MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's Softball (19-18, 2-1 WCC) continues to play the part of defending WCC Champs here now in the month of April. The Gaels have won nine of their last 13, with half of their losses coming to nationally ranked foes Stanford and Florida State in that stretch. After having a weekend off last week, the Gaels will be well rested for a five game week that features a doubleheader against Cal (27-14, 6-9 ACC) and three against Santa Clara (25-15, 5-1 WCC), all at home.
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs Cal Golden Bears (DH)
Tuesday, April 15 at 1 PM and 3:30 PM
Cottrell Field – Moraga, Calif.
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Saint Mary's Gaels vs Santa Clara Broncos
Friday, April 18 at 3 PM
Cottrell Field – Moraga, Calif.
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Saint Mary's Gaels vs Santa Clara Broncos (DH)
Saturday, April 19 at 12 PM and 2:30 PM
Cottrell Field – Moraga, Calif.
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TOE-TO-TOE WITH THE TOP-25
Saint Mary's has had three matchups with top-25 ranked opponents this year, and meeting this strong competition has seemingly brought the best out of the Gaels. First, at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in late February, the Gaels faced off with 23rd ranked San Diego State. Saint Mary's fell behind 5-0, but rallied back to cut the deficit to one twice, eventually falling 6-5. Mia Zabat and Camille Lara each drove in two in that one, with the former logging a double. Against 17th ranked Stanford three weeks ago, the Gaels took the Cardinal to 10 innings before getting walked off in the 5-4 ballgame. Odhi Vasquez threw a career-high 188 pitches over the 9.1 inning outing, narrowly missing the upset W. Last week against their highest ranked foe, ninth ranked Florida State, the Gaels surrendered two runs through the first three batters, then kept the Noles bats at bay for the remainder of the contest, as Mia Nishikawa tossed a complete game gem. Camille Lara logged a pair of knocks, but never made it beyond third base, as the Gaels dropped that one 3-0. While Saint Mary's will not see another top-25 foe this season, they play a pair of quality opponents this week, and are hoping to once again bring their best stuff over this upcoming five game stretch against Cal and Santa Clara.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN BEARS
Sitting at 27-14 for the year, Cal is coming off of being swept by the very Florida State team that defeated the Gaels last Wednesday. In her fifth season at the helm, Chelsea Spencer had her best season in Berkeley last year, but has some work to do if she wants to reach those heights again this season with just 12 games remaining in the regular season. After earning freshman All-American honors a year ago, catcher Lagi Quiroga has picked up where she left off here in her sophomore season, leading a potent Cal offense with 47 hits, 36 runs scored, and ranking second on the team with 12 doubles, nine home runs and 33 RBI. Pitching has been more of an adventure for the Golden Bears, sitting with a team ERA of 4.13. Four different pitchers have tossed at least 20 innings for Cal, so expect to see multiple over the doubleheader with the Gaels. These two games will be meetings 69 and 70 between the Gaels and Golden Bears, with the Gaels having won just two of those matchups all-time. Two of the last three meetings, however, including the last matchup in Moraga between these two squads, have been decided by one run.
ABOUT THE BRONCOS
The front runners in the WCC through two weeks of conference play, the Santa Clara Broncos hold a 1.5 game lead on the second place Gaels in the conference standings. After her first 30 win campaign a year ago, Head Coach Gina Carbonatto looks well on her way to that mark again at 25-15 thus far in 2025. Sophomore Cairah Curran has established herself as an early favorite for WCC Player of the Year. The sophomore is batting at 0.465 with 67 hits, 41 runs scored and 22 stolen bases. In the circle, the one-two punch of Cari Ferguson and Hannah Edwards have been lights out, with Ferguson leading the team with a 2.27 ERA, and Edwards topping the Broncos with 56 strikeouts. The Gaels have dominated the all-time series over Santa Clara 101-61, however, the Broncos have taken two of the last three series against the Gaels dating back to 2022.
#GaelsRise
