ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Senior pitcher Kiersten Manning had a scrapbook day for the University of St. Francis softball program on Friday, picking up both wins on the mound, one of which came against NAIA No. 6-ranked Madonna University (Mich.) in a 2-1 decision.  That was the second of the two victories posted by the Fighting Saints on the day with the other one being a 6-4 triumph over Lawrence Technological University (Mich.) earlier in the afternoon.  The two games were the first of the 2025 season for St. Francis as well as the USF head coaching debut of Alyssa Moreno.

Manning (2-0) started the first game and notched 10 strikeouts over the first four innings of play before returning to the mound after one out in the fifth inning to complete the contest.  For the two games combined, she allowed 13 hits and had 15 strikeouts across 13 2/3 innings pitched.

Four Saints produced hits in each contest, highlighted by Rose Mwaro (3-for-4) and her two RBIs, one in each contest.  Chylece Cluck and Emily Hurst each had RBI singles at the top of the order with the latter also being part of a sensational relay play that prevented a run from scoring against Madonna.


Game 1: USF 6, Lawrence Tech 4
The Saints held an initial 5-0 lead after putting up one run in the first inning, followed by multi-run innings in the second and fourth.  After Isabella Landeros, Hurst and Jaelynn Taylor all reached base in each of their first plate appearances of the season, Manning was able to coax a walk to score Landeros for the first run of the game.  Morgan Smardo and Cluck both provided RBI at-bats in the second inning, with USF's other two runs coming in the fourth frame on a Cluck single and a Landeros sacrifice fly.

A solid start took a quick turn, however, as a four-run fifth-inning by Lawrence Tech (0-2) made things interesting.  After the Saints made a pitching change to start the inning, two walks and two errors combined with a deep sacrifice fly allowed the Blue Devils to push three quick runs across the plate.  Manning would come back in after one out to try to stop the bleeding, but Lawrence Tech would tack on one more run to wrap up its scoring on the day.

The Saints put up one more insurance run in the fifth inning on a Mwaro sacrifice fly.

All nine USF starters reached base during the contest with eight collecting at least one hit as part of St. Francis' nine-hit attack, including a pair from Smardo.

Manning was nearly unhittable through the first four innings.  She struck out 10 of the first 18 batters she faced, while giving up just two singles.  For the game, she struck out 12 batters against just two walks and six hits, while not giving up a single run.

Mikayla Timm (0-2) took the loss for Lawrence Tech, giving up four earned runs on six hits with zero strikeouts.


Game 2: USF 2, Madonna 1
USF went right to work in Game 2, putting one run on the board in the top half of the first inning against No. 6-ranked Madonna (1-3) before tacking on its second run one inning later.  Both runs came after two outs and allowed the Saints to open up a 2-0 lead. 

After Smardo, the lead-off batter, coaxed a walk to start the game and advanced to second via a sacrifice bunt, Landeros was able to move her to third with a deep flyball out to right field.  Hurst then picked a great time to tally her first RBI of the season when she connected for a two-strike single to left field to bring home the first run of the contest.

Mwaro accounted for the other run on her two-out single in the second inning that brought home Taylor from second base.  Taylor doubled to lead off the inning and was able to evade the tag on a close play at the plate.  The single from Mwaro was one of two hits in the contest for her.

After throwing 6 2/3 innings in the previous contest, Manning never became flustered in her second start of the day, getting out of big jams in each of the first, sixth and seventh innings.  Madonna had runners in scoring position with two outs in the first and sixth, but Manning was able to get a strikeout and a lineout, respectively, to end each threat.

In the last frame, the Crusaders put pressure on the Saints once again after a single placed a runner on first base with one out.  After the baserunner was called out for leaving early on an attempted steal, Manning was able to force a flyout to center field for the final out of the game.  She finished the contest scattering seven hits, walking two batters and recording three strikeouts in the complete-game victory.

Jane Anderson (1-2) was issued the loss for Madonna, giving up two earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts.

Up Next
The Saints have a one-day break before traveling back to Rosemont on Sunday to partake in its second day of the NAIA Leadoff Tournament.  St. Francis will face William Penn University (Iowa) in a doubleheader beginning at 8 am.

You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.