WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Saint Francis softball dropped its first game of the 2026 season to the Ohio University Bobcats, 16-2, on Friday afternoon at Cyrill Softball Stadium in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
The ultimate turning point of the game came right out of the gate in the top of the first inning when the Bobcats began swinging, stringing together back-to-back doubles and a bases-loaded walk to take an early 2-0 lead. From that point on, the Red Flash were unable to significantly cut into the deficit or take the lead for the remainder of the five-inning game.
FLASH MOMENTSÂ
Despite a quick first trip through the Saint Francis lineup, senior Haley Brag reached base on an error by the second baseman, putting a runner on in the bottom of the third inning. This set up the Red Flash's only scoring opportunity in today's first game, as senior Aliya Garroway clobbered her second career home run to deep left field, putting Saint Francis on the board and cutting Ohio's lead to 14-2.
The only other Red Flash hit came from graduate student Emma Hicks in the bottom of the fourth inning for her first career hit at Saint Francis, advancing sophomore Grace Dias to second base before the end of the inning.
Starting pitcher sophomore Olivia Kolowitz pitched 1.1 innings before freshmen Ella Zoss and Zoe Kesterson made their debuts in relief. Zoss pitched for two innings, followed by Kesterson for 1.3 innings, with both recording a strikeout.
ON DECK
The Saint Francis Red Flash softball team is back in action later today as they take on South Carolina Upstate at 3 p.m. at Cyrill Softball Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C., on ESPN+.
