MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's Softball (11-14) continued to demonstrate their "never-say-die" attitude on the field today, splitting a pair of one run contests, falling to Harvard (8-4) 5-4, before defeating Weber State (8-18) 4-3. Both games saw the Gaels fall behind by multiple runs early, but rally back to make things interesting eventually earning the win in game two of the day.
GAME ONE: SMC 4 - Harvard 5
Already 3-0 coming into this one on their west coast swing, the Harvard Crimson got off to a quick 3-0 start against Mia Nishikawa and the Gaels, scoring in the second and third innings to build the early cushion. The Gaels took advantage of a pair of Harvard errors in the bottom of the third to get on the board and cut the deficit to one, with Sam Buckley crossing for her then 19th run of the season.
Nishikawa pitched a scoreless fourth, but allowed the first two runners to reach in the fifth before getting the hook in favor of Chelsea Bennett. Bennett would've gotten out of the inning unscathed but committed an error on a comebacker, ultimately allowing her two inherited runners to score unearned, bringing it to a five run scoreline.
The Gaels rallied in the bottom of the fifth, starting with a one out triple from the nine hole hitter, Tori Cervantes. Sam Buckley was then plunked by a pitch and stole second, before Camille Lara grounded Cervantes home, bringing the scoreline to 5-2. Alex Cutonilli then stepped up to the plate and launched the first Gael home run at Cottrell Field for the 2025 season, making it a one run ball game. The combination of Bennett and Braxton Brown in the circle would keep the Crimson off the scoreboard for the remainder of the contest, but the Gaels could not get a runner on base over the final two frames, with the Crimson holding off the Gaels by a final tally of 5-4.
Alex Cutonilli had the biggest hit of the game with her two run blast to right, followed closely by the one out triple from Tori Cervantes, both in the fifth inning. Sam Buckley scored twice, while Cutonilli and Cervantes each scored once. Chelsea Bennett continued her recent tear in the circle, going her last 5.1 innings scoreless.
GAME TWO: SMC 4 - Weber State 3
Again, the Gaels found themselves down 3-0 again, this time after Weber State put up one in the third and two in the fifth, both off the bat of starting third baseman Sadie Kirk. Odhi Vasquez fought tooth and nail to keep the Gaels in this thing, however, and in the bottom of the fifth, her offense picked her up.
With one away in the bottom of the fifth, Victoria Castillo launched a triple to the right center gap, her first collegiate triple in now her third season with the Gaels. Castillo was promptly banged in by Tori Cervantes, with an RBI single through the right side, rolling the lineup over for Sam Buckley. Buckley tied things up with one swing of the bat, send the softball well over the right center field wall for her fourth home run of the year, matching her total from all of last season.
Odhi Vasquez worked around trouble in the top of the sixth, stranding the go-ahead run at third, before the hero for the game, Braxton Brown, smashed her first collegiate home run to the trees well beyond the left center field fence. The hit for Brown represented her first collegiate home run, run scored and RBI. An emphatic performance in the seventh saw Vasquez strike out the side in order to end the game with the Gaels earning the day one split with the come from behind 4-3 victory.
Vasquez tossed her 25th career complete game, picking up her 25th career victory, and her seventh this season, while fanning a season-high 12. Alex Cutonilli went a perfect 3-3 at the plate, while Sam Buckley and Braxton Brown both left the yard, accounting for three of the Gaels four runs.
UP NEXT
The Gaels will have a doubleheader against Weber State tomorrow. First pitch for game one is set for 9 AM, with game two set to follow 30 minutes after the culmination of game one.
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