SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sophomore right fielder Claire Krotine ripped a pair of doubles as one of four Troubies with two hits, but St. Francis ultimately dropped an 8-6 final to Rocklin in the varsity end of a high school fastpitch doubleheader at Schuster Field Tuesday afternoon.
The Troubadours slip to 0-3 for the year. The SF junior varsity also lost by an 11-0 final in five innings, moving the younger Troubies' record to 0-2.
Overall, St. Francis had 12 hits to the Thunder's 11, but Rocklin had three two-run home runs in the contest. Freshman center fielder Alexis McFarland went 2-for-3 for the Troubies while junior corner infielders Alex Garcia and Hailey Strange each finished at 2-for-4 at the plate. McFarland, Garcia, Strange and senior second baseman Jazzy Basquez each drove in a run.
In all, the lead changed hands three times in the contest. The Troubies took an initial lead in the bottom of the first when Garcia sent a hard ground ball through the left side with the bases jammed, bringing in McFarland, who reached on a catcher's interference. Strange led off the second with a base hit to left, moved up 60 feet on a Basquez sacrifice bunt, then eventually came around when McFarland lofted a short fly down the third-base line. However, Thunder catcher Marley Hogue – who allowed McFarland to reach in the first – gunned down the SF outfielder on a steal attempt.
Rocklin took over the lead in its third, highlighted by the first of two two-run blasts off the bat of freshman Savannah Lorenzini. That homer scored senior third baseman Chloe Kimbrell, who later added to the Thunder lead with her RBI bunt single in the fourth.
The Troubies answered with four straight hits to lead off the fifth: an Isabella Barge hit to right, Krotine's double to left, Strange's single to score Barge, and another Basquez poke to left, which plated Krotine for the equalizer. Rocklin brought in pitcher Ava Messina in relief of freshman starter Devyn Brown. Messina did her job by fanning one and coaxing two ground balls, but the second one eluded Sydney Barker's attempt on a backhanded play. Sorina Pometta, who ran for Basquez, came around to score the 5-4 go-ahead.
That lead proved short-lived, however, as Hogue slammed a two-run shot to left in the next half inning, putting Rocklin back up by a 6-5 margin. Lorenzini struck again in the sixth with another two-run home run, this time bringing around Barker.
Meanwhile, Krotine hit her second double in the fifth but was stranded there. McFarland had a two-out single in the sixth but never moved any farther. In the seventh, Isabella Vela and Garcia led off with consecutive singles, then Taylor Trafican – courtesy running for Vela – came around to score on an errant throw during a double play attempt. Still, Messina followed with two quick outs to complete her relief win.
Freshman Reese Lewis went the distance yet again for the Troubies, who continue to operate without the services of junior Kiley Shea, who is serving her required sit-out period after transferring from Folsom. Shea will become eligible to play in April.
Across the way on the JV diamond, left fielder Emma Fox had two hits while catcher Layla Werner managed another, but Rocklin blanked SF by an 11-0 final, invoking the run rule entering the fifth. The Thunder stormed to a 9-0 lead through the first three frames, highlighted by a two-run, opposite-field triple by first baseman Emily Fuller in the first.
St. Francis returns to action in one week for the "Holy Diamond" rivalry game at Christian Brothers. Both varsity and JV games begin at 4 p.m.
