ELK GROVE, Calif. – Third baseman Alex Garcia hit 3-for-4 with three RBIs, center fielder Olivia McFarland launched her second home run in as many games, and pitchers Kiley Shea and Reese Lewis combined for a no-hitter as St. Francis blanked Franklin, 12-0, by sixth-inning run rule to pull into a tie for third place in the Delta League girls' softball standings.
The Troubadours improve to 13-11 for the year, and 7-4 in league play. They now match the 7-4 mark of Elk Grove, which lost to Sheldon on the Huskies' Senior Day matchup. The Wildcats are now 20-6 for the year with an 8-3 record in the Delta League. Meanwhile, Pleasant Grove blasted Davis by a 14-1 final to remain atop the standings at 10-1.
The homer in the fifth was McFarland's only hit for the day, but she finished with a team-leading four RBIs thanks to a bases-loaded walk in the sixth. Shortstop Francesca Guerrera went 2-for-4 with an RBI double and RBI single. Left fielder Kylee Garrett and center fielder Hailey Strange also had two hits for SF.
All 12 of the runs came through in the fifth and sixth innings following a scoreless four innings between St. Francis' Shea and Franklin junior Scarlett Riddle. Then the Troubies put up five in the top of the fifth, with Garcia leading off the frame with a hard bouncer to right. Pinch runner Alexis McFarland replaced Garcia on the basepaths, and senior first baseman Jazzy Basquez sacrificed the younger McFarland to second in a hope to scratch out one run in the pitchers' duel. And indeed, McFarland did score on an error to finally put SF on the board with two down.
This set off a rally that resulted in seven runs in that Troubie fifth. Guerrera's RBI double made it 2-0, then Garrett plated Guerrera on a deep single to extend the lead to 3-0. Olivia McFarland then followed with the three-run bomb to right center. Strange followed with an infield single to the hole, then scored on Garcia's double to right. Only when Riddle robbed Isabella Barge of a hit on a hard comebacker did Franklin escape the onslaught.
Basquez, Guerrera, Strange and Garcia each had singles in the sixth to put up five more runs and set the 10-run rule into effect. Lewis took over the pitching circle for Shea for the final inning, and retired the Franklin side in order to clinch the win and combined no-no. Credit Guerrera for a diving grab against a leadoff bloop single in the sixth for protecting the SF pitchers' gem, too.
On the junior varsity diamond, Marissa Jensen and Julia Nielsen each went 2-for-4 with a run scored while Layla Werner knocked an RBI double as St. Francis nearly came back in the final inning before falling, 8-7, to Franklin.
The Troubies had taken a 2-0 lead to start the game before falling into an 8-2 hole after the second. Jaeya Leavitt and Werner each doubled in a three-run SF fourth to cut the deficit to 8-5, but the Wildcats extended their edge to 9-5 in the bottom half of that fourth.
Werner took over pitching duties in the fourth and mostly silenced the Franklin bats the rest of the way: 2.2 innings with just an unearned run against. The Troubies eventually scored three runs in the seventh and had the game-tying run at third in the form of Rylee Coauette, but the Franklin outfield ran down a drive off the bat of Deanna Richardson to close out the contest.
Gianna Palermo and Addison Hutchcraft each singled in the seventh, with Coauette and Nielsen reaching on Wildcat errors as part of the rally.
St. Francis varsity heads to Capital Christian on Tuesday before closing out its regular season on Wednesday at home against Sheldon. The Troubie JV has only Wednesday's game left on the 2023 slate. The doubleheader with the Huskies serves as Senior Day for O. McFarland, Basquez, Isabelle Vela and manager Maddie Maggy. Furthermore, the SF Booster Club will hold the annual Booster-Q as part of the festivities.
