WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Saint Francis softball fell to CCSU, 22-8, in game three despite late-inning efforts Sunday afternoon at Red Flash Softball Field in Loretto, Pennsylvania. Sophomore Sofia Zielinski set a career high with her tenth home run of the year.
FLASH MOMENTS
Today's game began much like the previous contests in the series, with Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) coming out swinging in the top of the first inning, scoring five runs on three hits to put the Red Flash in an early bind. Despite the score, the Saint Francis offense refused to quit, scoring in the bottom of the inning thanks to an RBI single by sophomore Morgan Pasternak, trimming the deficit to 5-1. In the next inning, junior Aliya Garroway tallied her fourth RBI of the year with a single to right-center, reducing the deficit to 11-2.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Red Flash scored for the third consecutive inning after senior Annabelle Farmer hit her fourth home run of the year, making the score 15-3. The Red Flash bats truly ignited during the bottom of the fourth inning. In that frame, Saint Francis racked up three hits while driving in five runs. This was aided by junior Olivia Kolowitz, who sent her third home run of the year over the right-field wall to pull closer to the CCSU lead at 15-8. However, the late-inning heroics were no match for the Blue Devils' lineup, which scored seven runs in the top of the fifth inning to run-rule the Red Flash with a final score of 22-8.
FLASH NUGGETSÂ
Despite the loss, the Red Flash were able to tie and even break some career milestones. Starting in the bottom of the fourth inning, Farmer's left-field blast helped her tie her career high for most home runs in a season with four. This personal best was set just last year, the same season in which the catcher secured a spot on the Second All-NEC team. The other milestone came the very next inning when Zielinski broke her career high in home runs with a missile in the bottom of the fifth, giving her a new career high of ten homers. Additionally, this marks just the 19th time in program history that the Red Flash have had a player hit 10 or more home runs in a season, dating back to 1999.
ON DECK
The Saint Francis softball team returns to action tomorrow, March 21, as it concludes its three-game set against CCSU with a getaway game at Red Flash Softball Field in Loretto, Pa. The first pitch is slated for noon.
