Tracy 7, Lincoln 6

Tracy’s softball team had to stay sharp in order to get Friday’s 7-6 win in eight innings at Lincoln High in Stockton.

Tracy had a 3-1 lead in the second inning, and held on with a triple play just as Lincoln was threatening to score. With no outs and runners on second and first, Lincoln’s baserunners took off on a line-drive up the middle.

Tracy pitcher Brianna Warner snagged the ball, threw to Briana Aldridge at second, who threw to Angela Mariani at first to catch both runners off the bases and end the inning.

Lincoln made it a 5-5 tie with a run in the bottom of the seventh, and Tracy took the game back with two out in the top of the eighth when Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run double to deep left field to put Tracy ahead. The Trojans scored one more in the bottom of the eighth.

The win puts Tracy (13-10-1, 6-2 SJAA) in a three-way tie for first place in the San Joaquin Athletic Association with Lodi and Bear Creek. Tracy has two games left next week, including Wednesday’s home game against Bear Creek, which could decide the league champion.

Warner pitched all eight innings for the win and also had three hits and batted in two runs. Loran Saenz had two hits and drove in two with two out in the first inning, and Jasmin Guevara and Taylor Martinez also had two hits each.

West 7, Edison 2

West High’s softball team (22-4, 8-1 TCAL) went on the road Thursday for a 7-2 win over Edison High in Stockton. Kacey Cota pitched seven innings and allowed three hits and struck out 10 batters. West had 11 hits for the day, including singles and doubles for both Ashley Tornio and Ciara Ervin. Jill Anastasio and Jessica Anastasio had two hits each, and Allison Noble, Emma Bracket and Madison Hargraves also had base hits.

Kimball 11, Weston Ranch 0

An 11-0 win for the Kimball High softball team on Thursday was the exclamation point on a successful season for the first-year varsity team.

Kimball finishes the regular season at 19-8 and 10-4 in the Valley Oak League, in third place behind Sierra and Oakdale. Now the Jaguars girls head to the next part of their season: The Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs. They’re the school's second varsity team, including the Kimball boys tennis team, to go to playoffs.

Next up is Cosumnes Oaks of Elk Grove, champion of the Sierra Valley Conference, in the first round. They play at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18, at Arnaiz Fields in Stockton. The winner goes into a four-team double-elimination bracket, with the championship game on Saturday, May 21.

“It doesn’t make me nervous because I know we can compete with the teams out there,” freshman second baseman Llesenia Torres said. “Even though we don’t have any seniors it’s no big deal for us because I know we can do it and I have confidence in our team.”

Kimball’s team has five freshmen, four sophomores and four juniors. Coach Joe Hernandez said that in spite of being a young team, the girls all have experience with club softball and have all been in high-pressure situations.

“The very first game we played against Tracy here, you could see the look in their eyes and I said, ‘You guys need to relax. You’ve played in bigger games than this. This is just the opening game. It’s not even a league game,’” Hernandez said.

“They did a good job there, and also at the St. Mary’s tournament, we played a tough team from Clovis and fell behind and came back and won it late in the game for the championship. That was a good test for us also.”

Sophomore shortstop Arianna Hawkins added that the team brings a lot of mutual support among players, which meant a lot to her in her first year at Kimball High.

“Everybody working together helped us get where we are.”

Thursday’s game was a chance for Kimball’s batters to show their capabilities, even if it took only four innings for the Jaguars to finish the game. The Jaguars had nine hits, including two singles and a double for Hawkins, who batted in four runs. Danielle Lallos also batted in two in the Jaguars’ six-run fourth inning when she singled to right and advanced to third on an outfield error. Hawkins then singled to drive in Lallos. Lallos scored the winning run in the fourth when she reached on an error, advanced to third on Hanville’s single, and scored on a wild pitch.

Alexis Lopez pitched four innings for the win and allowed two hits and struck out three, facing only 14 batters.

Sophmores: Kimball 15, Weston Ranch 10

The Jaguars sophomore came from behind Thursday after the Cougars held a 9-4 lead going into the fourth inning. Kimball rallied for four runs, including a two-RBI base hit for Isabella Peralta. Peralta, Jamie Kerr, Karina Trejo and Rhiannon Archbold all drove in runs in the fifth inning to put their team ahead. Kayla Chelman pitched the first five innings for Kimball and Priscilla Franco pitched the last two innings. The sophomores finish the season at 15-7, 7-7 in the VOL.