DAVIS, Calif. — Concluding a busy first weekend of the softball season, Saint Mary's played twice more in the final day of the NorCal Kickoff. Once again playing at UC Davis, the Gaels squared off against San Jose State and UC Davis for a pair of games. Claudia Kirchner played hero in the first game for Saint Mary's as she delivered her first collegiate walk-off hit in the ninth inning to beat the Spartans 4-3 before falling to UC Davis 4-1. SMC begins the season with a 2-3 record.
 
Game 1: Saint Mary's 4, San Jose State 3 (9 innings)
 
HERO OF THE DAY
Saint Mary's once again played another late-inning, drama-filled game that went their way, and a freshman delivered as the hero. In the bottom of the ninth inning, after holding the Spartans scoreless in the top half, Claudia Kirchner delivered the game-winning single on a 1-2 count to open up the bottom of the ninth. She dropped it in down the left field line, scoring Alyssa Vessel from second, who was the international tiebreaker runner. It's just the third hit in Kirchner's collegiate career, and it gave the Gaels their second extra-inning win of 2022. This marks the first time since 2018 that the Gaels have won multiple games in extra innings in a single season.
 
ALMOST DIDN'T GET THERE
The eighth inning was filled with tension, as the Spartans got their run across in the top half of the inning and forced the Gaels to answer. Down 3-2, Saint Mary's was down to their final out with a runner on second base before Alex Casas kept the game alive. She hit a ball to short that was thrown away, allowing Vessel to score the tying run and keep SMC in the game. Angelina Franco then walked, setting up a chance for the walk-off win in the eighth, but the Gaels couldn't break through.
 
OPPORTUNISTIC GAELS
Twice in the game, Saint Mary's scored via an error, including in the fifth inning when they tied the game at 2-2 off the bat of Reyna Heredia. Lindsay Cabral led off the inning with a single, and then came around to score after the Gaels executed a sacrifice bunt that was thrown away by the Spartans pitcher, allowing Marissa Montelongo to come all the way around and score. This was more than enough for the Gaels to wait out their offense, as Kayla Scott was terrific in the circle. In relief, she tossed six innings without allowing an earned run, while allowing seven hits and striking out seven without a walk, earning her first win of the season.
 
Game 2: UC Davis 4, Saint Mary's 1
 
READY IN RELIEF
The Saint Mary's bullpen kept the Gaels in game two of the afternoon, after three UC Davis runs scored without an out. Avrey Wolverton delivered her second great relief outing in as many days, holding the Aggies without a hit across 2.2 innings, while allowing just one unearned run to score and striking out two. Then Kayla Scott took over and she was sharp just like she was in game one out of the bullpen. She failed to allow a run in 3.1 innings of work, capping off a day that featured 9.1 innings without allowing an earned run.
 
GAME FLOW
Sunday's game against UC Davis followed a similar pattern that Saturday's had in the sense that the Gaels got down 4-0 and then started to rally late in the game. This time it came in the sixth inning, when SMC got the tying run to the plate. Sasa Koria began the inning as a pinch hitter and drew a walk, and then was subbed out for Montelongo as a pinch runner. Marissa Nishihara then laid down a successful sacrifice bunt, but Montelongo tried for third base. An errant throw allowed Montelongo to score, making it a 4-1 game. Jayda Alaan then followed with a walk, and Casas dropped down a bunt single, putting two runners aboard and the tying run at the plate. The Gaels could not convert, however, keep the game at 4-1.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will head to San Diego next weekend for an appearance in the La Jolla Invitational, hosted by UC San Diego. The Gaels will once again play five games across three days, beginning with games against Utah and UC San Diego on Friday, February 18, starting at 11:00 am. The Gaels will see Utah and UC San Diego twice, with a game against Sacramento State in between.