SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Freshman infielder-pitcher Reese Lewis hit 2-for-3 with a two-run home run while finishing the game with 1.1 scoreless innings, as St. Francis defeated Del Oro, 6-2, in a Saturday morning rematch of last year's Sac-Joaquin Section championship game.
The Troubadours even their record to 10-10. The Golden Eagles slip to 10-11 for the year.
Right fielder Claire Krotine hit 3-for-3 with a double and center fielder Hailey Strange launched a towering two-run bomb to left center in the fourth to contribute to the SF batting. Francesca Guerrera and Alex Garcia also had one hit and one RBI apiece.
Junior Kiley Shea started the game in the pitching circle for the Troubies, holding DO scoreless for the first four innings while allowing just four hits. With two outs and a 5-0 lead in the fifth, she ran into some trouble by issuing two straight walks and running a 2-0 count against second baseman Abby Davidson. Lewis inherited a 2-0 count and two runners, and gave up a hit to Davidson. However, she and her SF teammates caught a break when Kate Brown attempted to advance an extra base on an infield error. Brown was thrown out on the same play, ending the rally and escaping the Troubies from their jam.
Lewis got through the seventh, getting defensive snares from Guerrera at short and Olivia McFarland down the line in left along the way.
Meanwhile, St. Francis had crafted a 5-0 lead for Shea, thanks to Strange's two-run homer in the fourth and Lewis' similar blast in the fifth. Garcia drove in the fifth run when her spinning pop-up fell just out of reach of a charging Davidison on the right side of the infield. This scored Guerrera, who followed Lewis' home with a single, then moved to third on Krotine's double.
Lewis also helped her pitching cause in the sixth when she and Isabella Barge led off with singles. Lewis' hit moved Barge around to third, then Barge scored on a Guerrera sacrifice bunt.
Across the way on the JV diamond, shortstop Deanna Richardson hit 3-for-4 with three runs scored while Gianna Palermo and Julia Nielsen each collected two hits, but St. Francis fell to a 7-6 final against Del Oro.
The Troubies had taken a 4-1 lead in their second, getting some help from two passed balls, a two-run error and an RBI single from Richardson. Addison Hutchcraft also singled as part of the rally. But Del Oro came back with two tallies in the third and three more in the fourth. Still, St. Francis remained in striking distance, ultimately tying the game at 6-6 when Palermo scored on Emma Fox' ground out.
However, Del Oro picked up the go-ahead run in the fifth. Lauren Hicks singled, then scored on an error two batters later when Chloe Champasput down a bunt to the right side.
Sophomore Rylee Coauette pitched well in relief for the Troubies, settling down the DO bats with three complete innings with only one hit the one unearned run.
Saturday's action was the third game in four days for St. Francis, which turns around with a road doubleheader at Woodcreek on Monday. Both games take place at Roseville's Mahany Park, located around the corner from the school on Pleasant Grove Boulevard.
