SAN DIEGO — Saint Mary's Softball opened up the 2022 West Coast Conference portion of their schedule on Saturday with a doubleheader at San Diego. The Gaels are looking to improve on their fourth-place finish from last season, while San Diego is looking to shake off a rough start to the 2022 season. The Gaels came out and took control in game one, taking the conference opener 7-1 before falling 10-2 in the second game of the afternoon. SMC is now 13-19 before Sunday's series finale.
 
Game 1: Saint Mary's 7, San Diego 1
 
BUILDING IT UP
Saint Mary's got the lead in the top of the third inning and never looked back, scoring four times to build enough of a cushion for Sofia Earle in the circle. Holly Lusk opened the inning with a single, and after she was erased on a fielder's choice, Jayda Alaan walked after a 10-pitch at bat. Alex Casas brought home the first run of the game with a single up the middle, but the Toreros got the second out to bring themselves just one pitch away from ending the inning. Ellen Ebbers provided a big blow with a base hit up the middle to score two runs, making it 3-0. A walk to Jenavee Amador preceded the fourth run of the inning scoring, which came across on a Claudia Kirchner single up the middle, capping off a four-run inning.
 
ADDING ON
Saint Mary's added single runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings to make sure they had more than enough breathing room in the late innings. In the fifth, Marissa Nishihara brought home a run on a single to center, with Jojo Bryant scoring. One inning later, it was Amador ripping a triple to the alley in right center to score Casas, making it 6-0 SMC. In the seventh, a bunt from Alaan scored Lusk from third base to cap off the scoring.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Game one was just the start of a stellar day for Nishihara, who went 4-5 in the first game with a run scored and a run batted in. Amador was a perfect 3-3 at the place with that RBI triple late in the game. Casas was also hot at the plate, with a pair of hits as part of a 2-5 game with two runs scored. In the circle, Sofia Earle missed out on a chance at a shutout after the Toreros scored a run in the seventh inning, but she went the distance, allowing just six hits and striking out two as she earned her seventh win of the year.
 
Game 2: San Diego 10, Saint Mary's 2 (5 innings)
 
BIG BASHES
San Diego broke things open very early against the Gaels pitching staff, scoring three times in the first inning and then five times in the second. The Toreros finished the game with 15 hits, and six of those went for extra bases. Noelle Hee had some of the biggest hits of the game, as she got the scoring started with an RBI double in the first inning, and then a three-run home run in the second inning. Hee and Laura Hendrickson went back-to-back in the second inning, and once the dust settled, Saint Mary's was suddenly behind 8-0. SMC needed three pitchers to make it through the first two innings of the game.
 
STAYING HOT
Marissa Nishihara continued her hot hitting against USD, going 2-2 in the second game of the doubleheader to finish the day 6-7. She scored one of the two runs for Saint Mary's in the game, coming into to score on a two-run triple from Alex Casas in the third inning. Casas went 2-3 in the second game of the doubleheader to end the afternoon with four hits.
 
UP NEXT
The series wraps up on Sunday afternoon as the Gaels and Toreros meet one final time beginning at 12:00 pm. Saint Mary's is likely to pitch Sofia Earle in game three as they aim for a WCC series win to begin conference play. The Gaels will then return home for a three-game series with Loyola Marymount on Friday and Saturday.