TRACY, Calif. – Sophomore outfielder Alexis McFarland hit a combined 4-for-5 while sophomore Reese Lewis drove in a total of four runs as St. Francis split its Saturday slate at the NorCal Leadoff Classic tourney at the Tracy Sports Complex. The Troubadours lost to Kimball by a 7-3 final in the 8 a.m. opener, then stormed past Christian, 10-3, in their nightcap.

St. Francis moves to 9-3 for the season.

McFarland went 2-for-2 while Kylee Garrett had her team's lone extra-base hit with a leadoff double in the fourth against Kimball. Garrett's two-bagger was the first of five straight hits for the Troubies in the fourth, with Alex Garcia, Reese Lewis, McFarland and Kinsley Imm each following with singles and two runs scored. Ariella Alcantar, a courtesy runner for Lewis, later came home on a wild pitch to close the gap to 6-3 before Jaguars' pitcher Alexa Contreras could escape the rally.

Kimball later tacked on a seventh run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth to increase the lead to 7-3, then Contreras sent the Troubies down in order in the fifth to complete the victory.

In the second game, the Troubies stormed out of the gates against Christian, pushing across six runs in the first inning plus another three in the second. Claire Krotine led off the game with a double, Garcia soon followed with an RBI single, Imm drew a bases-loaded walk, then Jaeya Leavitt and Reese Lewis each had two-run hits as part of the six-run rally in the opening stanza.

An inning later, Garcia reached on what proved to be a costly Patriot error. She eventually scored on another RBI hit from Reese Lewis, while Emma Fox followed with a bases-loaded walk of her own. Francesca Guerrera later extended the lead to 9-0 on her hit to left, scoring Imm. However, Christian left fielder Jordyn Krystek fired home to gun down Lewis, ending the inning.

Krystek also helped her Patriots get on the board with her sacrifice fly in the third. Shortstop Ashley Wood rapped out an RBI double as part of the comeback, but Imm ultimately curbed the damage to three runs on a ground out to retire the side. SF tacked on a 10th run in the fifth, when Fox drew a walk, advanced on a Krotine bunt hit, then moved around to third on a Guerrera sacrifice bunt. With runners on second and third, Sorina Pometta bounced out to short, leaving Christian with no choice but to get the batter-runner, allowing Fox to score.

Normally a three-day event scattered throughout various Tracy venues, the NorCal Leadoff Classic was reduced to Saturday's action due to rain on both Thursday and Friday. Weather also canceled the entire junior varsity side of the tournament, of which St. Francis initially had two games on each of Thursday and Friday. As a result, several JV players – namely Alcantar, Fox and infielder Julia Nielsen – got to play with varsity for the tournament's lone day on the diamonds.

The Troubies return to action on Wednesday for a home doubleheader with Cosumnes Oaks. Note: the JV games against Franklin (Friday) and Pioneer (Saturday) have been canceled due to a shortage of players. The varsity games on those dates remain as scheduled.