MORAGA, Calif. — For the first time since 2012, Saint Mary's Softball welcomed in (RV) Stanford to Cottrell Field for non-conference action. The Gaels and Cardinal met for the second time this season, and unfortunately for the Gaels, the result was similar to the first matchup in February. Saint Mary's allowed one big inning to Stanford that did them in, leading to a 10-1 Stanford win in five innings. The Gaels drop to 16-28 on the season with just three games remaining in 2022.
 
ONE BIG THING
If Saint Mary's could take away the second inning against Stanford this season, their two games would have had drastically different outcomes. The Gaels allowed 10 runs at Stanford in the second inning, and on Wednesday, they allowed seven runs to score thanks to a few big hits. Two runs scored early in the inning against Gaels starter Sofia Earle, but with the score at 3-0, the inning nearly ended. With two outs and the bases loaded, a ground ball off the bat of the Cardinal first baseman glanced off of Earle's glove and towards second base, but the Gaels could not get an out, leading to a fourth run scoring. Just four pitches later, Kaitlyn Lim drilled a triple off the wall in center to score all three runners on base, capping off the seven-run inning.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
The recorded three hits on Wednesday against Stanford: Bry Waters, Alex Casas, and Lindsay Cabral…for Waters, she now has a hit in five of her last six starts, and is batting .438 during that six-game stretch…Alyssa Vessel scored the lone run of the game for SMC, scoring a sacrifice fly from Ellen Ebbers in the second inning…the run batted in for Ebbers was her 14^th on the season, good for third-best on the team…despite allowing three runs in relief, Kayla Scott was very good, allowing just four hits in 3.1 innings without a walk, and she threw 38 of her 47 pitches for strikes.
 
UP NEXT
The final series of the 2022 season takes place on May 13-14 as the Gaels head to Provo to take on the BYU Cougars. Saint Mary's will have over a week to prepare for this final series, as they are off over Mother's Day weekend. The Gaels lost all three against BYU in 2021, but did take a game from the Cougars in 2019 thanks to a 2-0 home shutout victory. This is their first trip to Provo since the 2018 season.