SACRAMENTO, Calif. – St. Francis has garnered the No. 2 seed and will host 15th-seeded Cordova in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II softball tournament, the section office announced Friday. Game time will be 4 p.m. at the school's Schuster Field varsity diamond.
The Troubadours finished the regular season record with a 23-3 overall record and a 10-2 mark in the Delta League, good for second place behind only Sheldon. The Lancers went 17-8 for the year with a perfect 10-0 record in the Greater Sacramento League standings.
Full Bracket | CIF-SJS GoFan Site
Tickets are available through GoFan, with no cash transactions taking place on site. The parking gate by the SFHS theater and the M Street pedestrian gate at Schuster Field will serve as the two entrances. A link and QR code for the ticket purchasing site will be posted to GoTroubies.com and on SFHS athletics' social media channels when available, plus the QR code will be posted at the gates themselves for easy scanning upon arrival.
St. Francis softball has enjoyed one of its finest seasons in program history. The May 3 victory at Franklin marked the team's 20th for the year, marking the first time Troubie softball has reached that plateau since going 22-6-1 in 2006. They also have climbed as high as No. 2 in MaxPreps' rankings for the SJS, thanks in large part to wins over Folsom (Mar. 29) and Vintage (May 7) plus a sweep of Lincoln of Stockton, Central Catholic and Enochs at the NFHS NorCal Leadoff Classic (Apr. 21-22).
Offensively, the Troubies have flourished under the tutelage of head coach Kevin Warren and assistants Al LoGiudice, Ken McGuire and Sean Smith. Three senior bats have led the team offensively. Catcher Grace Jenkins enters the postseason hitting .536/.581/1.000 with seven doubles and a team-high nine home runs on 93 plate appearances. Her twin sister, Hope Jenkins, has provided a .513/.652/.913 slash line with eight doubles and six homers. Outfielder Amy Abueg ranks third offensively at .333/.403/.523 with six extra-base hits and a team-leading eight stolen bases.
In the pitching circle, Hope Jenkins has started 24 of the team's 26 games, posting a 1.41 ERA with 259 strikeouts against 33 walks in 159 innings. Opponents have managed just 89 hits for a .152 average against. Abueg started the other two SFHS games this year, performing well in her own right: one earned run in 12 innings for an 0.58 ERA.
Fellow Delta League member Elk Grove holds the No. 3 seed opposite St. Francis in the bracket. Positioned for the opposite semifinal are No. 1-seeded Del Oro and No. 4 Roseville. This is the first SJS softball championship since 2019, when Vacaville topped Del Oro for the D-2 crown. The 2020 and 2021 tourneys were not held due to COVID-19.
St. Francis won its only section title in 1986 – coincidentally against Cordova in the finale – with runner-up finishes in 1995 and 1996.
