MORAGA, Calif. — It took six weeks into the season, but Saint Mary's Softball began the home portion of their schedule on Friday afternoon as they welcomed in North Dakota for the start of a three-game series. The Gaels and Fighting Hawks played two games on Friday as opposed to Saturday due to forecasted rain in the Bay Area on Saturday. Both teams played low-scoring affairs, and the Gaels won game one 3-2 in extra innings before dropping the second game 3-0. Saint Mary's is now 8-14 on the season after both games.
 
Game 1: Saint Mary's 3, North Dakota 2 (8 innings)
 
THE COUNTER-PUNCH
In extra innings, Saint Mary's was able to hold off North Dakota's tiebreaker runner and drive in their own. After opting to not go for the sacrifice bunt, a groundout moved Lindsay Cabral to third base and put the Gaels just one base away from winning the game. In stepped Sasa Koria, who sent a ball to centerfield for the walk-off single to send the Gaels into elation in their first home game of the season. For SMC, it is their second walk-off win of the year, after winning their first game of 2022 in walk-off fashion on a neutral field.

THE PUNCH BEFORE THE COUNTER-PUNCH
It looked like Saint Mary's had the game in check after taking a 2-0 lead into the top of the seventh inning. Indya Smith and Ellen Ebbers had driven in runs for Saint Mary's in the first and second innings respectively, and Sofia Earle had tossed six innings of shutout softball heading into the top of the seventh inning. A leadoff walk started things for the Fighting Hawks, but a flyout seemed to steady the ship for Earle. Then, Madison Pederson launched a game-tying, two-run home run to left field to tie the game and 2-2, sending life into the North Dakota dugout. A pitching change immediately followed, with Kayla Scott coming in to eventually get out of the inning and earn the win.
 
Game 2: North Dakota 3, Saint Mary's 0
 
RUNS AT A PREMIUM
After the performance in the circle in game one, it should come as little surprise that game two followed a similar path. Just three runs were scored, and they all came from the visiting team. Kayla Scott tossed a solid game in the circle, as she allowed just two earned runs across six innings, allowing six hits without a walk, but she came away with the loss in spite of the effort. Scott allowed just one run in the fourth inning and one run in the seventh inning before she was pulled for Sofia Earle (similar to how Earle was relieved for in game one). She pitched well enough to earn her second win of the day, but the offense wasn't quite strong enough to pick up the win.
 
LOW-SCORING
The offense never got going in the second game for Saint Mary's, and the Gaels never had many chances to drive in runs. SMC never put a runner past second base in the second game of the doubleheader, and they mustered just three singles along the way. Marissa Nishihara singled on a bunt in the first inning for one of the three hits, and she accounted for two of the Gaels three hits in game two. Elena Barragan singled up the middle in the bottom of the fifth for the other hit that Saint Mary's recorded, but they never got a runner past second base with less than two outs in the game.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will go for a series win on Sunday afternoon as the Gaels play North Dakota in a third game of the series at 2:30 pm. The Fighting Hawks will be coming into that game a bit tired, as they play a first game on Sunday morning against Santa Clara in Moraga, with the Gaels serving as hosts.