LA JOLLA, Calif. — After snagging a couple of extra inning wins during the first tournament of the season, Saint Mary's Softball set their sights on more during their second weekend of action. The Gaels went down to UC San Diego to take part in the La Jolla Invitational, with another five games over three days ahead. Offense was at a premium for the Gaels, who continued to find success late in games, but they ultimately dropped a pair on day one. The first game went to Utah 6-2, while UC San Diego came back late to beat the Gaels 3-2 in game two. SMC is now 2-5 after seven games.
 
Game 1: Utah 6, Saint Mary's 2
 
LATE LIFE
The Saint Mary's offense continued to show signs of life in the later innings, when they made things interesting. Down 2-0 in the top of the fifth, the Gaels scratched across their first run, taking advantage of some mistake by the Utes. Reyna Heredia led off the inning by reaching on a fielding error, and after being moved to second base, Jayda Alaan brought her home on a single with another error, making it 2-1. In the seventh, the Gaels got another run on the board after Sasa Koria opened up the inning with a double, and then Holly Lusk singled home Marissa Montelongo, who was running at second base for Koria.
 
MISSED CHANCES
The Gaels were receiving a great performance from Kayla Scott early on, who retired the first 10 Utes of the game, but even when trailing, the Gaels had chances to score. In the third inning, the Gaels had two runners on without any outs after Marissa Nishihara walked and Alaan was hit by a pitch to open inning, but SMC could not score. In the seventh, with a run already hope, the Gaels had two runners on with nobody out, and once they both got into scoring position, the Gaels could not bring either runner home. Despite just pushing across two runs, there were chances for Saint Mary's to put up crooked numbers, meaning the offense will come.
 
Game 2: UC San Diego 3, Saint Mary's 2
 
EARLE-Y FORM
Both the Gaels and the Tritons traded zeroes for much of the second game of the double-dip, and Sofia Earle was the one to blame for the lack of pop on the Tritons end. She was spinning up all kinds of success in the circle, striking out seven UCSD hitters in the first four innings of scoreless softball. She also limited the Tritons to just two hits through the first four frames. By the time her day was done, she had tossed five frames and punched out 10, the third time in her career she has struck out at least 10 in a game.
 
QUICK STRIKE
The Gaels were down 1-0 going into the top of the sixth inning when they quickly, and suddenly, found themselves in front 2-1. Jayda Alaan opened up the inning with a single, and immediately after, Sasa Koria came through again by roping a triple to deep right center, scoring the game-tying run. With Marissa Montelongo running at third for Koria, Alex Casas drove her in by dropping a single into center to give SMC a 2-1 advantage late in the game.
 
TAKING IT BACK
Unfortunately for the Gaels, their 2-1 lead late in the game did not last long, as the Tritons came right back with some lightning of their own. A leadoff single, stolen base, and another single promptly tied the game and forced the Gaels to bring in Kayla Scott for her second appearance of the day. Another stolen base and a triple later, and suddenly SMC was playing from behind, down 3-2. To Scott's credit, she did prevent the Tritons from scoring again with runners at second and third and nobody out, but the damage had already been suffered.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will get ready for two more games during day two of the La Jolla Invitational, with another rematch on tap. Saint Mary's first plays Sacramento State at 2:00 pm before playing under the lights in La Jolla against the hosting Tritons at 7:00 pm. Gaels fans will be treated during the 7:00 pm first pitch, as the game will be televised on ESPN+. The La Jolla Invitational wraps up Sunday with the Gaels play Utah at 12:30 pm.
 
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