MORAGA, Calif.  — The Saint Mary's softball team will travel to the Central Valley this weekend as they will face off against four different teams in the Fresno State Kickoff Classic on Feb. 14-16.

The tournament will begin on Friday with a games against California and Cal Poly starting at 9 a.m. On Saturday, the Gaels will face the same teams in another two-game set beginning at 9 a.m. against Cal Poly. On the final day of play, Saint Mary's will take on Fordham and later the host, Fresno State, with first pitch coming at 9 a.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Gaels are coming off their first victory of the 2020 season as they defeated Idaho State 12-3 in five innings in the final game of the Norcal Kickoff last week. In the contest, SMC was led by Hannah Chew who went 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBI's while Maddie Gallagher also tallied two runs and two RBI's going 2-for-4. Two home runs were recorded in the game courtesy of Gallagher and Indya Smith for the Gaels' first multi-home run contest of the season.

Julia McCormack leads the team so far this season as she has collected six hits including two doubles, one triple and a home run. The junior also owns a .706 on base percentage and has tallied three runs and earned six walks. 

ABOUT CALIFORNIA
The Bears currently own a 3-2 overall record as they picked up three wins in the Felsberg Invitational last week to begin their season. California tallied two victories over Michigan State before recording a close 3-1 win over Penn State after falling to them earlier in the tournament. The Bears are led by Amani Bradley who has collected eight hits so far this season including a double while Kacey Zobac has posted five RBI's and one home run in her 14 at bats. 

ABOUT CAL POLY
The Mustangs are 2-2 so far this year as they closed out the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament last week with an 11-3 victory over CSU Bakersfield. Cal Poly opened their 2020 season with a close 9-8 win in eight innings over Pitt in the same tournament. Shelby Jeffries has tallied five hits so far including two doubles and a home run while recording eight RBI's to lead the team. 

ABOUT FORDHAM
The Rams own a 1-4 posting after picking up their first win of the season in a 4-3 victory over Northwestern State in their final contest of the Houston Invitational. Amanda Carey is at the forefront of Fordham's efforts as she has tallied one double, a triple and two home runs in her six total hits while also recording three RBIs. In the circle, Devon Miller leads the team with a 1-0 record and a 5.56 ERA in 11.1 innings pitched.

ABOUT FRESNO STATE
The Bulldogs are 3-2 so far this season as they just completed the South Florida Tournament last week. Fresno State won the first three games of the tournament but fell to two nationally ranked teams for their first losses of the year. Throughout the tournament, the Bulldogs were led by Schuylar Broussard who recorded a 3-run home run in the first game while Kaitlyn Jennings recorded an RBI triple and a solo shot home run in the third game.