MORAGA, Calif. — Fresh off of their stellar 4-1 weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, the Saint Mary's Gaels (6-7) will once again head south, this time to Santa Barbara to take place in a tournament hosted by the Gauchos of UCSB at Campus Diamond. The Gaels will square off with the likes of UCSB (9-7), UNLV (9-5) and Creighton (7-3) in what should be more strong early season tests. With four games this weekend, the Gaels look to surge above 0.500 for the first time on this young campaign.
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels at UCSB Gauchos
Thursday, February 27 at 12 PM and 2 PM
Campus Diamond – Santa Barbara, Calif.
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Saint Mary's Gaels vs UNLV Rebels
Friday, February 28 at 9 AM
Campus Diamond – Santa Barbara, Calif.
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Saint Mary's Gaels vs Creighton Bluejays
Saturday, March 1 at 9 AM
Campus Diamond – Santa Barbara, Calif.
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QUEENS OF THE MARY NUTTER
After a sluggish 2-6 start to the season, the Gaels had an awakening at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, going 4-1 on the weekend, including wins over 2024 NCAA Regional Qualifiers Cal State Fullerton and Northwestern. While #9 Duke and #14 Oregon both went unbeaten at the tournament, the Gaels joined the likes of #4 UCLA, #12 Arkansas, and #23 San Diego State as the only one loss teams at the event. The Gaels best offensive contributor at the tournament was true freshman shortstop Mia Zabat. After opening her collegiate career going just three for her first 20, Zabat recorded a hit in every game of the tournament, going 8-for-15 with her first four collegiate runs scored and her first seven collegiate RBI. As such, Zabat was named to the all-tournament as well as the WCC Player of the Week. Somehow left off of the all-tournament team, junior ace Odhi Vasquez tossed two complete game shutout victories, including a two hitter against Northwestern, in which she took a no-no into the sixth. Vasquez has not allowed a run in 16 consecutive innings pitched. While she wasn't on the all-tournament list, Vasquez was named the WCC PItcher of the Week for the second consecutive week. Other key contributors at the event included catcher Jenavee Amador, who went 8-for-16 with five RBI and Camille Lara, who went 7-for-18 with four RBI. Lara specifically now leads the team with a 0.341 average and 11 consecutive games reaching base. Last but certainly not least, true freshmen Dominique Oliveira and Julia Medina both picked up their first collegiate hits at the event.
ABOUT THE GAUCHOS
UC Santa Barbara is off to a 9-7 start, and is also coming off of an appearance at the Mary Nutter Classic, but unlike the Gaels, the Gauchos struggled a bit in Cathedral City, going just 1-4. The lone common opponent between the two schools was San Diego State, who both teams feel to, the Gaels 6-5, and the Gauchos 4-0. Legendary Head Coach Jo Evans is in her third year at the helm of the UCSB program, and her 40th year coaching overall, spending time previously at Texas A&M, Utah and Colorado State. The Gauchos have a powerful lineup with three players with at least three home runs. Defending Big West Freshman of the Year Ainsley Waddell leads the way with five home runs and 15 RBI, while slugging at 0.804. Waddell is also one of the four pitchers frequently used by Coach Evans. The Gaels are just 4-17 all-time against UCSB, with their last win against the Gauchos coming in the COVID shortened 2020 season.
ABOUT THE REBELS
After hosting tournaments on each of the first two weekends of the season, UNLV is fresh off a trip to Columbia, South Carolina, where they went 2-3 at the Garnet and Black Invitational, moving their overall record to 9-5. A year ago, Head Coach Kristie Fox picked up win 200, a milestone that took her less than seven full seasons to reach. Now in year eight, she looks to have her Rebel squad primed and ready for their seventh winning season under her tutelage. A trio of 0.400+ hitters headline this juggernaut of a lineup, led by senior first baseman Ariana Martinez. A three time first team All-Mountain West selection, Martinez is batting at 0.488 with five doubles, four home runs and 20 RBI, all team highs. In the circle, the Rebels have done a decent job keeping opponents bats at bay, but can get themselves into trouble with free passes. The Gaels and Rebels have met 10 times in program history, with UNLV leading the series 7-3.
ABOUT THE BLUEJAYS
Due to inclement weather last week in the San Antonio area, the Creighton Bluejays received an unexpected bye week with the cancellation of the San Marcos Classic, and now look to play refreshed in Santa Barbara. Currently riding a four game winning streak, Creighton holds a record of 7-3 on the young season. Head Coach Krista Wood made a 14 win jump from year one to year two, and hopes to keep that upward trajectory, now entering her third season. Creighton has been equal parts solid at the plate and in the circle. Offensively, the duo of Erika Perez and Sydney Potter have accounted for four of the team's six home runs, and 25 of the team's 48 RBI. In the circle, the 1-2 punch of starters Brooke Shifflett (4-1 1.84 ERA) and Brooklyn Patchen (3-2 2.70 ERA), paired with relief specialist Abby Rusher (1 Sv 2.28 ERA) make for arguably the best pitching staff in the Big East. This marks just the second all-time meeting between these two teams. In their lone meeting back in 2017, the Bluejays bested the Gaels in a tight 2-1 ballgame.
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