ROCKLIN, Calif. – Senior pitcher Hope Jenkins and sophomore third baseman Alex Garcia each drove in runs in the 10th inning to lift St. Francis to a 3-1 victory over Rocklin in the varsity half of a non-league prep softball doubleheader Tuesday night. The Troubadour junior varsity also prevailed with a 4-2 win over its Thunder counterparts.

 

Both St. Francis teams improve to 3-0 for the season.

 

Jenkins, a fall signee with the University of Connecticut, posted a complete-game victory, allowing five hits and just one unearned run in 10 innings complete. She fanned 16 Rocklin batters in the process, including all three in the bottom of the 10th. Jenkins also had two hits at the plate, including an RBI single in the sixth to tie the game.

 

Catcher Grace Jenkins, Hope's twin sister and fellow future Husky, had a double and two walks at the plate. She represented the second Troubie run in the 10th inning, reaching on an intentional pass, moving up 60 feet on her sister's ground out, then scoring on Garcia's hit with two outs in the finale.

 

Rocklin forged its initial lead when first baseman Bella Garcia led off the first with a triple, then scored on an errant throw to third. Hope Jenkins retired the next three batters, first on a comebacker to the circle then on a pair of strikeouts, then managed to keep the Thunder out of scoring position for the next eight innings.

 

St. Francis scored its equalizer when Olivia McFarland led off the sixth with a hit, advanced to second on a fielder's choice, then scored on Hope Jenkins' single two batters later. The Troubies threatened in the seventh when Haley Kim singled and McFarland and second baseman Amy Abueg walked to load the bases. However, Rocklin escaped the jam, stranding all three SF runners.

 

Only in the 10th, with the international tiebreaker in effect, did St. Francis push across the go-ahead runs. Abueg was assigned to second, then moved to third on Jazzy Basquez' sacrifice. Rocklin intentionally walked Grace Jenkins to put runners on the corners, then Hope Jenkins brought in Abueg with her ground out to the right side of the infield. Garcia then added the insurance run, bringing in Grace Jenkins with her RBI hit.

 

In Tuesday's JV game, left fielder Taylor Trafican had three hits on offense then picked up the save with her seventh-inning relief appearance in the 4-2 win over the Thunder. Sorina Pometta followed her three-hit performance against Christian Brothers on Monday with two hits against Rocklin: a triple in the third inning and an RBI single in the sixth.

 

Kylee Garrett allowed just five hits in the circle and went 4.2 scoreless innings before Rocklin's Kamryn Buffington spoiled the shutout in the fifth. She got into a brief jam in the seventh, walking a batter and hitting another before an error brought the Troubie lead to 4-2. Trafican came in from the outfield to get Casey Folsom to ground out to Pometta for the final out.

 

The two undefeated teams return home on Friday for more non-league action, this time against River City at 3:30 p.m.