SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sophomore Alexis McFarland and junior Claire Krotine each hit 3-for-4 in the top two slots of the batting order while freshman Kinsley Imm went the distance in the pitching circle to lead fourth-seeded St. Francis past No. 13 seed Rodriguez in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II softball tournament Tuesday at Schuster Field.

The Troubadours improve to 17-9 for the year. The Mustangs finish their season at 6-17.

St. Francis put up a run in the first inning, two in the fourth and one more in the sixth, with McFarland or Krotine figuring heavily in each. McFarland doubled to lead off that first, moved up 60 feet on Krotine's drive up the middle, then scored on a ground out to put the Troubies on the board. Then in the fourth, after SF ran itself into a pair of outs at third, Isabella Barge went all the around to third on a single and an error that plated a second run. McFarland followed with a double to left, scoring Barge to extend the Troubie lead to 3-0.

Finally, St. Francis added an insurance run in the sixth. Imm helped her cause with a single to center, then McFarland rapped out a hit to center two batters later. Courtesy runner Ariella Alcantar got to third on the hit, while McFarland advanced to second on the throw. However, Alcantar and McFarland got hung up between their respective bases. Alcantar got past catcher Layla Perry for the fourth run, although McFarland was put out as the trailing runner. Krotine followed with a double that would have scored McFarland, but Rodriguez pitcher Brooklyn Denina kept Krotine stranded at second by coaxing a pop-up to shortstop Jasmyn White to end the frame.

Meanwhile, Imm worked her way through for a complete game, scattering seven hits and walking no Mustang batters. She effectively pitched five outs in the top of the fourth, with SF prolonging the inning with back-to-back errors, but then gained the extra run support in the bottom half. The lone Rodriguez run came in its sixth, mostly on the strength of Hailey Parmenter's barrel to left for a double. With runners on second and third, Denina lined out to Kylee Garrett in left, scoring Perry for the sacrifice fly and a second out. Krotine then ran down a fly ball in right to limit the damage to the single run.

Imm then pitched to four batters in the seventh, getting ground outs to third baseman Alex Garcia and shortstop Francesca Guerrera to start the inning.  Noe Landry reached on an infield single despite a spectacular grab by Guerrera in the hole. Then Guerrera chased down a Makenzie Rodriguez blooper in the outfield to end the game. Oddly, the Maine commit had robbed Rodriguez of a hit with a diving catch in the fifth. For that matter, Guerrera had a hit taken away in the first: she hit a ball so hard to center that Ellie Steiger had time to force Garcia at second.

The Troubadours will host No. 5 seed Vacaville for a 4 p.m. quarterfinal on Thursday. The Bulldogs, who eliminated SF from the playoffs in the 2023 semifinal round, rolled past Atwater by a 13-2 final. Tickets will be available at GoFan at https://gofan.co/app/school/CA8032 or https://gofan.co/app/school/CIFSJS, with a direct link expected to go live on Wednesday.