SB | Weekend Ends with Loss to Northern Colorado

Sunday, February 26

Santa Clara, CA

9:00 am

Saint Mary's College of California

4-10

Northern Colorado

6-9

Saint Mary's

Northern Colorado

Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner

SB | Weekend Ends with Loss to Northern Colorado

2/26/2023 11:44:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The final day of the Silicon Valley Classic shifted to Santa Clara on Sunday morning as the Gaels made their last appearance in the event. A rematch against Northern Colorado was on tap, but much like their first matchup, Saint Mary's couldn't get much traction going against the Bears. An early lead evaporated midway through the game and the Gaels fell 6-2 in the finale of the week, dropping the Gaels to 4-10 while the Bears improved to 6-9.

THOSE SAME TWO AT THE TOP
The game started out well for SMC, as the top of the order continued to produce. It only took two batters into the game for the Gaels to lead, as Hannah Ferguson walked on a full count, moved to second on a wild pitch, stole third, and then came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Alex Casas. Taylor Lane followed with a double as the Gaels looked to keep the pressure on, but they could not score Lane from second, which wound up being a pivotal point in the game.

TOP PERFORMERS
Casas wasn't done after the RBI in the first inning, as she also drove in the second run of the day for the Gaels. Marissa Montelongo singled to lead off the seventh inning, which was her second hit of the day, and she eventually came around to score on an RBI double from Casas with two outs, briefly keeping the Gaels hopes alive. Casas now has 11 RBIs through the first 14 games of the season, with the next closes being Rylee Gomez with five. Lane also finished the game with two hits, including the double in the first.

ALL IN THE MIDDLE
Northern Colorado did all of its damage in the middle of the game, highlighted by a three-run third inning where they took the lead and never looked back. The inning began with immediate trouble against Gaels starter Odhi Vasquez, with a leadoff triple putting pressure on her just five pitches into the inning. A one-out walk put runners on the corners before a double to right center plated both runners and put the Bears in front. Two more hits chased Vasquez from the game down 3-1, and Kailey O'Connor allowed two more runs in the fourth and one more in the fifth to cap off the game's scoring.

UP NEXT
The Gaels will head home to Cottrell Field on Tuesday afternoon for a single game against Michigan, as the Wolverines continue an extended stay in California. They spent the weekend playing at the Stanford Invitational, and after their game against the Gaels, they'll head to Fullerton for the Judi Garman Classic. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 pm, weather permitting, so stay tuned to SMCGaels.com for any updates regarding potential weather-related changes.

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