TRACY, Calif. – Freshman pitcher Kaili Heeb and senior right fielder Claire Krotine each hit 3-for-4 to lift St. Francis to an 11-5 win over Ben Holt Academy in the third-place game of the NorCal Leadoff Classic softball tournament at Tracy Legacy Fields Saturday. This followed a 9-3 loss to North Coast Section power Vintage in the semifinal round.
The Troubadours move to 5-16 for the season.
Heeb, who also hit 2-for-3 with an RBI against the Crushers, also picked up the decision against the Bobcats, taking over the pitching circle in the first inning, then cooling down BHCPA to just one run on five hits across 5.1 innings of relief. Krotine and sophomore Haydyn Haecker rapped out doubles in the afternoon win, with pitcher/DP Reese Lewis and and shortstop Kylee Garrett adding two more of St. Francis' 14 hits.
Ben Holt jumped out to a 4-0 lead, with junior Julieann Drulias leading the charge with an RBI triple. That lead swelled to 5-0 in the second before the Troubies scored two in the second, two in the third, four in the fourth and three in the fifth to pull away to the victory.
Isabella Barge and Olivia Meisner hit back-to-back RBI singles in that second frame. Heeb, Lewis and Garrett opened the third with consecutive hits to ignite the third, with the Troubies eventually whittling the deficit to just 5-4.
Following a Meisner walk, Krotine knocked a double to center in the fourth to give the Troubies two in scoring position. Both runners scored on a costly Bobcat error, with batter Jaeya Leavitt reaching second as part of the miscue. A failed rundown allowed Leavitt to move up 60 feet with Heeb able to reach second on the fielder's choice. This set the table for back-to-back sacrifice flies from Lewis and Garrett, extending the lead to 8-5.
Haecker entered as a pinch hitter in the fifth, and smacked a double to left to help ignite another rally. Krotine's infield single scored Barge, who reached on a two-base error prior to Haecker's hit. Heeb and Lewis followed with hits before Garrett produced a second sacrifice fly, all of which pushed across three more for SF to double the margin to six runs at 11-5.
Ben Holt threatened to cut into that lead by putting its first two batters aboard on a hit by pitch and infield hit, but Heeb worked her way out of it: an infield fly to Barge at third, then ground outs to each corner infielder for the finish.
Heeb poked an RBI double in the sixth for the second of her two hits and the sixth safety in Friday's early game against Vintage. Leavitt also managed a double, while Alexis McFarland had both a hit and an outfield double play in the second. Still, the Crusher bats managed 12 hits, including a two-run homer from senior pitcher Angie Rubalcava in the first.
Overall, Heeb hit 8-for-12 with three doubles and four RBIs in the four games at the NorCal tourney. That lifted her season totals ot 18-for-39 for a slash line of .462/.488./.615. Krotine finished 9-for-13 for the weekend, with five RBIs and four extra-base hits: the three triples on Friday plus the double in Saturday's closer. That not only improves to Santa Clara signee to .437/.481/.592, but raises her career batting average to .414.
The NorCal tourney represents the last non-league action on St. Francis' 2025 schedule. The Troubies resume Sierra Foothill League play at Folsom on Monday. First pitch is 5 p.m.
