WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. --- The No. 5-seeded University of St. Francis softball team began NAIA National Tournament Opening Round play with a 3-1 upset win over No. 4 seed Tennessee Wesleyan University, but the Fighting Saints could not double their pleasure in falling to top-seeded and NAIA No. 4-ranked University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) by the same count later in the day on Monday.

Early scoring was the difference in both affairs with head coach Amanda Jensen's club putting up single runs in the first two innings of Game 1.  Cumberlands hung a two-spot on the Saints in the first inning of the nightcap.

Emily Boyle and Isabella Landeros each authored four hits over the two contests, while Kiersten Manning (18-9) allowed just that number of hits in each end of the twinbill.

Game 1: USF 3, Tennessee Wesleyan 1
Manning was masterful, coming up one home run in the bottom of the seventh inning short of notching her eighth shutout of the season.  After giving up a one-out single in the first inning to Tennessee Wesleyan (27-14), she retired 14 of the next 15 batters she faced before allowing a single and a walk to open the sixth inning.

Manning was able to get out of that jam with a pair of popouts and a strikeout before yielding the home run to open the seventh inning.  She then retired the next three batters to record the complete-game victory. 

Besides the home run, the junior right-hander permitted only two other runners to get into scoring position.  She finished the game allowing just the four hits, while striking out three batters against one walk.

USF took advantage of a first-inning error to score its first run.  Kylie Cook (single) came around to score on Brittany Osborne's two-out double to make it 2-0 in the second inning.

The Saints added an insurance run in the sixth inning on a two-out single up the middle by Landeros to score Boyle (single).

Kaylie Sippel, Boyle and Landeros each had two hits as part of USF's 11-hit attack.

Game 2: Cumberlands 3, USF 1
Leadoff batter Carly Oliver's home runs to open the first and third innings were the difference for Cumberland, which improved to 29-2 at home and 45-7 overall.  A second hit in the initial frame led to the Patriots second run.

For the second game in a row, Manning allowed just four hits, but did yield three walks, one of which scored.  She offset that with three strikeouts.

USF, which posted seven hits, had limited opportunities to score.  The Saints (30-15) did have a runner in scoring position in both the second and third innings, but both times came with two outs.  The only run they did score came on an error with two outs in the sixth inning.

Boyle and Landeros matched their two hits in the opener with two more in Game 2.

Notes: With the first-game victory, USF hit the 30-win mark for the second year in a row … Landeros' multi-hit contest in Game 2 was her 20th of the season … Both her and Osborne have recorded hits in eight straight games … Cumberlands is the highest-ranked team the Saints have played this season … USF was one of five No. 5 seeds to record a win in the Opening Round on Monday … St. Francis will face the winner of Tuesday morning's Tennessee Wesleyan-College of Coastal Georgia game at 3 pm later that day.           

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