Sunday, February 22
Cathedral City, CA
11:30 AM
Saint Mary's College of California
8-5
13
vs
10
Long Beach State
9-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Long Beach State
0
0
1
2
0
7
0
10
10
2
Saint Marys
3
4
0
2
1
3
X
13
16
0
Hannah Ferguson: 3-4, 2 3B, 3 Runs, 2 RBI
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
SB | Gaels Cap Mary Nutter with Dramatic Victory Over Long Beach State
2/22/2026 4:31:00 PM | Softball
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. — The final matchup for the Saint Mary's softball team at the 2026 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic featured a Long Beach State team that was coming off of an upset victory against Oklahoma, but it was the Gaels who reigned supreme on Sunday, defeating The Beach 13-10. A three run bottom of the sixth propelled the Gaels to their third win of the tournament, finishing out the premier tournament with a 3-2 record.
Back in the starting lineup for the first time since Friday night, Hannah Ferguson had a brilliant day at the plate, with three hits including a pair of triples, scoring three times and driving in two for Saint Mary's (8-5). Sam Buckley, Braxton Brown and Victoria Castillo all left the yard, and were joined by Ferguson, Camille Lara, and Tori Cervantes with multi-hit games in the win over Long Beach State (9-6).
The Gaels used four pitchers in the contest, with Mia Nishikawa recording the final out of the sixth, earning the win, and Odhi Vasquez working a 1-2-3 seventh for her third save of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gaels were all over The Beach early in this one, and, charged by a pair of home runs from Buckley and a third from Brown, worked their way ahead 7-0 through two full innings. The Beach, however, continued to chip away at the deficit, never allowing the game to get into run-rule territory, and clawed their way back level in the sixth, before Nishikawa recorded the final out of the frame against the potential go-ahead Long Beach State run.
Brown launched a double to the left centerfield gap with one out in the bottom of the sixth, and Sasha Canedo picked up a two out RBI single to score Brown's pinch runner Ruby Cuen Camacho for her first hit of the season and the go-ahead RBI. Castillo added some insurance with her first home run of the season, a two run blast, and Vasquez worked a perfect top of the seventh to secure the victory.
GAME NOTES
The road does not get any easier for the Gaels in their juggernaut non-conference slate. Saint Mary's heads nCollege Station, Texas to take part in the Texas A&M Invitational. There, they will see Kennesaw State twice, Louisiana twice and the 13th-ranked host Aggies, who are coached by Saint Mary's Softball Hall of Famer Tricia Ford, once.
#GaelsRise
Back in the starting lineup for the first time since Friday night, Hannah Ferguson had a brilliant day at the plate, with three hits including a pair of triples, scoring three times and driving in two for Saint Mary's (8-5). Sam Buckley, Braxton Brown and Victoria Castillo all left the yard, and were joined by Ferguson, Camille Lara, and Tori Cervantes with multi-hit games in the win over Long Beach State (9-6).
The Gaels used four pitchers in the contest, with Mia Nishikawa recording the final out of the sixth, earning the win, and Odhi Vasquez working a 1-2-3 seventh for her third save of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gaels were all over The Beach early in this one, and, charged by a pair of home runs from Buckley and a third from Brown, worked their way ahead 7-0 through two full innings. The Beach, however, continued to chip away at the deficit, never allowing the game to get into run-rule territory, and clawed their way back level in the sixth, before Nishikawa recorded the final out of the frame against the potential go-ahead Long Beach State run.
Brown launched a double to the left centerfield gap with one out in the bottom of the sixth, and Sasha Canedo picked up a two out RBI single to score Brown's pinch runner Ruby Cuen Camacho for her first hit of the season and the go-ahead RBI. Castillo added some insurance with her first home run of the season, a two run blast, and Vasquez worked a perfect top of the seventh to secure the victory.
GAME NOTES
- This contest featured Sam Buckley's second career multi-home run game, and her first this season. Buckley moved into third all-time in program history with 21 home runs, 10th all-time in program history with 80 RBI, 6th all-time in program history with 94 runs scored, and continues to hold the program's best career batting average, now at .380.
- With a home run, a double and two more RBI today, Braxton Brown finished her Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic with a .438 average, two doubles, a triple, three home runs and nine RBI. Brown now leads the team with four doubles and 12 RBI, is tied for the lead with three home runs, and ranks second with a .393 batting average.
- Odhi Vasquez pitched in all five games of the Mary Nutter and logged a win and a pair of saves, striking out 10 batters in eight innings of work.
- Hannah Ferguson's three hits today moved her to 15 on the season, seven of which are of the extra base variety. She leads the team with a .455 batting average.
- Camille Lara logged her 100th career hit as a Gael.
- The Gaels close out the Mary Nutter with a 3-2 record at the tournament, with their lone two losses coming in tight fashion against a pair of teams ranked in the top-25.
The road does not get any easier for the Gaels in their juggernaut non-conference slate. Saint Mary's heads nCollege Station, Texas to take part in the Texas A&M Invitational. There, they will see Kennesaw State twice, Louisiana twice and the 13th-ranked host Aggies, who are coached by Saint Mary's Softball Hall of Famer Tricia Ford, once.
#GaelsRise
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nishikawa, Mia (3-0)
L: Alonso, Isabella (2-2)
S: Vasquez, Odhi (3)
Batting:
HR: Dowden, Emily 1 ; Iniguez, Priscilla 1
RBI: Weisbrook, Avery 1 ; Guerrero, Elissa 1 ; Dowden, Emily 2 ; Hernandez, Jiselle 1 ; Iniguez, Priscilla 3 ; Apodaca, Lina 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Terrones, Malayna 2 ; Weisbrook, Avery 1 ; Dowden, Emily 2 ; Sepulveda, Nina 1 ; Hernandez, Jiselle 1 ; Iniguez, Priscilla 1 ; Su'e, Kali 1 ; Apodaca, Lina 1
HBP: Sepulveda, Nina 1 ; Iniguez, Priscilla 1
Batting:
2B: Brown, Braxton 1 ; Cervantes, Tori 1
3B: Ferguson, Hannah 2
HR: Brown, Braxton 1 ; Castillo, Victoria 1 ; Buckley, Sam 2
RBI: Brown, Braxton 2 ; Castillo, Victoria 2 ; Cañedo, Sasha 1 ; Buckley, Sam 3 ; Ferguson, Hannah 2 ; Lara, Camille 1
SF: Brown, Braxton 1 ; Lara, Camille 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Brown, Braxton 1 ; Castillo, Victoria 1 ; Buckley, Sam 2 ; Oliveira, Dominique 1 ; Tran, Lauren 1 ; Ferguson, Hannah 3 ; Lara, Camille 2 ; Cervantes, Tori 1 ; Cuen Camacho, Ruby 1
SB: Buckley, Sam 1
CS: Zabat, Mia 1
HBP: Buckley, Sam 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
3
H
3
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
ss/3b
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
P/INF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballUTL
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballP
/ SoftballRHP
/ SoftballSB | Saint Mary's vs. Long Beach State Highlights, 2-22-26
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