SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Freshman Layla Werner hit 3-for-4 and played both sides of the battery, while three other Troubadours each collected two hits, as St. Francis junior varsity scored a 15-3 win at El Camino in a rare JV-only date on the softball schedule Monday.
The Troubies move to 9-4-1 overall.
Addison Hutchraft and Julie Nielsen each finished 2-for-4 at the plate. Marissa Jensen entered as a pinch hitter in the fifth, but still managed to finish 2-for-2 with three RBIs. Her two-run double in the sixth was one of three extra-base hits for SF on the day. Shortstop Deanna Richardson led off the contest with a first-pitch double, while Gianna Palermo opened the seventh with a triple to right.
St. Francis scored four runs in the first inning, one more in the second, then seven in the fifth to take a 12-1 lead. No run rule was in effect, allowing the Troubies to expand their edge to 15-1 in the sixth. El Camino got back two runs in the bottom half of the sixth, allowing Palermo as the lone batter in the seventh before the time limit was reached.
Besides her contributions on offense, Nielsen also enjoyed an outfield kill to end the only Eagle rally of the contest. With one out in the sixth, freshman Anna Novak laced a double and Euliyah Torres followed with a single. A passed ball moved both EC players up 60 feet before Morgan Saylors launched a double to center. However, Nielsen gunned down Saylors in her attempt to stretch one more base.
Rylee Coauette yielded two hits and no earned runs in her four innings of work as the starter. Werner, who served as Coauette's catcher for the early innings, then assumed the pitching circle for the fifth and sixth. The two Troubie pitchers combined for six strikeouts: four for Coauette, two by Werner.
Both SF teams return to action at home on Wednesday against Elk Grove. The Troubies and Thundering Herd head into the contest tied in third place with 4-3 Delta League records.
