the Northeast Conference with 36 runs scored, 15 doubles, 44 RBIs and is tied for sixth with six home runs.
» Rachel Marsden earned the second no-hitter of her career in a five-inning victory over FDU on April 20. She lowered her ERA to 1.94, which is tied for second in the NEC, and she ranks second with a .203 batting average against. Her 97 strikeouts rank seventh in the conference.
» Grace Vesco paces the NEC with a 1.39 ERA and she owns a 0.61 mark through 57.1 innings in conference play. Overall, she leads the NEC with a .129 batting average against and is second with 136 strikeouts.
» Lexi Hernandez has five home runs in the last seven games and has 11 RBIs during the stretch. She is tied for the team lead with six home runs and is tied for third on the team with 25 RBIs.
» Savannah Nash ranks third on the team with a .346 batting average and is third in the NEC with 31 runs scored. Her 35 RBIs rank second in the conference.
» After being hit by six pitches in the FDU series, Ashley Orischak now leads the NCAA Division I with 22 this season. She is fifth in the country with a .554 on-base percentage.
 
Last Time Out
Saint Francis earned its sixth straight conference series sweep with three victories on the road at FDU. The first game of the series was a pitchers' duel that saw Nash break a scoreless tie with a three-run home run in the seventh inning. Vesco had a no-hitter through 6.1 innings pitched before FDU produced a one-out single to right field. She ended the game with her fourth one-hitter of the season and a season-high 12 strikeouts. Saint Francis dominated in game two with a 14-run performance to accompany Marsden's second no-hitter of her career. She had a perfect game through 4.2 innings before FDU drew a walk. Saint Francis had a season-high 18 hits during the run-rule 14-0 victory. The series concluded with an 11-0 Saint Francis win in five innings on Sunday behind seven runs driven in via three home runs. The Red Flash continued its perfect conference season at 18-0.
 
Scouting Penn State
The Nittany Lions own a 32-12 overall record and 11-6 record in Big Ten play. Penn State has lost four of its last six games but won its last time out 10-2 over Wisconsin. Maddie Gordon leads the program at the plate with a .350 batting average, 42 runs scored, 15 doubles, 10 home runs and is second with 35 RBIs. Gaby Garcia adds a .350 batting average with nine home runs and a team-high 37 RBIs. Freshman Bridget Nemeth leads the pitching staff with a 1.51 ERA, 20-3 record and 149 strikeouts in 143.2 innings pitched. She also carries a .201 batting average against. Mady Volpe adds a 3.89 ERA with 94 strikeouts in 93.2 innings pitched. The Nittany Lions hit .296 as a team, which is fourth out of 14 programs in the Big Ten.
 
All-Time vs. Penn State
Penn State holds a 38-9 record over Saint Francis and defeated the Red Flash 2-0 this season on Feb. 23 at the Liberty Softball Classic. Saint Francis had the bases loaded with one out in the third inning tied 0-0 before a two-hour rain delay. Out of the delay, Penn State switched pitchers and shut down the Red Flash the rest of the way. The Nittany Lions are on a three-game winning streak in the series. Saint Francis last won in 2019 during a 17-13 thriller.
 
Saint Francis Earns Home Field for NEC Tournament
With its 11-0 run-rule victory on April 21, accompanied by an LIU and Merrimack loss, Saint Francis clinched home field for the NEC Tournament and at least a share of the NEC Regular Season title. The Red Flash need one more win to become outright NEC Regular Season Champions for the fourth season in a row. Saint Francis is set to host its sixth NEC Tournament in the last seven seasons May 9-11.

Next
Saint Francis returns to conference play April 27-28 at Wagner.