St. Francis High’s win streak against Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League opponents came to an abrupt halt on Tuesday. The Sharks lost 9-4 to defending SCCAL champion San Lorenzo Valley High. They had won four straight before running into the Cougars.
Ariana Azevedo was 2-for-4 in the loss with a pair of doubles and two scored runs. Grace Kovacs had two hits and two RBIs, while Claire Cagnacci was 3-for-4 with an RBI.
The loss eliminated the Sharks from the SCCAL title hunt, but they bounced back on Thursday with a 14-1 win over Santa Cruz High at home to set the program record for most wins in a single season (11).
Anna Noto had two doubles and four RBIs. Shelby Velasco struck out eight batters in the circle and had two RBIs at the plate.
In other high school softball action this week:
SMALL BUT MIGHTY
Watsonville High freshman outfielder Anastacia Alba continued her stellar first season with the bat on Wednesday, smashing her eighth homer of the year to lead the Wildcatz to a 4-0 Monterey Bay League Gabilan division win over Christopher High.
Watsonville finishes off its MBL-G season on Thursday at Salinas High at 4:30 p.m.
APTOS TRUCKS AHEAD
Junior outfielder Julia Cano pitched five solid innings from the circle and smashed a three-run homer at the plate to lead Aptos High to a 14-3 SCCAL win over Harbor High on Thursday.
Cano allowed two hits, three runs and five walks. She struck out nine.
Martina Churchill was 2-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and two scored runs for Aptos, which is now 9-0 in SCCAL action.
LINE OF THE WEEK (April 26-May 2)
St. Francis sophomore Claire Cagnacci had a home run, a double, six RBIs and two scored runs for the Sharks in their 16-6 win over Scotts Valley High on April 26.
GAME OF THE WEEK (May 4-10)
Aptos vs St. Francis, May 8, 4 p.m. — The Mariners will try to continue their march to the SCCAL title against the upstart Sharks. Aptos has not won a league title since 2011.
The Mariners won the first meeting, 7-3, in Watsonville.
