NEWARK, Del. -- After struggling in the circle in the opening weekend, the Cornell softball team got a strong start from a young arm, but it wasn't enough as Saint Francis (Pa.) earned a 4-0 victory over the Big Red on Sunday afternoon.

Freshman pitcher Sierra Stone allowed just one earned run and four hits over six innings, but had to settle for a hard-luck loss. Stone struck out five with just one walk in falling to 0-3. A Cornell offense hitting better than .330 as a team entering the game had seven hits and stranded eight baserunners. Cornell couldn't get over the hump and dropped to 1-6 on the year with the loss, while the Red Flash improved to 10-4 on the young season.

Chloe Pendergast was 2-for-3, Meg Parker reached base twice with a double and Karlie Mellott extended her hit streak to seven games to open her career with a double for Cornell.

After four scoreless innings that included Cornell leaving the bases loaded in the first, Saint Francis (Pa.) was able to break through in the fifth, scoring after a leadoff double, a sacrifice bunt and a sac fly. The Red Flash scored an insurance run an inning later after plating a leadoff triple and then added two more in the seventh to put the game away.

The Big Red returns to action on Monday, March 16 when it faces Delaware in a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.