ELK GROVE, Calif. – Second baseman Taylor Lewis hit 2-for-3 with a double while Natalie Vigil swiped two bases and scored a pair of runs, but St. Francis could not overcome a 4-1 deficit in a 5-4 loss to Franklin in the junior varsity half of a Delta League doubleheader Thursday.
The Troubadour JV moves to 9-2 for the year.
Vigil led off a two-run Troubie fourth that closed the gap to 4-3, but Jasmine Clee tripled and scored injured the bottom half of the inning to pad the Franklin lead to two. St. Francis tacked on a run in the fifth thanks to Vigil's stolen bases, but stranded two other runners. They went down in order in the sixth and seventh.
Meanwhile, senior pitcher Hope Jenkins hit back-to-back two-run home runs at the plate while retiring 18 straight batters en route to a two-hit shutout, as St. Francis blanked Franklin, 7-0, in the varsity game Thursday afternoon. The senior Troubadours improve to 11-1 overall and remain unbeaten at 3-0 in league play.
Hope Jenkins homered in each of the first and third innings, both times scoring her twin sister Grace Jenkins in crafting an early 5-0 lead. Alex Garcia also went 3-for-4 at the plate, while Grace Jenkins went 2-for-4. Hope Jenkins walked in each of her final two plate appearances. In the pitching circle, she allowed only singles in the first and seventh in her shutout victory. Jenkins struck out nine Wildcat batters with no walks issued.
St. Francis returns home for a Tuesday home game against Delta League perennial power Sheldon. Game times are 4 p.m. on each diamond.
