DES PLAINES, Ill. -- A big first day offensively featuring six players with multiple hits each propelled the University of St. Francis softball team to 4-2 and 8-0 victories over its opponents when it took park in the NAIA Leadoff Classic Tournament hosted by Roosevelt University on Thursday afternoon.  The Saints started the day with a seven-inning win over Cornerstone University (Mich.), before closing things out with a six-inning mercy rule victory over Rochester Christian University (Mich.).

Isabella Landeros and Jaelynn Taylor led the attack with three hits each with Landeros driving home three runs.  The two-hit club featured Missy Saldana (4 runs), Emily Hurst (3 walks), Kamryn Koontz (2 RBI), and Kylie Cook (1 RBI).

In all, the Saints produced 17 hits on the day, including 10 in the nightcap.

Game 1:  USF 4, Cornerstone 2
The Saints yielded one run while holding a 1-1 tie before gaining three runs in the fifth frame.  Three singles and a double in the inning would produce the three runs starting with Saldena authoring a leadoff single.  Hurst quickly followed with a deep RBI double to straightaway centerfield, before Landeros (1 RBI) and Koontz (2 RBI) joined in with hits of their own to mark the score at 4-1.

The Eagles would later threaten by having the tying run reach the plate with no outs in the seventh inning, but starting pitcher Kaitlyn Schofield would work herself out of the jam, allowing just one run, while inducing two groundballs and one strikeout in the 4-2 win.

Schofield (1-0) went the distance in the circle, earning credit for her first career victory in a Saints' jersey.  She recorded seven of her 21 outs on strikeouts, while allowing two runs on six hits.

Game 2:  USF 8, Rochester Christian 0
The Saints continued where they left off in Game 1, scoring eight more times with no less than two runs in three of their six at-bats.  Landeros got things started with her RBI single in the third inning before launching a walk-off RBI double in the final frame in USF's six-inning mercy rule 8-0 win.
Saldana accounted for USF's other RBI base hit in the game, while Cook and Morgan Smardo collected their respective RBIs off of a fielder's choice.

Emily Boyle (1-0) needed only one of those runs in tossing her first shutout of the season.  She allowed just two hits in her six innings of work, while striking out an impressive 10 batters against one walk.

Up Next
The Saints are off for the next seven days before they head to Williamsburg, Ky. for a three-game set with No. 7-ranked University of the Cumberlands (Ky.)

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