LA JOLLA, Calif. – Saint Mary's Softball heads down south to participate in the La Jolla Invitational, hosted by UC San Diego, this weekend from Friday, February 18th through Sunday, February 20th. Saturday night's game against UC San Diego will be televised live on ESPN+.

THE DETAILS
GAME #1
Saint Mary's (2-3) vs. Utah (2-3)
Friday, February 18 at 11:00 a.m.
Triton Softball Field - La Jolla, Calif.
Live Stats

GAME #2
Saint Mary's (2-3) at UC San Diego (2-3)
Friday, February 18 at 4:30 p.m.
Triton Softball Field - La Jolla, Calif.
Live Stats

GAME #3
Saint Mary's (2-3) vs. Sacramento (2-2)
Saturday, February 19 at 2:00 p.m.
Triton Softball Field - La Jolla, Calif.
Live Stats

GAME #4
Saint Mary's (2-3) at UC San Diego (2-3)
Saturday, February 19 at 7:00 p.m.
Triton Softball Field - La Jolla, Calif.
Watch | Live Stats

GAME #5
Saint Mary's (2-3) vs. Utah (2-3)
Sunday, February 20 at 12:30 p.m.
Triton Softball Field - La Jolla, Calif.
Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
In the first game of the season, the Gaels competed in a solid matchup against the Montana Grizzlies. Neither pitcher allowed a run to score throughout the first seven innings though the Gaels and the Grizzlies both had opportunities to put runs on the board. The game flipped on its side in the top of the eighth inning as the Gaels were able to find their rhythm. With Reyna Heredia placed on second as the international tiebreaker, Marissa Nishihara opened the inning by smashing a triple down the right field line, scoring Heredia and giving the Gaels a 1-0 lead. Jayda Alaan followed with a sacrifice fly, allowing Nishihara to score and put the Gaels up 2-0. The Grizzlies made their comeback attempt with an RBI double making it 2-1, but it was not enough to get the win over the Gaels. 

ONCE MORE
The next day, Saint Mary's began the day with another matchup against Montana. Although the Gaels were successful the first time around, they could not seem to find that same stability. The Gaels sent out four pitchers in game one, holding onto their ace for game two of the morning. With Avery Wolverton and Kailey O'Connor making their first appearances in the circle, it was not enough to get the Gaels to the top, falling 11-2 to the Grizzlies. 

CAME UP SHORT
Later that same day, the Gaels competed against the host of the tournament, UC Davis. The Gaels fell early to the Aggies, allowing runs in the first, third, fourth, and fifth innings. Although only two of the four runs were charged as earned against Sofia Earle, Wolverton came to play midway through the fifth and retired five of the six hitters that she faced. Though they were finding success late in the game, with Claudia Kirchner driving Alex Casas home with a single to right field, making it a 4-1 game, the Gaels still needed at least one more runner to reach base before the tying run could come to bat. The Aggies held down their home turf with a pitching change to finalize the win against the Gaels.

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.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS 
Utah is the first of two teams to compete against Saint Mary's on Friday. Sydney Sandez, a senior for the University of Utah, currently holds an ERA of 1.38. Part of her early season success comes on the heels of a complete game shutout versus Missouri State on February 11. On the batting end, leading the team with an average of .467, Ellesa Bonstrom has launched three home runs and has driven in six RBI. Three of their players earned postseason accolades including Haley Denning earning NFCA All-Region first team and All-Pac-12 second team, Halle Morris earning NFCA All-Region third team, and Ellesa Bonstrom earning third team All-Pac-12 honors. 

The Gaels then follow up with a game against the hosts of the weekend, UC San Diego. Similarly to Utah, pitching is their known strong suit with Jada Cecil holding an ERA of just 1.08 so far this season with 13 innings played. The Tritons struggled in the first weekend of the season offensively, but have two players who have mashed the ball early on. Both Gabby Williams and Kelia Bosinger have two home runs each early this season. Williams has driven in four runs, while Bosinger is at five.

Saint Mary's has seen a lot of strong pitching staffs early in the season, and that trend will continue when they play Sacramento State this weekend. With 12 innings pitched this season, junior pitcher Marissa Bertuccio has been the ace of the staff early with an ERA of 1.17. When it comes to the plate for the Hornets, Lexie Webb and Lewa Day have been the primary run producers early on in the season, as they each have a pair of home runs.