Plenty of Hope for St. Francis softball: Troubadors earn statement win over Rosemont

The only thing that went wrong for the St. Francis softball team Wednesday was when Hope Jenkins hammered a ball over the Rosemont centerfield sign for a three-run home run. Before the game, a coach had jokingly offered a Starbucks gift card to anybody who hit the centerfield sign. Jenkins’ ball sailed well over the sign.

“I guess I missed that one,” Jenkins said with a laugh.

The Troubadours had plenty to smile about. Jenkins dominated on the pitching mound and St. Francis cruised to a five-inning 11-0 win over a solid Wolverines team. Jenkins, a junior who’s going to the University of Connecticut, was flawless, other than missing the sign. She struck out 12 and didn’t allow a baserunner. At the plate, she was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, with five RBIs and two runs scored.

And she had plenty of help.

Every St. Francis starter reached base at least once; most reached base twice. Leadoff hitter Amy Abueg hit a triple and single and scored twice. And of course there was catcher Gracie Jenkins, Hope’s twin sister who’s also going to UConn, who added a two-RBI double.

It was Hope’s work on the pitcher’s mound that was most impressive. Her fastball hit 65 mph, a blistering speed for high school pitchers. She struck out 11 of the first 12 batters she faced, though the Wolverines ground out long at-bats early in the game and made her work.

“They were picky,” Jenkins said. “That’s good on their part. I was just hitting those corners and hoping they would swing and I got a few of them. Just gotta battle back.”

St. Francis coach Kevin Warren smiled under his K-95 mask when asked about his team. The Troubadours have all but one player back from last year’s team, which went 7-1 before the pandemic shutdown. St. Francis (1-1) lost a nine-inning game to Del Oro last week, but Warren thinks he might have a special crew. He certainly has a strong battery, with Gracie Jenkins running the game behind the plate and keeping her sister in the strike zone.

“Whenever you have a pitcher like that, it’s ideal,” Warren said. “And her sister behind the plate, the battery mate, they know each other very well because they’ve been playing together so long. The chemistry between them is spot on. She knows when Hope needs a little shot in the arm or when she needs a pat on the back. So that’s huge.”

It was big against Rosemont. The Wolverines are a proud program, with appearances in the Sac-Joaquin Section’s Tournament of Champions in the last three seasons. Coach Todd Mills went out of his way to compliment the Jenkins twins as they headed off the field after the game.

“Our goal was to try to get her to throw as many pitches as possible, she was just too good for us,” Mills said. “She was way too good for us.”

Offense was not been a problem for Rosemont (3-1) in any prior game. The Wolverines scored a combined 44 runs in three wins to start the season.

Facing the Jenkins twins was an important wake-up call, Mills said, for a Rosemont team that still holds much promise. The Wolverines have seven seniors, but they also have a lot of young players trying to contribute.

“It was a big game for our freshmen, we have four of them, I don’t think they understood the gravity of the situation,” Mills said. “A lot of this is mental for these girls and they have to shake this one off. We’ve got another one tomorrow.”

Rosemont faces Elk Grove on Thursday. St. Francis is off until next Tuesday, when the Troubadours will face Rio Linda.

Hope Jenkins is just happy to be playing any games. She was asked if she was happy with a statement win over Rosemont. Instead of answering with platitudes about taking it one game at a time, she reflected on the joy that comes from simply playing games.

“Having softball gone for so long, you don’t know what you have until it’s gone,” she said. “I’m realizing how much I actually had and appreciate it. I just have to give it everything I’ve got because it could be my last softball game. You never know. I’m a lot more appreciative and thankful for everything I have.”

She and the rest of the Troubadours seem to have quite a lot.