RENO, Nev. — Saint Mary's Softball has won four of their last five games, playing their best softball of the season as conference play inches closer and closer. Their latest test will be back on the road as the Gaels play a pair of games at Nevada on Tuesday afternoon, with first pitch in game one set for 1:00 pm. These two games are the only two games on the schedule this week for Saint Mary's.
 
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels (9-14) at Nevada Wolfpack (8-19)
Tuesday, March 22 at 1:00 pm
Christina M. Hixson Softball Park – Reno, Nev.
Live Stats
 
LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's won a weekend series against North Dakota last weekend, their first home games of the 2022 season. Saint Mary's played the Fighting Hawks twice on Friday, splitting a doubleheader, before taking the series finale on Sunday with a 5-2 final. It marks the first true series win of the year for the Gaels, giving them four wins in their last five games after beating Columbia and Harvard to close out the previous weekend of action. SMC only scored eight runs against North Dakota, but their pitching staff held the visitors to just seven runs in three games. Marissa Woolsey had a lot to do with that, pitching 6.1 innings of shutout softball on Sunday to earn the win in relief that clinched the series.
 
FOUR IN THE FOURTH
Saint Mary's got the runs they needed to put away North Dakota in the bottom of the fourth inning, after the bats had been held in check during the first three frames. The inning began harmlessly enough with a leadoff walk to Indya Smith, but then a pair of errors by North Dakota sent the inning into SMC's favor. The first error was a throwing error from short that put Claudia Kirchner aboard, and then a fielding error at short off the bat of Elena Barragan scoring Smith, tying the game at 2-2. That set the stage for Ellen Ebbers, who has been one of the hottest hitting Gaels over the past two weeks. She delivered a big blast to left center for her first home run as a Gael, a three-run shot that put Saint Mary's in front 5-2. Ebbers closed out the three-game series against UND with two extra base hits and four runs driven in.
 
ABOUT NEVADA
Tuesday marks the final tune-up before Mountain West play for the Wolfpack, as Nevada begins conference play with a three-game series against Boise State on March 25. Nevada has struggled to an 8-19 record thus far, but like Saint Mary's, they've spent the entire season on the road, as Tuesday is their home opener. The offense has not been consistent for Nevada, as they hit just .231 as a team, but they do have 11 home runs. Where they have been susceptible is in the circle, where their pitching staff has allowed 20 long balls and a staff ERA of 5.67. Despite their overall record, they've been playing better as of late, winning six of their last 10 games.