TUCSON, Ariz. --- The University of St. Francis softball team opened initial 1-0 leads in each end of its doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, but could not hang on in closing out its Arizona trip with a 2-1 setback to NAIA No. 15 Northwestern College (Iowa) and a 6-2 loss to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Ariz.).

Northwestern (20-2) rallied with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning after the Fighting Saints (9-7) had taken their 1-0 lead in the top half of the inning.  Embry-Riddle (12-7) broke up a 1-1 tie with three runs in the fifth inning and two more in the seventh inning.

Brittany Osborne continued her hot hitting with a pair of two-hit games, including two doubles.  Isabella Landeros added another three hits to the cause.

Game 1: Northwestern (iowa) 2, USF 1
USF put runners on base in all seven innings, but could only get Abby Sippel's first collegiate double to drive in the team's only run of the contest.  The Saints did have runners in scoring position in four of those innings, including the seventh when they put a runner at second base with only one out after they got down 2-1.  Northwestern, however, got out of the jam to gain revenge on St. Francis from its 1-0 loss five days earlier.

After being held to just three hits through the first five innings, Northwestern put 4-of-5 batters on base during one stretch in the sixth inning to put its two runs together.

Jordan Closs (3-2) was solid in the circle yet again for St. Francis, extending her streak of scoreless innings to 26 1/3 before Northwestern's tying run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Osborne and Landeros each had two hits for USF.

Game 2: Embry-Riddle 6, USF 2
USF allowed just one hit – a lead-off home run in the third inning – over the course of the first four innings before Embry-Riddle broke through with a three-run, three-hit fifth inning.  The Eagles would deliver three more hits to add a pair of insurance runs in the seventh inning.

The Saints did have their scoring opportunities in Game 2, as well, including when they scored in the first inning.  They had two runners on base with no one out, but could not add to their run count.  For the game, they would go 2-fo-10 with runners in scoring position to Embry-Riddle's 5-for-10 success rate.

Kaylie Sippel drove in Osborne for USF's two runs with a single in the first inning and a groundout in the seventh inning.  Osborne was the only Saint to record more than one hit.

Notes: The Saints finished the trip going 6-4 … Osborne, who now boasts a team-high nine multi-hit games, has reached base safely in all 16 of the team's games this year … Landeros is next in line with her ten-game streak … Between the two games, St. Francis was just 3-for-16 on the day with runners in scoring position … USF is at Cornerstone University (Mich.) for a 2 pm doubleheader on Friday.

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