Saint Francis announced the hiring of Beth Krysiak as the 13th softball head coach in program history in August 2023.
2024
In her first season at the helm of the program, Krysiak led Saint Francis to the NEC Tournament title and NEC Regular Season title behind a perfect 27-0 record against Northeast Conference teams. As a result, Krysiak and assistant coaches Mel Savala and Ry Godde were named the third NEC Coaching Staff of the Year in program history.
Saint Francis finished the conference season with a 24-0 conference record, its most conference wins in a season, followed by victories all-three NEC Tournament games by a 29-4 scoring margin. The Red Flash earned a No. 3 seed in the Austin Regional and defeated Siena 1-0 on May 18 to earn its second NCAA Tournament Regional win in program history.
The Red Flash finished second in program history with 41 wins overall. Saint Francis also tied its best 10-game start to a season in program history with a 9-1 record. The non-conference schedule featured a 6-3 extra-inning victory over Big Ten opponent Nebraska on March 9.
In the program rankings as a team, Saint Francis finished first in strikeouts thrown (352), second in batting average (.303) and stolen bases (100), third in ERA (1.81), fourth in hits (440) and runs scored (313) and fifth in RBIs (280) and doubles (76).
Grace Vesco set a program record with 201 strikeouts and ranked third with 20 wins and a 1.28 ERA. She finished the 2024 season atop the NCAA Division I with 2.97 hits allowed per seven innings and her ERA ranked third. Kaylie Walters set a program record with 29 stolen bases and finished tied for second with 45 walks. She led Division I freshmen in walks and ranked 15th overall, while her stolen bases ranked 17th overall.
Ashley Orischak set a program record with a .550 on-base percentage that ranked sixth in Division I. She also led the nation with a program-record 28 hit by pitches. Olivia Ulam finished second with 445 putouts and tied for fifth with 19 doubles. Rachel Marsden finished the season tied for fifth in program history with 19 wins.
Under Krysiak’s guidance, Saint Francis earned a program-record four NFCA All-Region and 11 All-NEC selections. Vesco was named NFCA First Team All-Region (P), NEC Pitcher of the Year, First Team All-NEC (P) and CSC Academic All-District. Marsden earned NFCA Second Team All-Region (UTIL/P), First Team All-NEC (P and DP) and CSC Academic All-District. Ulam earned NFCA Second Team All-Region (1B), First Team All-NEC (1B) and CSC Academic All-District. Savannah Nash was named NFCA Third Team All-Region (OF) and First Team All-NEC (OF). Orischak earned First Team All-NEC (2B) and CSC Academic All-District. Walters was named First Team All-NEC (SS) and NEC All-Rookie Team. Ashley Wruble earned Second Team All-NEC (OF) and CSC Academic All-District, while Annabelle Farmer was named Second Team All-NEC (C). Aliya Garroway earned NEC All-Rookie Team honors.
Before Saint Francis
Krysiak joined Saint Francis after she spent four seasons at Columbia University, where she worked primarily with pitching. During her tenure, she coached 2023 All-Ivy Second Team selection pitcher Raquel Reyes and 2022 All-Ivy Honorable Mention pitcher Jordan Hill. Columbia totaled 11 All-Ivy selections during Krysiak's stint with the program.
Prior to her time at Columbia, Krysiak spent the 2019 season at Carnegie Mellon as the pitching coach after a five-year stint at the University of Dallas as the head coach. During her tenure with Dallas, she brought the Crusaders on its deepest Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament run in program history in 2016. Dallas was a two-time 20-win program under Krysiak.
She began her coaching career in 2010 as a graduate assistant at Ottawa University and spent time as an assistant at Buena Vista University and Prairie View A&M before Dallas.
Krysiak earned her Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Ottawa in 2012 and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Bachelor of Science in Health and Exercise Science in 2010 from Centenary College of Louisiana. She was a five-year member of the softball team at Centenary.
What They Are Saying About Beth Krysiak
Jenny Allard – Softball Head Coach at Pitt
"I am excited that Saint Francis has selected Beth as their new head coach. She is a respected colleague, a passionate coach and strong developer of student- athletes. I am excited to follow Saint Francis under her leadership."
Angela Churchill – Softball Head Coach at Seton Hall
"I'm really excited for Beth and this opportunity for her to lead the SFU softball program. She is an up-and-coming young coach who is driven and passionate about growing the next generation of young women. Her knowledge of the game and determination to succeed will lead the SFU program in the right direction. Not only is she a great coach but she's an even better person who lifts up anyone around her."
