SB | Buckley Accounts for All Three Gael Runs, Gaels Fall 4-3 to Broncos

Thursday, May 7

Santa Clara, CA

6:00 PM

Saint Mary's College of California

38-14, 0

Santa Clara

26-23, 0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Saint Mary's	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	3	5	3
Santa Clara	0	0	0	3	0	1	X	4	6	1

Sam Buckley (15): 3-for-3 HR 2 RBI 2 Runs Scored

Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner

SB | Buckley Accounts for All Three Gael Runs, Gaels Fall 4-3 to Broncos

5/7/2026 8:49:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Highlights

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The epic Bay Area West Coast Conference rivalry between Santa Clara and Saint Mary's delivered another exciting chapter on Thursday evening at the Santa Clara Softball Stadium, as the Broncos narrowly outlasted the Gaels 4-3. The Gaels took an early 2-0 lead, but the Broncos came storming back to pull ahead 4-2. Saint Mary's battled to the bitter end, getting the tying run on-base in the seventh, but stranded her on first to end the contest.

Sam Buckley accounted for just about every bit of the Gaels' offense, going 3-for-3 at the plate with a home run, a pair of RBI and a pair of runs scored. Hannah Ferguson tied the program record for single season runs scored, coming into score on a Buckley RBI, while Lauren Tran recorded a seventh inning single to keep the Gaels' hopes alive late.

Madeline Haun worked the first three innings scoreless, but ran into some trouble in the fourth, allowing three runs to score (two earned). Odhi Vasquez relieved her out of the pen, and went the final 2.2 frames, surrendering an unearned run, while recording five of her eight outs via the strikeout.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Saint Mary's (38-14, 13-3 WCC) and Santa Clara (26-23, 11-5 WCC) locked in an epic pitcher's duel through the first three innings, with both teams surrendering just one hit through the opening three frames. Santa Clara's Cari Ferguson was the first to blink, giving up a leadoff single to Hannah Ferguson in the fourth. Braxton Brown would move Ferguson up to second on a groundout, and with two away, Sam Buckley barreled a two out single through the left side to break the scoreless stalemate, and advanced to second on the late throw home. Buckley then proceeded to steal third, and score on an errant throw from the Bronco catcher, making it 2-0 Gaels.

Three hits and an error netted the Broncos their first lead in the bottom of the fourth, as starter Madeline Haun gave way to Odhi Vasquez. Vasquez proceeded to strikeout five of the eight outs that she recorded, surrendering just one unearned run. The Gaels needed two runs in the top of the seventh to extend the game into the bottom half. Sam Buckley cut that deficit to just one run with one away, as she hammered her 11th homer of the season over the center field fence. With two away, Lauren Tran would bang a single off the leg of Cari Ferguson, putting the tying run on-base, but Ferguson would induce a groundout to the next batter, ending the game at a 4-3 scoreline.

GAME NOTES

Sam Buckley smashed her 29th career home run, adding to her program record.
Buckley also went unretired for the 16th time in her career.
Hannah Ferguson extended her hit streak to 10 straight games, the longest of any Gael this season. Buckley is hot on her tail, riding a nine game hit streak.
With her seventh inning pinch hit single, Lauren Tran is now batting .750 (6-for-8) in WCC contests.
Madeline Haun and Odhi Vasquez combined to surrender no free passes (walks or hit by pitches). This is the fourth time the Gaels have gone without surrendering a free pass in a game.
The Gaels still need just one win to punch their ticket to an NCAA Regional and claim the outright WCC Title.