MORAGA, Calif. — Coming off of their first conference sweep of the year, Saint Mary's (23-22, 6-3 2nd in WCC) has once again thrust themselves into contention for their second straight WCC Title. The Gaels sit just one game back of conference leader Santa Clara, and have a chance to leapfrog the Broncos for the lead in the conference going into the final weekend, as they will play host to San Diego (20-26, 4-8 5th in WCC) this weekend. As it is the final home series of the year, the Gaels will honor their four graduating seniors this weekend, as
Claudia Kirchner,
Lindsay Cabral,
Avrey Wolverton and
Jenavee Amador will take part in their final contests at Cottrell Field.
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. San Diego Toreros (DH)
Saturday, May 3 at 12 PM and 2:30 PM
Cottrell Field – Moraga, Calif.
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LIVE STATS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. San Diego Toreros
Sunday, May 4 at 12 PM
Cottrell Field – Moraga, Calif.
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LIVE STATS
CONFERENCE SCENARIOS FOR THE GAELS
Saint Mary's sits one game out of first place behind Santa Clara, and a half game ahead of third place LMU. The Gaesl take on fifth place San Diego this week, while Santa Clara will host LMU. Additionally, LMU will play on Monday in Stockton against Oregon State, a make-up from their finale on April 6 in Corvallis that was rained out. If the Gaels sweep San Diego, and Santa Clara drops a single game vs LMU this week, the Gaels and Broncos would be tied for first place in the conference going into the final week, with the Broncos holding the tie-breaker with their series win over the Gaels earlier this season. If the Gaels sweep San Diego and LMU takes two of three against Santa Clara, the Gaels would be in first place alone heading into the final weekend. If the Gaels sweep San Diego, and LMU goes 4-0 including their game against Oregon State the Gaels and Lions would be tied for first heading into their final series of the season against one-another. If the Gaels take two of three against San Diego, they would need LMU to take two of three against Santa Clara to guarantee at least a tie for first place heading into the final weekend. If the Gaels take one of three against San Diego and Santa Clara were to sweep LMU, the Gaels would be eliminated from postseason contention. If San Diego sweeps the Gaels, they are not statistically eliminated, unless Santa Clara takes at least two against LMU, however, they would need to sweep LMU and need some help from Oregon State against Santa Clara in the final weekend.
CHASING MORE RECORDS
Sophomore Sam Buckley blasted her 13th home run last week, giving her the single season program record. That said, there are still more records up for grabs this season. Buckley is also two RBI shy of setting a new single season RBI record and four runs scored shy of setting a new single season run record. As a team, with home runs from Tori Cervantes, Taylor Lane and Sam Buckley last week, Saint Mary's has now hit 36 long balls this season. They are now two shy of tying the single season record of 38, hit in 2012.
ABOUT THE TOREROS
After upsetting LMU, taking two of three against the Lions three weeks ago, San Diego has fallen into a bit of a slump, winning just two of their next six to settle into fifth in the WCC with a 4-8 conference record. Fifth year Head Coach MJ Knighten would need a sweep this weekend to match her career best win total of 23, set back in 2023. After winning the WCC Batting Title
a season ago, junior Taylor Johnson continues to be the heart and soul of the Torero offense, batting 0.333 with seven doubles, nine home runs and 36 RBI. The double, home run and RBI numbers all lead USD. McKenna Braegelmann and Kelsey Tadlock make up an excellent 1-2 punch in the circle for San Diego, but the rest of their pitching staff has left more to be desired. After a four game sweep of the Toreros a season ago, the Gaels lead the all-time series, 75-53.
#GaelsRise
