Wasting no time, Benicia High’s softball team jumped on Elk Grove early and often Wednesday and went on to beat the Thundering Herd, 8-2, to win the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship at the Sacramento Softball Complex.

The Lady Panthers became the first Benicia High team in any sport to win back-to-back SJS championships and the first BHS softball team to go undefeated in the SJS playoffs. The Lady Panthers also finished with a 28-4 record, the program’s best record ever.

“They fought hard all year long and deserve this,” said Kristin Grubbs, who won her first Section title as Benicia manager after taking over for 2014 manager Jeana Gevas. “This team was special from the beginning.”

“It feels really good doing that,” shortstop Shelby Thompson said of the team’s back-to-back Section titles.

“It feels great,” added senior Mallory Barnard, who went 3-for-4 with three runs and a RBI in the championship game. “Elk Grove is a really good team and we didn’t want to give them any hope at all.”

Benicia, which squeaked past Elk Grove, 2-1, in a winner’s bracket game two nights earlier, jumped out to a commanding 7-0 lead after four innings. Barnard led off the bottom of the first with a single and later scored on a Thompson RBI single to make it 1-0. The Lady Panthers added two more runs in the third on a McKenna Gregory sacrifice fly and a RBI single by Brianna Schlattman.

Benicia took complete command in the bottom of the fourth. Olivia DeJesu and Courtney Bowling led off with singles and DeJesu later scored on a double steal. Barnard doubled home Bowling, and Thompson made it 7-0 with a two-out, two-run homer to right. It was the 10th home run of the season for the Solano County Athletic Conference Player of the Year.

“We talked before the game how we wanted to score in every inning and we were ready to hit,” said Thompson, who had three homers during the postseason.

“That gave us some wind in our sails to continue through the game,” Grubbs said of Thompson’s blast. “It was nice not being in a nail-biter. We jumped on them early and executed well. We showed we deserved that No. 1 seed and we earned every hit and every run.”

“It was really important to get ahead early and it was a good feeling,” said sophomore Katie Vretzos.

Victoria Mackey’s sacrifice fly in the fifth inning made it 8-0, and the way Gregory was pitching, there was little hope left for the Thundering Herd (28-4). Gregory had a shutout going until the top of the seventh inning when a couple of hits and two Benicia errors led to two runs. Gregory picked up the win in all five postseason games for the Lady Panthers, who outscored their opponents 32-7.

“I was just there to win and never felt uncomfortable,” said Gregory, who scattered six hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out six. “It was nice not having to pitch with only a one-run lead. I was hitting my spots and had a great catcher to throw to, and that made me feel unstoppable. I didn’t do much at the plate so I did it in the field.”

“She’s phenomenal,” Grubbs said of Gregory. “She hits her spots and has good speed. She did really well.”

Gregory got some defensive help when Benicia turned a double play in the top of the first and Bowling made a diving catch leading off the Elk Grove fifth.

Benicia ended the season on a 15-game winning streak and several Lady Panthers were already talking about a three-peat next year. Thompson (SCAC MVP) is only a junior, as is All-SCAC catcher Allie Bullock. Gregory (SCAC Pitcher of the Year), Vretzos and All-SCAC selection Nataschia Wibben are only sophomores.

“This just makes us want to come back here next year and get No. 3,” Bullock said.

“I want a ring for every year that I’m here,” Gregory said.

“I wanna enjoy this one first before we start thinking about winning another one,” Grubbs said.