SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Junior right fielder Claire Krotine hit 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored while starting pitcher Kiley Shea allowed just one earned run in 5.1 innings, but St. Francis ultimately surrendered a late rally in falling, 4-2, to Pleasant Grove in Delta League softball action at Schuster Field Friday.

The Troubadours slip to 13-5 overall but more importantly, move to 5-2 in league play. This creates a three-way tie atop the standings between SF, PG and Elk Grove, with Sheldon a game back at 4-3.

Krotine singled in the first and fifth innings, scoring on RBI singles by Alex Garcia and Kylee Garrett, respectively. Shea allowed five hits and two runs with three walks and three strikeouts in the circle but left the game in the sixth due to injury.  

Each run answered an Eagle score in the top half of that inning, too. PG capitalized on an error in the first to take an initial lead, only to have the Troubies equalize: Garcia's barrel proved too hot to handle for third baseman Mindy Brian, bringing in Krotine for the equalizer.

The Eagles struck again in the top of the fifth during a wild inning: Brian led off with a line drive to center, then pinch hitter Carly Henderson hustled down the line to turn an attempted sacrifice into a hit. Another bunt and a walk loaded the bases for Natalie Broazaitis, who grounded to second baseman Isabella Barge. Unfortunately for St. Francis, Brian beat Barge's force play at the plate, and Broazaitis was ruled safe at first on a catcher's interference. Shea got Riley Bigley to pop up to Barge for the second out, but still had two Eagles in scoring position.

The Troubies caught a break during Lindsay Paredes' at-bat when a wild pitch caromed back to catcher Jaeya Leavitt in time for the sophomore to catch Henderson attempting to score. This kept the lead at just a single run. Krotine ripped a one-out single, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. She was frozen at the keystone on a ground out, but Garrett followed with a smash to left. Krotine came all the way around for the equalizer.

With Garcia intentionally walked, Troubie center fielder Alexis McFarland hit a hard shot toward the left side that glanced off Brian's glove and scooted directly to shortstop Marley Escobar. However, Escobar had no play at any other base but first, and McFarland's speed allowed her to beat the throw to load the bases. Then Henderson ended the threat by running down a fly ball in right, holding the score at 2-2.

Each team put runners in scoring position in the sixth, with each stranding those runners. St. Francis escaped the top half when Henderson ran into her own bunt for the third out. Reese Lewis led off the bottom end with a single through the middle. Pinch runner Sorina Pometta advanced to second on a dropped third strike and to third on a wild pitch, but Lawson got Krotine swinging to keep the score at 2-2.

Lawson then helped her own cause with a leadoff double in the seventh. Her courtesy runner, Heidi Witte, eventually scored the go-ahead on a Troubie throwing error and a chopper to Barge. A wild pitch later padded the PG lead to 4-2 before reliever Kinsley Imm coaxed two fly outs. But St. Francis also went down on three straight outs in the air, with Brian making a sliding catch near the SF dugout to close out the contest.

Friday's game marked the start of the second half of the Delta League schedule. The Troubies head to Elk Grove on April 26 for their next action. St. Francis junior varsity forfeited its game with PG due to a shortage of players, but are scheduled to take on the Thundering Herd for its half of that doubleheader. Both games begin at 4 p.m.