MORAGA, Calif. — Spring semester has arrived in Moraga, and with it, the 2024 Saint Mary's Softball Season. Picked to finish second in the WCC, the Gaels will feature an exciting group of returners and newcomers alike, as they quest for their first WCC title in program history. The season will open up with the NorCal Kickoff, a five game tournament hosted by UC Davis spanning from February 9-11.

THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels at UC Davis Aggies
Friday, February 9 at 12 PM
La Rue Field – Davis, Calif.
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Saint Mary's Gaels vs Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders
Friday, February 9 at 2:30 PM
La Rue Field – Davis, Calif. 
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Saint Mary's vs San Jose State Spartans
Saturday, February 10 at 9:30 AM
La Rue Field – Davis, Calif. 
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Saint Mary's vs Cal Poly Mustangs
Saturday, February 10 at 2:30 PM
La Rue Field – Davis, Calif.
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Saint Mary's vs Cal Poly Mustangs
Sunday, February 11 at 12 PM
La Rue Field – Davis, Calif. 
Live Stats

THEY'RE BACK
Saint Mary's returns 13 players with Division I collegiate experience to the 2024 roster. Offensively, the Gael lineup should be headlined by sophomores Taylor Lane and Hannah Ferguson. Both Lane and Ferguson were named to the preseason All-WCC team after stellar freshman campaigns. The Gaels starting first baseman, Lane led her squad with a .301 batting average and 43 hits, including 10 extra base hits. She was one of only two Gaels to appear in all 49 games a year ago. The other Gael to not miss a game was center fielder Hannah Ferguson. Ferguson slashed at .250/.315/.309 and swiped a team high 18 bags. Her 38 hits were second on the team, behind only Lane. In the circle, Avrey Wolverton returns as the ace of the Gaels staff after going 6-6 with a WCC best 2.07 ERS in 21 appearances. Wolverton was named to the preseason All-WCC team and headlines a group of three returning pitchers, as she will be joined by sophomores Odhi Vasquez and Chelsea Bennett. Senior second baseman Marissa Montelongo rounds out the group of preseason All-WCC Gaels. Known for her speed and defensive prowess, Montelongo boasted a stellar .969 fielding percentage and finished second on the Gaels with 13 stolen bases. For her career, Montelongo has 24 stolen bases and needs four more to climb into the top-10 in program history. 

WELCOME TO MORAGA
The Gaels welcomed a hefty incoming class, with 10 new student-athletes donning the red and blue, with quite a few already competing for starting roles. In the circle, freshman Mia Nishikawa made her way to Moraga from Fresno, where she starred for Central East High School. In 71 appearances in the circle during her prep career, Nishikawa went 34-16 with a 1.52 ERA, 418 strikeouts and just 65 walks. She was a two-time All-TRAC athlete and was named Central East High School's female student-athlete of the year last year. Nishikawa should see plenty of time in the circle this season. On the infield, Burbank High School graduate Sam Buckley has demonstrated the ability to play either shortstop or third base at a high level. A career .426 hitter for the Bulldogs, Buckley tallied 72 hits including 32 extra base hits as a prep athlete. She was three times named to the All-Pacific League team. Outfielder Camille Lara comes to the Gaels after an undefeated 605 league title at Cerritos High School that saw her hit .479 with a team-high 12 stolen bases. She was a three time all-league and all-area honoree. Lara should compete to fill the hole left in the outfield by the graduation of now assistant coach Taylor Kienath. The lone transfer of the group, Iris Bejarano transfers in from Division II Holy Names in Oakland. Last season, Bejarano hit .285 with a team-high 18 extra base hits. She drove in 24 runs and launched a team-high five long balls. With her big bat, look for Bejarano to compete for time in the DP role. 

ABOUT THE AGGIES 
UC Davis is coming off of a 29-22 campaign that earned them a trip to the 2023 National Invitational Softball Championship. The 29 wins marked the most for the Aggies since 2019. Head Coach Erin Thorpe enters her tenth season at the helm in Davis, and brings back a star studded squad, headlined by defending Big West Player of the Year Anna Dethlefson. The Aggies starting center fielder, Dethlefson enters her senior season with a career .347 batting average, including an incredible .408 clip last year. She ranked sixth in the country with 42 stolen bases a year ago, and is 14 stolen bases shy of setting a new program record. Also back for her senior season is third baseman Bella Pahulu. Pahulu had a breakout season last year hitting .310 with three home runs and 16 RBI. Ace of the staff Kenedi Brown will be back in the circle at La Rue Field after her third consecutive first team all-conference bid. Brown boasts a career 2.31 ERA over 112 appearances, and ranks fourth in program history with 613 strikeouts. Defensively, Grace Kilday will be back behind the plate after eliminating 17 potential base stealer, good for seventh in the country. These two sides squared off last season, with each of the three games decided by one run. The Aggies took the first two meetings 2-1 and 4-3 (8), while the Gaels took the finale 2-1 courtesy of a complete game gem by Avrey Wolverton and a 2-2 day from Lindsay Cabral. All-time, the Aggies are 44-16 against the Gaels. 

ABOUT THE BLUE RAIDERS
All the way to California from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders will kick off their 2024 campaign in Davis after a 42-20 season last year. The defending Conference USA Tournament champs had their season draw to an end at the Tuscaloosa Regional, falling 1-0 to the Crimson Tide in a decisive game five. Now, the Blue Raiders look to keep the momentum rolling in 2024. 12th year Head Coach Jeff Breeden is coming off of a career-best 42 win season, and has seen win totals improve in each and every year he's been with the Blue Raiders. While the team did lose their top offensive threat, Laura Mealer, to the University of Tennessee, they should not be hurting much in the way of offense thanks to the return of seniors Amaya Harris and Shelby Echols. MTSU's starting right fielder, Harris slashed at .380 last season, good for third in C-USA. She drove in 35 runs, good for second on her squad, while earning second team all-conference honors. Shelby Echols returns to start at second base, after finishing third on her team with a .340 batting average and second with 69 hits. She swiped 27 of 33 bags and was one of just three Blue Raiders to start and appear in every game, earning second team All-C-USA honors in the process. The two headed pitching monster of Kamryn Carcich and Gretchen Mead has been cut to just one, with Mead graduating and moving over to the MTSU coaching staff, but Carcich will still look to dominate in the circle. Coming off of a season that saw her go 9-8 with a 1.94 ERA, Carcich should look to dominate opposing batters again with her solid arsenal. These two teams have squared off just twice before, splitting a two game set in San Luis Obispo back in 2017. 

ABOUT THE SPARTANS
Coming off of a 27-30 season, the best under fifth year Head Coach Tammy Lohmann, the San Jose State Spartans, look for their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2017 in 2024. After a truly spectacular freshman campaign, second baseman Reina Zermeno looks to lead her team's offense after finishing second on the squad with a .313 average and 42 hits a season ago. With the graduation of Jenessa Ullegue, the top pitching spot is up for grabs for the Spartans, but they do return Lacie Ham from last year's squad, as well as welcome in transfer pitcher Mia Reynolds from Utah State, and freshmen Alexis Toner, Ava Conti and Bella Rodriguez. The Spartans swept the Gaels in all three of their meetings last year. All-time, the Spartans lead the series 42-15.

ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
The Cal Poly Mustangs are coming off of a 19-23 campaign under the direction of 20th year Head Coach Jenny Condon. The most successful coach in program history, Coach Condon will be teamed with one of the best hitters in program history, Jessica Clements, to lead her offense. The junior center fielder has occupied the leadoff role throughout the entirety of her Cal Poly career, and is one of the toughest outs in the Big West. She enters the season with a career .387 batting average, the best in program history, and led the Broncos last season with a .370 average, 51 hits, 13 extra base hits, 11 doubles, 29 runs scored, 12 stolen bases, a .460 on base percentage and a .486 slugging percentage. Both starting pitchers from a season ago, Sophia Ramuno and Paige Maier, will return to the circle for the Mustangs, and will hope to improve on a team ERA of 3.88 from last season. The Broncos lead the all-time series over the Gaels 33-3, with their last meeting coming in 2021. 

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