LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University softball prepares for the Austin Regional, hosted by overall No. 1-seeded Texas, from May 17-19. The Red Flash earned a No. 3 seed in the regional and will start on Friday, May 17 against Northwestern at 6:30 p.m. ET.
 
Saint Francis Quick Hits
» Saint Francis earned a No. 3 seed in an NCAA Tournament Regional for the second time in program history (2017). The 2017 team earned Saint Francis' only NCAA Tournament victory 8-4 over New Mexico State.
» Grace Vesco leads the NCAA Division I with 2.93 hits allowed per seven innings and ranks third with a 1.11 ERA. Her 190 strikeouts are tied for 22nd in the country and are seven shy of setting a new single-season program record – a record of 196 she set in 2021.
» Lexi Hernandez was named Northeast Conference Tournament MVP after she hit .455 with five runs scored, two home runs and seven RBIs. She earned at least two RBIs in all-three games. She is tied for second on the team with eight home runs and is third with 35 RBIs.
» Kaylie Walters ranks 15th overall and leads Division I freshmen with 43 walks this season. Her total is third in single-season program history and only Jordan Seneca (2017-18) has more in a season. Walters also ranks 17th in the country with 29 stolen bases, which is a Saint Francis record. The previous record was 22.
» Olivia Ulam is tied for 30th in the country with 55 RBIs and is two shy of top-five in program history. She is tied for 10th in Division I with 19 doubles and is one of four players in program history with at least 19 in a season.
» Ashley Orischak ranks seven in the country with a .545 on-base percentage that currently sits atop Saint Francis' single-season records. She leads the nation with 27 hit by pitches and also paces Saint Francis with a .392 batting average.
» Rachel Marsden leads Saint Francis offensively with nine home runs and is 43rd in the country with a 1.72 ERA.
» Saint Francis ranks fifth in Division I with a 1.67 staff ERA and is 33rd with a .309 team batting average.
 
2024 Northeast Conference Champions
Saint Francis earned its sixth NEC title in the last seven seasons after a 12-0 victory against Central Connecticut in the championship game. Saint Francis opened the tournament against the Blue Devils and was down 4-1 after four innings. Saint Francis rallied for five runs in the final two innings and then defeated Sacred Heart 11-0 in its second game. After its 4-1 deficit to Central Connecticut, Saint Francis outscored its opponents 28-0 in its final 12 tournament innings. The Red Flash allowed just 10 hits in 17 total innings played.
 
Scouting No. 1 Texas
The Longhorns earned the overall No. 1 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, one spot ahead of Big 12 foe Oklahoma, who beat Texas in the Big 12 Championship, 5-1. Texas holds a Division I-leading .379 batting average and eight-ranked 1.82 ERA. Reese Atwood leads the way with 86 RBIs, that leads the country by eight, and adds a fifth-best 22 home runs. She is one of three Longhorns' players with above a .400 averagr with a team-high .427 mark. Katie Stewart adds 12 home runs and 50 RBIs. The staff ERA category is led by Citlaly Gutierrez's 1.57 mark in 84.2 innings. Teagan Kavan leads the program with 17 wins, 101 strikeouts and a .179 batting average against in 101.1 innings pitched.
 
Scouting Northwestern
The Wildcats earned their third consecutive Big Ten Regular Season title behind a 19-3 conference record. The performance earned Northwestern an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 regional seed. The Wildcats fell in the Big Ten Quarterfinal to Indiana, 4-3. Kansas Robinson leads the program with a .397 batting average, 11 doubles, 11 home runs and 34 RBIs. Four different Northwestern players scored at least 30 runs this season, led by Kelsey Nader's 38. Emma Raye adds 10 home runs and 30 RBIs. Ashley Miller was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and ranks 11th in Division I with a 1.33 ERA and ranks seventh with 4.00 hits allowed per seven innings. She adds 167 strikeouts in 152.1 innings pitched.
 
Scouting Siena
The Saints earned an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history after a 7-6 victory over Canisius in the MAAC Championship. Siena entered the MAAC Tournament as a No. 6 seed and won four games in a row. Jocelyn Ulrich leads the way with a .429 batting average that ranks fifth in the country. Emma Peterson leads Siena with 16 doubles, seven home runs and 41 RBIs. She is one of three Saints' players hitting over .300 with her .331 batting average. Elyssa Eimont paces the pitching staff with a 1.87 ERA, 20 wins, 109 strikeouts and a .226 batting average against in 172.0 innings pitched. She earned all-four victories during the conference tournament.
 
All-Time No. 1 Texas
Saint Francis and Texas met during the 2021 NCAA Regionals when the Longhorns earned a No. 12 seed to host. The Longhorns defeated the Red Flash 12-0 in the opening game of the Austin Regional. Hernandez, Marsden and Vesco were the only three current Saint Francis players to play in the game.
 
All-Time vs. Northwestern
Saint Francis and Northwestern are set to meet for the first time in program history. The Wildcats will be Saint Francis' fifth Big Ten game of the season after two games against Nebraska and Penn State each. Saint Francis defeated Nebraska 6-3 in extra innings this season on March 9. Big Ten opponents hold a narrow 15-14 scoring margin over the Red Flash this season.  
 
All-Time vs. Siena
Saint Francis holds a 3-1 advantage over Siena, which included two victories over the Saints 4-1 in the season opener on Feb. 9 and 4-3 on Feb. 11. The programs faced off at the CSU Kickoff Tournament hosted by Charleston Southern. Prior to this season, Saint Francis defeated Siena in 2009, 11-5, and the Saints won its only game of the matchup in 2012, 9-3.

Next
The winner of the Austin Regional will face the winner of the College Station Regional in the Super Regionals, a best of three series, May 24-25. The College Station Regional consists of host Texas A&M, Texas State, Penn State and UAlbany.
 
Austin Regional Full Schedule
Friday, May 17
Game 1 – No. 4 Siena vs. No. 1 Texas (4 p.m. ET)
Game 2 – No. 3 Saint Francis vs. No. 2 Northwestern (6:30 p.m. ET)
 
Saturday, May 18
Game 3 – Winner G2 vs. Winner G1 (1 p.m. ET)
Game 4 – Loser G1 vs. Loser G2 (3:30 p.m. ET)
Game 5 – Winner G4 vs. Loser G3 (6 p.m. ET)
 
Sunday, May 19
Game 6 – Winner G5 vs. Winner G3 (TBD)
Game 7 – Winner G6 vs. Loser G6 (TBD) – If necessary