CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. — The defending WCC Champs and 2025 Preseason WCC Favorite Saint Mary Mary's Gaels (4-6) looked the part on day one of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, defeating Cal State Fullerton (10-5) 6-0 and Cal State Northridge (4-9) 14-4, amassing their first multi game winning streak of the year. The Gaels fell to both of these squads a year ago, CSUN in the regular season, and Fullerton in their elimination game of the Stanford Regional, but left nothing to chance today with their two largest margins of victory on the young season.
GAME ONE: SMC 6 - CSUF 0
Last week's WCC Pitcher of the Week, Odhi Vasquez, took a step in the right direction towards winning the award in back-to-back weeks with a complete game shutout of the Titans. Vasquez allowed just six base runners, all on singles, without surrendering a free pass. All six base runners ended up stranded, as the junior ace patiently delivered until her offense exploded late in the game.
Vasquez did spend a majority of the game working with a lead. After a scoreless top half of the first from the Titans, the Gaels scratched across their first run in the bottom half. Sam Buckley led things off by pulling a single down the left field line, followed by Camille Lara slapping one back up the middle. After an Alex Cutonilli foul out, Taylor Lane came mere inches from her first home run of 2025, but a leaping catch by the Titans' right fielder made sure there would be no Lane round tripper. That said, Buckley made the savvy baserunning play to tag from second and round third on a slow cutoff throw to score on the ever rare two base sacrifice fly, giving Lane her second RBI of the season.
The Gaels lead would stay out one through the first four and a half innings. Odhi Vasquez got out of her biggest jam in the top of the fourth, when she gave up two singles and two stolen bases to putting the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, but the Upland, California native danced out of danger, inducing a lazy pop out to retire the side and strand both runners. Vasquez would allow just one hit for the rest of the game, a bunt single.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Gaels would tack on some insurance, as Mia Zabat led off the inning with an infield single, and was bunted to second by Tori Cervantes before coming around to score on a booted ball by the Fullerton second baseman off the bat of Kiah Silva.
The Gaels really put things out of reach in the sixth. Alex Cutonilli led off the inning with her second home run of the season, taking an outside pitch opposite field to right. This prompted a Fullerton call to the bullpen, but the home run sparked life into the Gaels bats no matter who was in the circle. Taylor Lane drew a walk to rudely greet the Titan reliever, and was pinch run for by Julia Medina. Jenavee Amador then laced a single to right center, before Mia Zabat launched a triple to right, scoring both Medina and Amador. These were Zabat's first two collegiate RBI. With Zabat at third, Tori Cervantes layed down her second perfectly placed sacrifice bunt of the day, scoring her freshman teammate and pushing the Gaels ahead 6-0. Vasquez retired the side, ending the game in favor of the Gaels with their first shutout of the season.
Mia Zabat went a perfect 3-3 at the plate, scoring twice and driving in a pair, while notching her first collegiate three bagger. Jenavee Amador joined Zabat with her first multi-hit game of the year, while Alex Cutonilli blasted her second home run of the year, bringing her team-high RBI total to nine. It was the seventh career complete game shutout for Odhi Vasquez, who moved into a tie for eighth all-time in program history.
GAME TWO: SMC 14 - CSUN 4
The encore to the Gaels then team best six run performance was a 14 run outburst against the CSUN Matadors, who held the Gaels to just one run a year ago. The Gaels opened up a 4-0 lead in the second inning and kept things rolling from there, giving Mia Nishikawa more than enough run support for her first W of the season.
The offensive fireworks started in the second, as the Gaels were inspired by an effort from Nishikawa to strand the bases loaded in the bottom of the first. Mia Zabat started things off with a one out bunt single, before scoring on a double to the left center gap from Tori Cervantes. Cervantes stole third, and then scored on an errant throw from the Matador catcher to make things 2-0. With the bases clear, Kiah Silva reached on an infield single before Sam Buckley mashed a ball out of the yard to dead center to make things 4-0. It was Buckley's first home run of the year and the fifth of her career.
A pair of two out hits put CSUN on the board in the bottom of the third. The Gaels responded in the fourth, when Tori Cervantes swiped home on a perfectly executed first and third double steal. Saint Mary's then put up a three spot in the fifth, first with Alex Cutonilli singling Camille Lara home from third, then Mia Zabat singling Cutonilli and Aryanna Gonzalez home to make it 8-1.
Following a Kiah Silva leadoff triple in the sixth, Sam Buckley lifted a sacrifice fly to center, putting the Matadors at risk of being run ruled, but a one out RBI double from CSUN would move the game to full seven inning length. The top of the seventh was actually the biggest offensive inning for the Gaels, as they would scratch five more runs across. Julia Medina and Dominique Oliveira each notched their first collegiate hits, and Tori Cervantes was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Averie Prescott. Prescott promptly banged a single to right, scoring two. Kiah Silva would walk to load the bases again, this time for Sam Buckley, who would hammer a ball to dead center field, this time off the wall, clearing the bases and pushing the Gaels ahead 14-2. Two hits and an error would result in two runs coming across in a last ditch effort from CSUN, but Nishikawa would retire the side, and the Gaels would earn their first victory by a double digit run margin this season, 14-4.
Sam Buckley, who mysteriously had not had an RBI on the season, logged six in the nightcap against the Matadors. The sophomore had a three run double, a two run home run and a sacrifice fly in this one. Kiah Silva, Alex Cutonilli, Mia Zabat and Averie Prescott each also had two hit games, with Prescott and Zabat each also driving in a pair. Tori Cervantes had one hit, a double, but was also hit twice, and scored all three times she made it on base.
UP NEXT
The Gaels will get Northwestern (5 PM) and Hawaii (7:30 PM) tomorrow, as part of day two of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
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