LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis University softball is set to conclude the 2024 regular season at home May 4-5 against Merrimack. The Red Flash will honor seniors Lauren Aubry, Sydney Baker, Lexi Hernandez, Rachel Marsden, Ashley Orischak, Ashley Wruble, Grace Vesco and student manager Madeline Barnes ahead of the game on Sunday, May 5.
 
Saint Francis Quick Hits
» Marsden was named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top Performer and earned both Northeast Conference Player and Pitcher of the Week on April 30. She allowed just three hits in 13.0 innings pitched last week and extended her scoreless innings streak to 25. She is also on a current career-long seven-game hitting streak and is 12-for-20 with six runs scored and five RBIs during the stretch.
» Vesco heads into the final conference weekend atop the NCAA Division I with just 3.06 hits allowed per seven innings. Her 1.28 ERA is 11th in the country and her 155 strikeouts is 34th.
» Orischak is tied for the conference lead with a .360 batting average and leads the conference with a .536 on-base percentage, which is 11th in Division I.
» Olivia Ulam's 18 doubles this season are tied for ninth in Division I. The mark is also one shy of tying fifth in single-season program history. She continues to pace the NEC with 37 runs scored and 46 RBIs.
» Savannah Nash is on a current career-long 11-game hitting streak, which is tied with Ashley Wruble for the longest in a career of any active Red Flash player. Nash is second in the conference with 40 RBIs and third with 35 runs scored. She also leads Saint Francis with seven home runs.
» Saint Francis is ninth in Division I with a 1.81 pitching staff ERA.
 
Last Time Out
Saint Francis took a series sweep over Wagner to improve its conference record to 21-0. The weekend started with a 5-1 Red Flash win that featured one unearned run on two hits allowed by Vesco in 6.2 innings pitched. Saint Francis followed with a 4-0 victory in the second game behind a two-run Marsden triple in the sixth inning, followed by an Annabelle Farmer RBI single. The series concluded with a 7-1 win in game three and Wagner scored its only run of the game in the seventh inning on a bases-loaded walk. Saint Francis allowed just five hits in the series. The game one victory clinched Saint Francis its fourth consecutive outright NEC Regular Season title. The game three win raised the season total to 34, which is tied for fifth in single-season program history.
 
Scouting Merrimack
The Warriors enter the final weekend of the season 19-31 overall and 12-9 in conference play. Merrimack currently occupies the No. 4 spot in the NEC standings and holds a one-game lead over Central Connecticut for the final NEC Tournament spot. Central Connecticut took a 2-1 series win over Merrimack April 20-21. Ellen Hubbard leads the program with a .351 batting average, .429 on-base percentage and 12 doubles. Madison Cerpa is second in the NEC with nine home runs and fourth with 34 RBIs. Courtney Lanpher adds a team-high 31 runs scored and is second with 20 RBIs. Madie Fornwalt paces the pitching staff with a 3.44 ERA, 10 wins and 115 strikeouts in 146.1 innings pitched.
 
All-Time vs. Merrimack
Saint Francis holds a 10-1 all-time advantage over Merrimack since the Warriors reclassified to Division I ahead of the 2020 season. Merrimack won the most recent meeting 2-1 during the first game of last year's NEC Tournament. Saint Francis outscored Merrimack 66-20 during its 10-game winning streak from 2021-23.
 
Around the NEC
Saint Francis (21-0) earned the outright NEC Regular Season title after a series sweep of Wagner (3-18). LIU (14-7) took a series victory over Merrimack (12-9). Sacred Heart (16-8) took a series victory over Le Moyne (8-13) in its final conference series of the season. Both LIU and Sacred Heart clinched a berth in the NEC Tournament. FDU (8-13) swept Stonehill (3-18) to wrap up last weekend's action. Central Connecticut (11-10) was idle last weekend from conference play. The conference regular season concludes with Le Moyne at LIU, FDU at Wagner, Merrimack at Saint Francis and FDU at Wagner.

Next
Saint Francis is set to host the NEC Tournament May 9-11, with its first-round opponent still to be determined based on this weekend's results.