MORAGA, Calif. — The final homestand of the 2022 Saint Mary's Softball season got underway on Wednesday afternoon as Saint Mary's hosted UC Santa Barbara. With five-straight in a row at home for the Gaels, they were hoping to get back on track after dropping a conference series over the weekend to Santa Clara. Despite a hot start, they could not hold off the Gauchos and lost 12-2 at Cottrell Field, dropping to 14-26 while UC Santa Barbara improves to 12-32.
 
HOT START
Things started off strong for Saint Mary's, as they were able to take advantage of free passes to score a few early runs. In the first inning, Marissa Nishihara led off with a four-pitch walk, and behind her, Sasa Koria was hit by a pitch. After two outs, one of which moved Nishihara to third, Alex Casas brought her in on a soft grounder that was not fielded by the Gauchos. That score held until the bottom of the third, when Koria led off the inning with a towering fly ball to left field that cleared the wall for a home run. The second home run of the season for Koria made it 2-0 Saint Mary's and them feeling good about their chances in the midweek tilt.
 
COOLING OFF
The Gauchos scored the last 12 runs of the game, but the Saint Mary's defense aided the cause to the tune of seven errors. SMC starter Kayla Scott was good enough in the circle to last four innings, and she only allowed one earned run, but eight total runs came across on her mark. The real trouble-spot came in the fourth inning, when the Gaels made four errors and the Gauchos responded with six runs, all of which were unearned. UC Santa Barbara then added on with three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to close out the game, though Saint Mary's made an attempt in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases without any outs but failing to score.
 
UP NEXT
The final home series in West Coast Conference play takes place this weekend as Saint Mary's hosts Pacific in a three-game series beginning on Saturday, April 30. The series kicks off with a doubleheader at 12:00 pm at Cottrell Field before wrapping up with a single game on Sunday, May 1 at 12:00 pm. Sunday's game will also serve as Senior Day for Saint Mary's, and the Gaels will honor their four seniors playing their final weekend home game in Moraga.