SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Senior center fielder Alexis McFarland hit 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs while robbing Sami McKown of a home run in the first inning, while sophomore pitcher Kaili Heeb struck out six batters while igniting a five-run rally in the sixth, as St. Francis turned back Granite Bay, 5-2, in Sierra Foothill League girls' fastpitch action at Schuster Field Monday.

The Troubadours win their second straight, improving to 11-12 overall with a 4-7 record in league play. The Grizzlies slip to 5-13 for the year and remain at the bottom of the SFL standings at 2-9.

McFarland and Heeb accounted for half of St. Francis' hits, but the other three knocks also came in that pivotal sixth frame. Elizabeth Bettar, Marissa Jensen and Chloe Hoertsch chipped in singles during the comeback rally. Hoertsch also contributed defensively by gunning down two would-be base stealers earlier in the contest.

Granite Bay took an immediate lead in the first, although the damage could have been much greater if not for McFarland's play at the fence. Reese Litherland led off with a walk – the only one Heeb issued for the game – with Cam Lincoln following with a short liner to right. Two batters later, McKown lofted a high fly that McFarland read all the way to the track. The San Francisco State commit snared the ball just beyond the fence line, then fired back into the infield to prevent either runner from tagging up.

GB pitcher Grace Thorns followed the web gem with a hard bounder to left, with Litherland barely beating Jensen's throw to the plate. Heeb then punched out Reese Clark to end the inning, with the McFarland catch helping to hold the Grizzlies to the single run instead of three.

Grizzly third baseman Leilani Terrazas led off the sixth with a triple past a diving Bettar in the right-field corner. Ariella Alcantar made a lunging grab on a ground ball deep in the hole to keep Terrazas in place, but then Thorns rapped out her second RBI hit to double the GB lead to 2-0.

Thorns rapped out another RBI hit in the sixth following a triple by senior, but for the second time, a key defensive play helped limit the damage. With two out, Eliana Snobar launched a double off the fence in center. McFarland played the carom and attempted to gun down Snobar at second. However, Thorns' courtesy runner made too wide a turn around third, allowing Isabella Barge to fire to Jocelyn Villaflor at third.

After the break on the basepaths in the top of the sixth, St. Francis went to work in the bottom half. Bettar, Jensen and Heeb poked base hits to each field, with Heeb's liner to right center bringing in Bettar for the first Troubie run. Lillyana Perkins stole second to give SF two in scoring position, then Barge walked to load the bases. Two batters later, Villaflor drew another free pass, scoring Jensen for the equalizer.

With the bases still loaded, Hoertsch slammed a hard liner over the head of Granite Bay shortstop Reese Litherland. The Grizzly freshman leaped and got a glove on the drive, so much so that each Troubie baserunner hesitated to see if the ball had been caught. By the time Litherland recovered to pick up the ball, Perkins had scored with Barge and Villaflor safely moving up.

Now holding a 3-2 lead with Snobar in the circle for the Grizzlies, St. Francis had the lefty McFarland up at bat. Granite Bay brought the left side of the infield in to play even with the bags, meaning McFarland's subsequent hard grounder proved too hot for Litherland to handle. This plated Barge and Villaflor, and gave the Troubies their final 5-2 lead.

Heeb completed her win with a fly out to each outfielder in the seventh.

Monday's game, a rescheduling of the weather-postponed April 22 contest, marked the second time McFarland's bat led the Troubies against the Grizzlies this season. She went 3-for-3 with a double, triple and two runs scored in the 6-5 win back on April 13.

St. Francis travels to Del Oro on Wednesday, then returns home to host Oak Ridge on Friday. The Friday visit by the Trojans features the annual Booster-Q barbecue, plus the Senior Day ceremony for Barge, McFarland, Jensen, Reese Lewis, Jaeya Leavitt, Julia Nielsen and manager Lilly Desmond.