Prep softball: ‘Energizer Bunny’ powers St. Francis defense to section title showdown

In a softball playoff game between two great teams, the little things matter.

St. Francis has that figured out. The Troubadors played an error-free game to knock off Elk Grove 3-0 Tuesday in a Sac-Joaquin Section semifinal. St. Francis moved on to face Del Oro in Saturday’s championship game.

But the Troubadors did more than play a clean game. Centerfielder Olivia McFarland made a pair of diving catches to keep the Thundering Herd off the scoreboard. Her second catch, made while sprinting toward the infield to snare a sinking line drive, ended the game.

Asked to talk about her defense, coach Kevin Warren wore a huge smile as he answered.

“I call her the Energizer Bunny because she’s all over the place,” he said. “In practice, you know, it doesn’t matter where you are on the field. The ball goes up, she’s chasing it down. And I think there are points where her teammates are like ‘let me catch something’ because she’s all over everything. Loves diving, goes all-out. Doesn’t matter if it’s in front of her or off to the side or behind her. Her purpose is to catch the ball.”

St. Francis didn’t have a problem with catching the ball at all Tuesday. The Troubadors played an error-free game behind pitcher Hope Jenkins, who allowed two hits and walked two batters. No Elk Grove runner made it past first base as St. Francis played locked-down defense.

But the Thundering Herd had an answer of their own, with pitcher Aissa Silva allowing just one base runner in the first three innings.

But Francesca Guerra led off the fourth inning with a walk and eventually reached third base on an error. Alexandra Garcia wasn’t going to miss an opportunity. She spent hours Monday night watching tape of her old at-bats against Silva, looking for a pattern she could capitalize on for a hit. With one ball and two strikes, Garcia ripped a line drive single up the middle for the first hit of the game and the first of her career against Silva.

“I just wanted to see where she was pitching me and what her approach was, and she’s a really great pitcher, so I knew she was gonna come at me with two strikes,” Garcia said. “I just was thinking about the sacrifice fly because we needed that first run, so I just swinging and I just happened to get a good hit.”

That unearned run was followed by two more in the fifth inning. A pair of St. Francis runners were caught in a run-down after a base hit, but the catcher couldn’t hold onto the ball at home plate and two runners scored. The plate was buried in dirt, but Grace Jenkins found it, slapping the plate with her hand for emphasis after St. Francis took a 3-0 lead.

“They’re an amazing team, amazing pitcher. You know, a couple other seniors ended their season here and that’s really sad but this game means so much to me. And it means so much to all the girls on the St. Francis team,” Grace Jenkins said. “And so for us to get that extra insurance run against such a great team, that emotion just completely just took over. I was so hyped up, so excited. And that’s what this game means to us.

“We’ve sacrificed everything this season – after-school practices, 7 a.m. practices. And you know, this school demands a lot of us in the classroom. So this game just means so much to be able to say St. Francis is going to the championship.”

While it was a tight loss, Elk Grove was relatively upbeat. It will tough to say goodbye to the team’s three seniors, but the Thundering Herd look like a budding powerhouse. Coach Amanda Buck expects her team will bounce back.

“I think a little bit of our inexperience showed a little bit tonight,” she said. “They’re a very good team. I thought we had a good game plan when we came in there. We had some nice hard hits. It just seemed like we were hitting them right at people you know, and that’s unfortunate.”

Both teams were playing for a shot at history. St. Francis advanced to its first section championship game since 2002. Warren, the Troubadors coach, led teams to section championship games in the mid-1990s, but it’s been a long road back to the title game.

They’ll face Del Oro on Saturday at Sacramento City College. Del Oro spent most of the season ranked No. 1 in the Sacramento area. But the Golden Eagles dropped into Division II and have been on a playoff tear ever since.

The looming showdown couldn’t wipe the smile off Warren’s face.

“It’s a great feeling to be back here and be back in the section championship,” he said. “When we started here, we were always in Division I. We always battled against the best teams, you know, and these girls, they’re ready for that.”

This story was originally published May 25, 2022 at 7:34 AM.