Softball | 12/9/2025 11:59:00 AM

Saint Francis University softball head coach Bill Vasko announced the 2026 schedule. The schedule features 53 games, including 29 non-conference contests and 24 conference tilts. The Red Flash will also host nine home games at the Red Flash Softball Field.

"Our 2026 non-conference schedule is going to challenge us early, and that's exactly what we want," Vasko said. "We're going to see a lot of really good competition early on, and those games will force us to compete, grow, and figure out who we are and where we need to continue to develop as a team. The goal is to be battle-tested and at our best when conference play begins. If we handle the early season stretch the right way, it's going to set us up to be in a great spot once we get into NEC play."

The 41st season kicks off in Spartanburg, S.C., with the Founders Classic, hosted by USC Upstate, on Feb. 6-8, featuring games against Ohio University, Towson, and host USC Upstate. Three of the first five games will be against USC Upstate, having faced each other only once before the 2026 season, when the two programs met in the Upstate Classic at the beginning of the 2020 season.

The Red Flash heads out west to California to take part in the California Baptist Tournament on Feb. 13-15. Saint Francis will battle Utah State and Hawaii on Feb. 13 before facing host California Baptist and Loyola Marymount the following day. Saint Francis wraps up the weekend tournament against Cal State Bakersfield on Feb. 15.

Following its weekend on the West Coast, Saint Francis travels to Norfolk, Virginia, on Feb. 20-22 for five games. The Red Flash face former NEC foe Quinnipiac, along with Hampton, on Feb. 20, before facing Quinnipiac for the second time in two days and Norfolk State on Feb. 21. The Loretto program concludes the three-day near Virginia Beach against Hampton on Feb. 22.

The program's final two non-conference tournaments will both take place in Texas over spring break, from Feb. 27-Mar. 1 and Mar. 6-8. The first tournament will take place on the campus of the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), where the Red Flash will play UTSA, UT Arlington, New Mexico State, and North Dakota State.

Saint Francis wraps up its spring break road trip at Texas State, where the Red Flash will participate in the final set of doubleheaders as they face both Texas State and Texas A&M on Mar. 6. The Red Flash will clash with Texas State and Tarleton on Mar. 7 before ending its time in the Lone Star State against Texas A&M on Mar. 8 in its final tuneup before league play.

"As the defending NEC champions, we know we're going to get everyone's best shot, and we welcome that," Vasko said. "Our conference is tough top to bottom, and we're going to have to compete with real intention and energy every single matchup. We look forward to embracing that challenge."

NEC play will begin at home against NEC newcomer New Haven on Mar.13-14 for a three-game set. This will be the first time in program history that the Red Flash will take on the Chargers.

Saint Francis will play three midweek doubleheaders and one solo contest, starting with a twinbill at Youngstown State on Mar. 18.

Conference play continues with Saint Francis traveling back to Loretto to face CCSU in a best-of-three series on Mar. 21-22. 

The Red Flash travels to LeMoyne for the first time in program history on Mar. 28-29 to battle the Dolphins in a three-game matchup.

Saint Francis concludes the busy month on Mar. 31 by taking on the Colonials of Robert Morris in a doubleheader at the Red Flash Softball Field.

To start the month of April, Mercyhurst travels to Loretto for the only midweek conference three-game homestand on the schedule, on Apr. 7-8.

Later that week, on Apr. 11-12, Saint Francis takes the long drive to Stonehill to take on the Skyhawks to start a five-game road trip that will also include a trip to FDU on Apr. 18-19. 

The final midweek matchup of the 2026 season takes place on Apr. 21, as Saint Francis travels to Penn State. The Red Flash looks to claim its first victory against the Nittany Lions since 2019.

Saint Francis concludes the home portion of its 2026 regular season with a three-game series against LIU on Apr. 25-26. The last time the Red Flash and the Sharks clashed was in May of last year, when the two teams met in the NEC championship, with Saint Francis coming out victorious 6-0.

The 2026 regular season wraps on the road at Wagner on May 2-3.

The Top-4 seeds advance to the NEC Tournament as the NEC regular season champion, with a double-elimination tournament on May 7-9. The Red Flash has won the NEC Tournament in seven of the last eight championships held.