Gregori softball rallies to defeat Franklin of Elk Grove in Division I opener

Gregori High softball coach Alannah Jones raced out of the dugout and wrapped starting pitcher Madison Marsh in a bear hug.

After a perfect run through the Modesto Metro Conference, Gregori has said all along that, win or lose, the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I tournament would be “icing on the cake.”

Well, these talent-rich Jaguars are hungry for more.

More wins.

More time together.

More bear-hug finishes.

Gregori scored four runs over the final three innings in a 5-3 victory over Franklin of Elk Grove on Thursday at the Sacramento Softball Complex.

Jones said the emotion stemmed from her team’s ability to stave off the young but talented Wildcats. The victory, she added, was a testament to their talent and mental maturity.

“That was a lot of hard work, dedication and never giving up,” Jones said. “This was a good ball game. That’s a good team over there. They executed and did their job. We came back when we needed to and held them. This was a good game.”

Marsh deserved the hug. The Delaware-bound ace struck out four batters in the final two innings, including No. 12 looking to close out the victory.

The Jaguars will play No. 3 Vacaville on Saturday at 10 a.m. Vacaville blanked Franklin of Stockton, 10-0.

“She’s been rock-solid for us all year long,” Jones said of Marsh, now 14-5 on the season. “She’s our workhorse and I trust her 110 percent.”

Mehana Jones drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning as Gregori answered Franklin’s three-run surge just moments earlier.

Trailing 2-0, the Wildcats took a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth. Caylee Moore and Courtney Jack had RBI singles and Mackenzie Vega drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 3-2.

Gregori would respond in the bottom half of the inning. Nicole Stewart tied the game with an RBI single, plating Nichole Alexander who reached on an error by the third baseman.

Jasmine Temple and Marsh followed with singles to load the bases for Mehana Jones, who drove in a game-high two runs.

Hannah Hoffman and Alexander also had RBIs. Alexander provided the insurance run in the sixth inning, driving home Ashley McBay with a sacrifice fly.

The fleet-footed junior led off the inning with a bunt single and then stole second base. McBay moved to third on Tyler Modesto’s slap single and scored one batter later.

“The great thing about this team is that they’re very mentally mature,” coach Jones said. “If a team jumps on them, they don’t get down. They keep their chins up and say, ‘Hey, let’s go back to work and get it done.’ ”

With a playoff win under their belt and a roster featuring four college-bound players, the Jaguars believe they can make a deep run in the playoffs.

The opponents only get harder from here.

Vacaville (17-5-1) is the Monticello Empire League champion and ranked 66th in the state by MaxPreps. Starter Katie Kibby is 17-5 with 192 strikeouts in 141-plus innings. Her rise left Franklin of Stockton heart-broken on Thursday.

The winner would face either No. 2 Woodcreek or No. 7 River City in a quarterfinal game at noon.

“Every win after our 12-0 (conference season) is just icing on the cake,” coach Jones said. “We wanted to win conference and that’s a goal we achieved. We started to get momentum and thought ‘Hey, we can go undefeated,’ and we achieved that.

“Now we want to keep playing well and go as deep as we can go. I have no doubt in my mind we can go deep this year. It’s our best opportunity with a great roster to finally push through and represent the MMC.”

This story was originally published May 20, 2016 at 10:30 AM with the headline "Gregori softball rallies to defeat Franklin of Elk Grove in Division I opener."