STOCKTON, Calif. — Saint Mary's softball returned to West Coast Conference play on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader against the Pacific Tigers. The Gaels had a great opportunity to get back on track after losing their last three conference games and solidify their first winning season in WCC play. The opening result was not what the Gaels were hoping for, an 8-1 defeat, but they came back with their biggest inning of the season to mount a come-from-behind win and take game two 8-6. Saint Mary's is now 16-25 (6-5) while Pacific stands at 10-26 (1-10).
 
Game 1: Pacific 8, Saint Mary's 1
 
STAY IN YOUR LANE
Saint Mary's got an early power surge in the game from Taylor Lane, who started things off with a bang. With two down in the first inning, Lane launched a home run to left field, the first home run of her collegiate career, to put the Gaels in front 1-0. She became the fifth different Gael to homer this season. It was a strong performance offensively for Lane in game one, as she added a double later in the game. Saint Mary's had three hits in the first game of the doubleheader, and all three of them were extra base hits. Taylor Keinath added a double in the fourth inning.
 
CAN'T TAME THE TIGERS
Entering the series, the Pacific Tigers had scored just 10 runs in nine conference games. Their offense went off against the Gaels in game one, putting up eight runs on 10 hits. Avrey Wolverton got the start but only faced five hitters, leaving with the bases loaded. Kailey O'Connor came into the game and promptly allowed a two-run single, giving the Tigers a quick 2-1 lead. Pacific just continued to add onto their lead, scoring runs in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. O'Connor allowed three of those runs in three innings, while Marissa Woolsey allowed three runs in 2.1 innings. The eight runs scored in by Pacific are the most they've scored in a game this season.
 
Game 2: Saint Mary's 8, Pacific 6
 
HOW IT STARTED
Things did not get off to a good start for the Gaels in the second game, reminiscent to Monday's no-hitter and Wednesday's one-hit performance against Cal. Saint Mary's did not have a single base runner through the first five innings, which put them into a 3-0 hole. Odhi Vasquez was in the circle for the Gaels and she had to battle, allowing 10 base runners (six via walks) in 4.2 innings, while allowing those three runs. It was good enough to keep Saint Mary's in the game, but enough to cast doubt over whether the Gaels offense could rally back and mount a comeback.
 
HOW IT'S GOING
Then, the sixth inning happened. Marissa Nishihara opened the inning by reaching base via an error, the first base runner of the game for SMC. She was on second base with two outs, and Hananh Ferguson singled up the middle to score her, giving the Gaels their first hit and first run. Taylor Keinath was then hit by a pitch, which led to a pitching change, and then Taylor Lane ripped her second double of the day down the left line to make it 3-2. Perhaps the biggest hit of the game came next, when Angelina Franco sent one up the middle for a two-run single, putting Saint Mary's improbably ahead 4-3. Victoria Castillo singled her to third base and Lindsay Cabral was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Nishihara. She reached for the second time in the inning, this time on a two-run double to right field, making it 6-3. Alex Casas then got in on the fun with a two-run single to center, capping the scoring at 8-3. To recap, Saint Mary's scored eight times on six hits (their first six hits of the game), all with two outs.
 
HANGING ON
Pacific made it interesting late in the game against the Gaels bullpen. Chelsea Bennett took over for Vasquez in the fifth, making her first appearance since March 4, and allowed a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to make it an 8-5 game. Kailey O'Connor then took over to try and earn the save, and while she did, it was dicey in the seventh. After getting the first two outs, she walked what could have been the final hitter of the game, and then allowed three-consecutive two-out singles, the last of which scored a run to make it 8-6 while keeping the bases loaded. She coaxed a groundout to end the game and keep the tying run at second base.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's and Pacific will close out their three-game series on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 pm. They will look to close out the month with a winning record, as they are 9-9 through 18 games this month. After Sunday's game, there is just one conference series left on the year, at home against BYU on May 12-13.