SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior right fielder Jazzy Basquez and junior first baseman Alex Garcia had their team's lone hits as St. Francis fell to Pleasant Grove, 13-1, in five innings during the varsity end of a Delta League softball doubleheader at Schuster Field Thursday. The game represented the first home game for the Troubadours in more than three weeks, and the opener of the 2023 league schedule. 

SF drops to 0-6 for the year and opens league play at 0-1. The Troubies' junior varsity also lost by a 12-5 final, despite five combined hits from sophomore Emma Fox and freshman Gianna Palermo in the 7-8 spots in the order.

Basquez dropped a single to left in the second inning, but was ultimately forced out in the scoreless frame. Garcia doubled to lead off the fifth, then advanced 60 feet on a PG error. Two batters later, she scored on a Kylee Garrett sacrifice fly to right for the Troubies' only scoring. 

Meanwhile, the Eagles pushed across five runs in the opening stanza, then added three more in the third. PG center fielder Riley Bigley delivered a double off the fence to highlight the latter rally. Five straight Eagles reached to start the fourth en route to four more runs to extend the lead to 12-0. Then Zoe Iverson, whose double stood as the only hit in her team's five-run first, launched a solo blast to center to open the fifth.

However, St. Francis did enjoy one highlight on the defensive side. With runners at the corners and one out in the top of the second, Eagle first baseman Lindsay Paredes smacked a line drive to center for an apparent extra-base hit. Hailey Strange, normally a first baseman, ran down the ball for the first out, then fired to first to double up a surprised Iverson on the retouch.

The SF jayvees offered more of a challenge against Pleasant Grove, at least in the middle frames. The Eagles managed a run in each of the first four innings before the Troubies erased the deficit with a four-run fourth. Marissa Jensen, Fox, Palermo and Jaeya Leavitt each hit singles in the comeback inning. The tie proved short-lived: PG piled up five runs in its fifth to regain the lead at 9-4, then a bases-clearing double by Rylee Barton padded the margin to 12-4.

The right fielder Fox also had hits in the second and seventh for a 3-for-4 day at the plate. Palermo added another single in the final inning, moving Fox to third such that she could score on a wild pitch, but the Eagles fanned the final two Troubies to close out the game.

Thursday's doubleheader was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but was pushed back a day due to the rainfall in the area. The last home game – and most recent action of any kind for the Troubie JV – had been a March 7 doubleheader with Rocklin.

St. Francis returns to the road and continues Delta League play with a 4 p.m. visit to Elk Grove on Friday.