SB | Gaels Head into Senior Weekend with a Chance to Lock Up Third Straight West Coast Conference Title at Home

Friday, May 1

Moraga, CA

3:00 PM

Saint Mary's College of California

LMU

Taylor Lane is one of seven seniors being honored this week, and the lone fifth year senior

Photo by: Ryan Barnett / SMC Athletics

SB | Gaels Head into Senior Weekend with a Chance to Lock Up Third Straight West Coast Conference Title at Home

4/29/2026 12:00:00 PM | Softball

MORAGA, Calif. — With two weeks left to go in the regular season, the Saint Mary's softball team has put itself in a solid position. With six contests remaining in conference play, the Gaels hold a three game lead on second place LMU and a four game lead on third place Santa Clara, the final two teams that they will play this conference season. What this means is that the Gaels are just three wins away (or two wins over LMU and a Santa Clara loss away) from locking up their third consecutive West Coast Conference title. The Gaels won their first WCC Title two years ago on senior day against LMU, and will look to once again recapture that magic here in 2026.

THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. LMU Lions
Friday, May 1 at 3 p.m.
Cottrell Field – Moraga, Calif.
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Saint Mary's Gaels vs. LMU Lions
Saturday, May 2 at 1 p.m.
Cottrell Field – Moraga, Calif.
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Saint Mary's Gaels vs. LMU Lions
Sunday, May 3 at 12 p.m.
Cottrell Field – Moraga, Calif.
WATCH | LIVE STATS

SENIOR SALUTE
As Sunday afternoon will be the final home contest of the 2026 season, the Gaels will honor their seven graduating seniors, Chelsea Bennett, Sasha Canedo, Victoria Castillo, Tori Cervantes, Hannah Ferguson, Taylor Lane and Odhi Vasquez, in a pregame ceremony before their final contests at Cottrell Field. All but one of these seniors have been in Moraga for four years, with Lane being the exception with five years spent as a Gael. When this group began their college careers, Saint Mary's Softball had never won a WCC title. They will have a chance to leave the program with potentially their third conference title, truly giving meaning to the phrase "leaving a place better than when you arrived".

ABOUT THE LIONS
The LMU Lions have been almost as hot as the Gaels of late, winning each of their last eight contests after winning just one of their previous seven. This has put the Lions in second place in the WCC, three games behind the Gaels. Coach Tairia Flowers has guided the Lions to their 19th 20+ win season in program history, and the second of her tenure, becoming the second winningest coach in program history in the process. The Lions have proven to be arguably the best pitching staffs in the conference, as they are the only team with a staff ERA and staff WHIP lower than that of Saint Mary's. True freshmen Jessie Gilbert and Sara Pinedo both boast stellar ERAs of 2.21 and 2.28 respectively, while senior Lindsay O'Dell leads the team with 36 appearances, 13 starts, seven complete games, two shutouts, 122.2 innings pitched, 15 wins, four saves, 72 strikeouts, a 1.18 WHIP and a .224 opponents batting average. No stranger to the Gaels, O'Dell has pitched against Saint Mary's four times in her career. While the pitching has led the conference this year, the offense is also in the upper echelons of the WCC, leading the conference in on-base percentage. Senior Izzy Jamgotchian has been the driving force on that front, with a .503 OBP to go along with her .325 average and .817 slug. She also leads her team with 19 homers and 52 RBI, and is the defending WCC Player of the Week. LMU leads the all-time series against the Gaels, 75-39, however, the Gaels took two of three against the Lions last year in Los Angeles, and two of four against them in Moraga in 2024.

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