Shelby Pfeiler has had an inconsistent start to her season at the plate, but the Folsom High senior slugger appears to be coming out of it.
In a game against Del Oro last week, she had three hits, missing out on the cycle with no home run. On Wednesday at Oak Ridge, Pfeiler homered twice and drove in six runs in Folsom's 16-4 victory.
"Today was nice because I've been off with my hitting," Pfeiler said. "I haven't been hitting like I could. It's nice to have two home runs in a game, and I'm glad to do it for my team. I'm excited about it. It's nice that it was a league game and it's nice to beat a rival like Oak Ridge."
After not being able to get any big hits in a 5-1 loss to Vista del Lago on Monday, Folsom smashed the ball up and down the lineup against the Trojans, finishing with 17 hits. Four players: Hailey Scott, Sienna Prince, Jaedyn Barrow and Lauren Holcomb, the first and second and seventh and eighth hitters, respectfully, had three hits. Alexa DeMarse and Pfeiler, the third and fourth hitters, each had two hits. DeMarse and Barrow each drove in three runs.
The Bulldogs, 5-4 overall, 3-2 in league, got off to a quick start. In the top of the first inning, Scott tripled, Price singled and DeMarse was safe on a bunt to load the bases for Pfeiler, who drilled a pitch about 40 feet over the fence in right-centerfield for a grand slam.
Like with many teams that are inconsistent, the four-run lead wasn't safe. The Trojans, 1-8 overall, 0-4 in league, came back to tie the game at four after three innings. In the second, Tori Ceasri doubled to left field and Shelby Johnson followed with a single to center. Kylie Danis then drove in Ceasri with a ground out.
Oak Ridge scored three more times in the third inning. Jessica Szelenyi singled and Grace Kilday walked to get the short rally started. Maddie Rivas then singled to right field and advanced to third on an error, as both Szelenyi and Kilday scored. Camryn Kelly then lined out to right to score Rivas, which tied the game at four.
It was a nice comeback for a young, struggling team.
"Today it didn't show, but we've made a lot of progress from the start of the season with our mental game and with becoming a team and being good teammates," Oak Ridge coach Sam Toy said. "Grace Kilday has stepped up to improve herself as a leader, and we've really been able to lean on her as a leader."
The Trojans had five hits in the game: one each by Ceasri, Johnson, Szelenyi, Rivas and Danis.
Folsom then took over the game with seven runs in the fourth and five more in the fifth. Jones had an RBI single, Price later hit a two-run single and DeMarse followed with a two-run inside-the-park home run to right field to put the Bulldogs in front 9-4. Later in the fourth, Barrow knocked in two more runs with a base hit.
In the fifth, Pfeiler hit her second home run, a two-run shot, to give the Bulldogs a double-digit lead and Isra Rauf finished off the Trojans in the bottom of the fifth. Rauf finished with five strikeouts and a walk.
"We were finally able to generate some runs," Folsom coach Paige Beeskau said. "We put it all together, which is exactly what we didn't do Monday against Vista. We talked about bringing a higher energy level and that helped today too."
Oak Ridge will try to find its first league win on Friday at Granite Bay, while Folsom makes the trek to Rocklin looking to upset the Thunder.
