Flash Points:

• SFU Softball swept Penn State for the first time in program history on Wednesday.
• The Red Flash earned 2-0 and 1-0 (8 innings) wins over the Nittany Lions.
• Saint Francis has won 14 straight games and 29 of its last 30 to improve to 41-9 overall.
• SFU reached the 40-win mark for the first time in program history and just the third time in NEC history.
• Seniors Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) and Ketarah DeVries (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) each threw one-hit shutouts on Wednesday.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Saint Francis Softball team extended its win streak to 14 games with a sweep at Penn State on Wednesday.  The Red Flash earned a 2-0 win in game one and a 1-0 win in eight innings in game two.  Saint Francis dominated in the circle, allowing only one hit in each game.
 
The Red Flash, led by Head Coach Jennifer Patrick-Swift, improved to 41-9 overall this season.  Saint Francis has won 14 straight games and 29 of its last 30 games. 
 
SFU is now tied with Minnesota for the second-longest current win streak in Division I and is just two games behind Jacksonville State's 16-game win streak.
 
With its win in game one, Saint Francis earned its 40th win of the season.  The Red Flash reached the 40-win mark for the first time in program history and just the third NEC team to have 40 wins in a season.  SFU is the first NEC team to reach the 40-win mark since UMBC in 2003.  The NEC season record is 47 wins by the 2002 UMBC team.
 
Saint Francis earned a sweep over Penn State for the first time in program history.  The Red Flash has earned at least one win over Penn State in three of the last four seasons.
 
Seniors Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) and Ketarah DeVries (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) shut down the Penn State offense.  Santai threw seven innings in game one, allowing just one hit and striking out five batters, while DeVries went all eight innings in game two, also giving up just one hit, and striking out 10 batters. 
 
Dating back to SFU's sweep over Mount St. Mary's on April 15, the Red Flash pitching staff has allowed only four runs over its last 54 innings.  Over that same span, SFU pitchers have struck out 72 batters.
 
The Red Flash finishes the regular season this weekend with two NEC doubleheaders.  Saint Francis hosts Sacred Heart on Saturday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.  The Red Flash will honor seniors Ketarah DeVries (Forreston, Ill./Forreston), Kelsie Marconi (Lowber, Pa./Yough), Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) and Kindra Witthus (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) before the game.
 
On Sunday, SFU welcomes Wagner for a Noon twinbill.  The Red Flash has already clinched a spot in the NEC Tournament and needs just one win to clinch the top seed, and home field advantage, in the tournament.
 
First Game
Senior Ethel Santai (Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove Area) fired seven shutout innings to improve to 15-1 on the season.  Santai allowed just seven baserunners all game.  She gave up just one hit, in the third inning, and walked four batters.  Santai struck out five hitters.  The senior retired eight straight batters to end the game and had another streak of six consecutive batters retired.
 
Senior Marlaina Laubach started for Penn State.  In seven innings, Laubach gave up two runs on five hits and a walk.  She struck out four batters and had a streak of nine straight batters retired.  Laubach dropped to 9-10 on the season. 
 
Sophomore Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) had a double and an RBI to lead the SFU offense.  Sophomore Kassidy Troxell (Navarre, Ohio/Perry) went two-for-three.  Sophomore Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) hit a hit and a run, while junior Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum) scored a run and drew a walk.  Sophomore Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) also had a hit.
 
Sophomore Tori Dubois had Penn State's only hit of the game, a single to lead off the bottom of the third.
 
The Red Flash jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.  C. McKee was hit by a pitch to lead off the game.  Seneca followed by drawing a walk and Norton singled to left to load the bases.  Two batters later, sophomore S. McKee hit a sacrifice fly to right, allowing C. McKee to cross the plate.  During the next at-bat, Norton got caught in a run down between first and second, giving enough time for Seneca to score from third.
 
Saint Francis got two runners on base in the top of the fourth.  With two outs in the inning, S. McKee lined a double to left-center.  Troxell followed with an infield single to put runners on second and third for freshman Taylor Hoover (Phillipsburg, Ohio/Northmont), but a groundout ended the SFU threat.
 
Penn State had two runners on base in the bottom of the first, on a hit-by-pitch and a walk, and loaded the bases in the bottom of the second, but both innings ended on fly outs.  Only two PSU batters reached base the rest of the game.
 
Second Game
Senior Ketarah DeVries (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) followed Santai's stellar performance with one of her own.  DeVries threw eight shutout innings, striking out 10 batters, while allowing just one hit and walking two batters.  She allowed just five baserunners all game.  DeVries did not allow a hit through the first five innings.  DeVries retired 10 straight batters at one point, striking out five of those batters.  She retired nine of the final 10 batters of the game, including striking out the side in the eighth inning.
 
Sophomore Madison Shaffer started for Penn State in game two.  Shaffer gave up a run on seven hits, while striking out four batters and walking two.
 
Kassidy Troxell (Navarre, Ohio/Perry) led the Red Flash with two hits, a double and an RBI.  Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) added two hits and a run.  Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) went two-for-four with two singles.
 
Sophomore Rebecca Ziegler had Penn State's only hit of game two, a single to lead off the bottom of the sixth. 
 
Saint Francis got the game's first run in the top of the eighth.  With two outs, S. McKee lined a 1-1 pitch to the wall in right.  Troxell followed with her own line drive double to right to bring McKee home and give SFU a 1-0 advantage.
 
The Red Flash put two runners on base in the top of the first.  With two outs, Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove) was hit by a pitch.  She then stole second before Madison Cabell (Ivor, Va./Southampton) drew a walk.  However, a flyout to right by Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) ended the inning.
 
Saint Francis got one runner on base in each of the next three innings before having two batters reach base in the top of the fifth.  With two outs, Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) beat out an infield single to the shortstop.  During the next at-bat, Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum) swung through a third strike, but the strike was dropped by the catcher, allowing McKee to go to second and Seneca to reach first.  A groundout by Norton ended the SFU threat.
 
The Red Flash got a runner to third base in the top of the sixth.  With one out, Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) reached on an infield single to the shortstop.  McKee then advanced to second on a wild pitch.  A groundout by Kassidy Troxell (Navarre, Ohio/Perry) moved McKee up to third.  However, a strikeout ended the inning without SFU scoring a run.