CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. \u2014 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back in the starting lineup for the first time since Friday night, Hannah Ferguson<\/a> 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).\u00a0 Sam Buckley<\/a>, Braxton Brown<\/a> and Victoria Castillo<\/a> all left the yard, and were joined by Ferguson, Camille Lara<\/a>, and Tori Cervantes<\/a> with multi-hit games in the win over Long Beach State (9-6).<\/p>\n The Gaels used four pitchers in the contest, with Mia Nishikawa<\/a> recording the final out of the sixth, earning the win, and Odhi Vasquez<\/a> working a 1-2-3 seventh for her third save of the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n HOW IT HAPPENED 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<\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n GAME NOTES
\nThe road does not get any easier for the Gaels in their juggernaut non-conference slate. Saint Mary’s heads\u00a0 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n #GaelsRise\u00a0
\nThe 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n\tThis contest featured Sam Buckley’s<\/a> 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.
\n\tWith a home run, a double and two more RBI today, Braxton Brown<\/a> 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.\u00a0
\n\tOdhi Vasquez<\/a> 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.\u00a0
\n\tHannah Ferguson’s<\/a> 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.\u00a0
\n\tCamille Lara<\/a> logged her 100th career hit as a Gael.\u00a0
\n\tThe 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.\u00a0
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