BURNABY, B.C. – Junior Megan Duclos (Saint-Eustache, Que.) tied the Simon Fraser school record for stolen bases in a season by taking her 21st in the second game of a non-conference doubleheader at Hawaii Pacific Thursday.  The Red Leafs (5-10) dropped 9-3 and 3-2 decisions to the host Sharks (3-8) in Kaneohe, Hawaii.

Duclos joins Erin McLean (2006) and Alex Ogg (2022) as SFU standouts to record 21 stolen bases in a single campaign. There are still 33 games remaining on the 2023 regular season schedule for the Red Leafs.

Duclos' first chance to make the record her own will be in a doubleheader at Saint Martin's (Washington) on Saturday, March 4. SFU will then host its first doubleheader of the season, a non-conference set, on Sunday, March 5 at Beedie Field against Western Washington.

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GAME 1 – Hawaii Pacific 9, Simon Fraser 3

After falling behind 1-0 in the second inning, the Red Leafs tied the game in the third on a Cassidy Affeldt (Mission, B.C.) RBI-single. HPU went back in front 3-1 in the home half of the third.

Freshman Amy Hughes (Brampton, Ont.) got on base by hitting a two-out double in the fourth. She then stole third base, and got to home plate after an errant throw to third from the Sharks' catcher.

Hawaii Pacific regained its two-run edge on a fourth-inning Jewel Larson solo home run.

Sophomore Abby McGlynn (Langley, B.C.) opened the fifth with a triple – her third of the season – to left center. Sophomore Caitlin Zagari (Winnipeg, Man.) later singled to score McGlynn to cut SFU's deficit to 4-3.

However, that was as close as the Red Leafs got. The Sharks posted three runs in the bottom of the fifth, and added a pair in the sixth to round out the victory.

McGlynn – the reigning Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week – had three hits (a double and two triples). Affeldt drew three of SFU's eight walks, and freshman Breanne Beardsall (Barrie, Ont.) stole two bases.
 
GAME 2 – Hawaii Pacific 3, Simon Fraser 2

Duclos singled to lead off Game 2, before taking second base to put her name into the SFU history book.

The contest was a pitchers' duel that went to the Sharks, who scored the winning run on an RBI-double in the bottom of the seventh inning.

HPU's Gianna Kerschbaum pitched a complete game, giving up two runs, for the victory. Sophomore starting pitcher Shaneika Hollingworth (Maple Ridge, B.C.) allowed just three runs in 6.1 innings of work for SFU.
 

The Red Leafs trailed 2-0 after surrendering single runs in the first and fourth innings. Then McGlynn led off the sixth with a double to left field. The next batter, Affeldt, hit her fourth home run of the season over the fence in right center Howard A. Okita Field to tie the score at 2-2.

Duclos led the Red Leafs with a pair of hits in four at-bats. She and Affeldt had SFU's steals before the team was caught for the first time in 2023, on an attempt in the sixth inning.

The Red Leafs stole 55 bases in a row to open the NCAA Division II softball season. The 55 figure is the second-most in a single season in the program's NCAA era, and the fourth-highest total in school history even though Great Northwest Athletic Conference play has yet to begin. The team came into Thursday tied for the NCAA Division II lead with 50 stolen bases.
 
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