SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sophomore Rylee Coauette fanned eight batters in a five-inning no-hitter, as St. Francis junior varsity blanked Cosumnes Oaks, 13-0, as part of a Delta League softball doubleheader Friday afternoon.
Meanwhile, on the Schuster Field varsity diamond, senior center fielder Olivia McFarland launched a grand slam for her first varsity home run, while senior catcher Isabella Vela and junior designated player Hailey Strange also delivered the long ball, leading St. Francis to a 15-5 win over Cosumnes Oaks in the varsity end of the twinbill.
McFarland and Strange were among four Troubies with two hits, along with Kylee Garrett and Francesca Guerrera, who each went 2-for-3 and combined for five runs scored. McFarland also had an RBI double as part of SF's six-run second, giving her five RBIs total.
After spotting CO a two-run start, St. Francis piled up four runs in the first inning and six in the second. McFarland's slam accounted for all four runs in the opening frame, then Vela's opposite-field launch made it 6-2 to start the second. Garrett and McFarland followed with back-to-back RBI doubles, before Strange's rip through the middle scored McFarland and set the board at 9-2. Strange later scored on a passed ball before senior Angie Acosta could escape from the rally.
The Wolfpack managed two unearned runs in the fifth to close the gap to 10-5, only to have St. Francis answer in the bottom half. Taylor Trafican led off a with a single, Natalie Vigil reached on an error, then Guerrera walked to load the bases for Claire Krotine. Krotine singled to the right side, then made it all the way around to third on an error, with the three Troubies easily scoring to extend the lead to 13-5.
Strange led off the sixth with a line drive to right center. The ball was hit so flat that the Troubie junior went hustling for second in hopes of a double before discovering that she had actually cleared the bases for her fourth homer of the year. St. Francis invoked the run rule when Kasey McAtee reached on an infield single. Trafican, already on from an error, came around from second on CO's fifth error of the contest.
The 12 hits and three home runs by the varsity stands in contrast to the JV squad, which managed 13 runs on just seven hits. Instead, the Troubies took advantage of 13 total walks, including three by first baseman Addison Hutchcraft.
Coauette, Lilian Desmond, Deanna Richardson, Emma Fox, Julia Nielsen, Jaeya Leavitt and Layla Werner each finished with singles. Richardson went 1-for-1 but reached by drawing a walk and getting hit by pitch twice. Desmond totaled three RBIs, with only one coming on her hit: she walked in Fox as part of a seven-run rally in the first, then plated Nielsen on an ground ball error during a four-run second.
Of course, the true highlight was the pitching of Coauette, who struck out eight in the course of her no-hitter. In fact, she only allowed two CO baserunners: walking Makaela Sanchez and Vanessa Mateo in back-to-back plate appearances int eh third. However, Nielsen snared a line drive off the bat of Natasha Kumar to preserve the no-no and the eventual shutout.
St. Francis closes out the regular season with three games in three days: a Delta League road visit to Franklin on Monday, a non-league tilt at Capital Christian on Tuesday, then the Senior Day game against Sheldon on Wednesday. The JV only plays the two Delta League opponents and has a bye on Tuesday.
