MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's softball is on the rise, and this weekend proved it. The Gaels won both ends of a doubleheader yesterday against Santa Clara to pull within a game of first place in the West Coast Conference, and they just made some room at the top on Sunday with the series finale. After leading 5-0, the Gaels hung on to a 7-5 win against the Broncos to cap off the sweep, moving their WCC record to 5-1, tied with LMU for first place in the conference standings.
 
FAST FIVE
The first five runs of the game were scored by the Gaels, who made sure to put the heat on the Broncos early. In the first inning, it was Hannah Ferguson and Marissa Nishihara opening the game with singles. After a groundout moved them into scoring position, Taylor Keinath laid down a squeeze bunt that scored Ferguson from third, putting SMC on the board. With two outs in the inning, Lindsay Cabral dropped a single into right field to make it 2-0.
 
The third inning is when the Gaels next got a chance to do damage, where they hung their second crooked number of the game on the board. Taylor Lane opened the inning with a single, and Allyssa Alano ran for her at first. Keinath walked, and Jenavee Amador lined a single through the right side to score Alano, making it 3-0. Up came Cabral, who stayed hot with a two-run single to centerfield, making it 5-0 and giving Cabral a new career-best with three RBIs in the game.
 
NOT QUITITNG
The Broncos had an immediate answer against SMC starter Avrey Wolverton, who allowed three runs in the fourth inning, including her first earned run since March 18. She allowed a hitter to reach via an error and then three consecutive hits, which chased her from the game and ended her stretch of pitching without allowing an earned run at 27 innings. Kailey O'Connor came into the game and settled things down, but she allowed another run in the sixth, which made it a 5-4 game.
 
THE DISRESPECT
Marissa Nishihara has had a down season after being named to the All-WCC team for the first time in her career. She entered the day with just four hits and one run driven in, but she delivered with arguably the biggest hit of the game. In the sixth, Rylee Gomez opened the inning with a pinch-hit double, but was still on second with two outs. The Broncos opted to intentionally walk Ferguson to face Nishihara, and that decision proved to be costly. Nishihara double to left-center, scoring both runners on base and making it 7-4 SMC. That double was huge in the end, after the Broncos scored a run in the top of the seventh and nearly had more. Without Nishihara delivering in the clutch, who knows how the game might have ended.
 
THE FACTS
After winning all three games against Santa Clara, the Gaels earned their first conference sweep since 2016. They are now 5-1 in WCC play, which is their best start in conference play since that 2016 season. Saint Mary's is also tied for first place in the WCC standings with LMU, while BYU and San Diego are tied for third place with 4-2 records.
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels will have a non-conference game on Monday afternoon at Cottrell Field as they welcome in Boise State to close out a nine-game home stand at 3:00 pm. Following the game, the two first place teams in the conference will battle it out in Los Angeles as the Gaels take on LMU in a three-game series beginning on Saturday, April 22.