SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior catcher Grace Jenkins delivered a two-out, go-ahead single in a 2-0 varsity victory, while sophomore Taylor Lewis' two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the seventh completed a 10-9 comeback win for the junior varsity, capping St. Francis' doubleheader sweep of area powerhouse Elk Grove in Delta League girls' softball action Tuesday afternoon.

 

The Troubadour varsity improves to 13-2 for the season and 5-1 in Delta League games. Their jayvee sisters move to 11-2 overall and 4-1 against the conference. Elk Grove entered the contest ranked third in the Sac-Joaquin Section by MaxPreps, sitting behind only Del Oro (17-1) and Vanden (12-0). 

 

Senior Hope Jenkins fired a three-hit shutout for SFHS with five strikeouts, while adding a ground-rule double that plated her twin sister in the sixth inning. The two Jenkinses had all of their team's hits for the day.

 

Both the Troubies and Herd battled to a scoreless tie through five and a half frames, with each side only managing to bring a runner within scoring position once to that point. Elk Grove threatened in the opener, as Taylor Fitzgerald led off with a single, then advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Katelyn Maciel. However, Hope Jenkins retired the 3-4 batters to strand Fitzgerald.

 

Similarly, St. Francis looked to break up the scoreless stretch in the fourth when Grace Jenkins launched a triple to left facing an 0-2 count. But she remained 60 feet away when EGHS pitcher Aissa Silva fanned Hope Jenkins and coaxed a pop-up from first baseman Alex Garcia.

 

The entirety of the varsity game's offense took place in the sixth, with a combination of small ball and the Jenkins' bats. Kylee Garrett battled her way to a leadoff walk. Senior DP Amy Abueg moved Garrett to second on a sacrifice bunt in front of the plate, then Francesca Guerrera followed suit with her own sacrifice bunt. With Garrett on third, G. Jenkins bounced a hard grounder that took a tough hop against Herd second baseman Jenna Porto. An interference call then placed Grace on second. Hope Jenkins then slammed a hard line drive that one-hopped the left-center wall for a ground-rule double, scoring Grace Jenkins.

 

Elk Grove threatened with a pair of runners in the top of the seventh, with Silva starting off the rally with a bunt single up the third base line. Kayla Garber made a throw across the body but could not complete the play. Adriana Delaney flew out to right but Stang walked to put a potential go-ahead at the plate in Addy Buckley. Hope Jenkins missed on the first two pitches to fall to 2-0, but came back with a swinging strike, two fouls back to the screen, and another swinging strike for the final out.

 

Meanwhile on the JV diamond, St. Francis rallied back from what had been a 5-0 deficit by the middle of the third, to a 5-4 margin through three innings complete, to a 9-7 hole going into its final turn at-bat. Sorina Pometta led off the seventh with a walk but was forced out on the next at bat thanks to a pick by the Elk Grove shortstop. Taylor Trafican stole second and appeared to score on Natalie Vigil's hooking line drive down the left-field line, but the ball was foul.  Instead, she scored on Sydney Hucik's single, setting the board at 9-8.

 

With two outs, Maggie Leonard on third and Hucik on second, Lewis worked the count full before lacing a single up the middle, bringing in both runners for the walk-off hit. It marked Lewis' third hit in as many innings, as she singled and scored in the fifth then singled again in the Troubies' one-run sixth.

 

Trafican, who went the distance in the pitching circle, also had two hits. Vigil finished 2-for-4 with a double, while Addison Hutchcraft came up with two hits while making her season debut at third base. Pometto reached four times despite only two official at-bats: she went 1-for-2 with three walks, all as the leadoff batter to the inning. 

 

The two St. Francis teams will now split up for the weekend. The varsity heads down to Tracy for the NFHS NorCal Classic, where the Troubies open with Lincoln of Stockton on Thursday. On that same day, the junior varsity will play a rare game on the Schuster Field varsity diamond, hosting Rosemont for a 4 p.m. home tilt.