SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sophomore left fielder Kylee Garrett and junior designated player Alex Garcia each rapped out RBI singles to open the contest, but St. Francis was held hitless the rest of the way, ultimately falling by a 5-2 final in a non-league varsity softball game at Capital Christian Tuesday.

The Troubadours slip to 13-12 in their penultimate regular-season contest of the year. The Cougars improve to 13-5 overall.

St. Francis attacked early, with Claire Krotine drawing a walk, advancing to second on a wild pitch, then coming home on Garrett's bouncer through the right side of the infield. Garrett was forced out at second, putting senior Olivia McFarland on base. She also picked up 60 feet on a wild pitch, then came around to score – this time on a hard Garcia bounder that eluded a diving Alannah Tuua at third.

Unfortunately for the Troubies, that ended up being the entirety of their offense. Freshman Ayla Tuua issued a walk, hit three SF batters and had another reach on a dropped strike, but allowed no remaining hits. She struck out 10 in the last six frames, including six in the final two.

Meanwhile, Capital scored one run in the fourth inning, then plated four in the fifth. Nani Lose-Mahina hit a solo blast to right center for that first run, while four singles and two sacrifices produced the remaining four.

St. Francis did manage a defensive highlight in the second to at least temporarily keep its host off the scoreboard. With runners on second and third with just one down, Cougar junior Abigail Rhee smacked a flare to the right side that appeared to be dropping for a run-scoring hit. Instead, right fielder Claire Krotine charged in to glove the ball near the infield-outfield seam, then fired home to catcher Natalie Vigil to retire Brianna Johnson for a 9-2 double play.

Only the Troubie varsity squad was in action on Tuesday. Both teams close out the regular season at home against Sheldon on Wednesday. The team will honor 2023 graduates McFarland, Jazzy Basquez, Isabelle Vela and manager Maddie Maggy prior to the game, while SF Booster Club will host its annual "Booster-Q" barbecue for fans and families of both teams.