2008 Woodie Awards
Softball closes out season
Gaels drop final series to Hornets
Zack Farmer
Issue date: 5/8/07 Section: Sports
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Game one of their first double-header of the weekend was a tight game as they went into the seventh inning tied at 1-1 but ended on a walk-off grand slam by Sacramento State's Jaime Schloredt. It was her only hit of the game.
The Gaels got on the board first in the fourth inning when junior Bronwyn Russell scored on a double steal.
Saint Mary's could not hold the lead for long as the Gaels gave up the tying run in the bottom of the inning on a Sherry Clark double to score pinch runner Kayla Williams.
Junior Megan Galloway pitched the whole way allowing five earned runs on seven hits. She went hitless at the plate in three appearances.
In game two last Saturday, the Gaels lost another close game, falling 2-1.
Sacramento State struck first by scoring on a throwing error by Russell in the second to put the Sacramento State Hornets up 1-0.
Saint Mary's came back late in the top of the sixth when sophomore Lauren Clark scored on a throwing error by first baseman Amy Jo McKenzie.
The Gaels pushed the game into extra innings but would not pull out the win.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Hornets got their first two batters on base with nobody out. Gael pitcher Kate Albaugh '07 struck out Amanda Meyer for the first out. A groundout to first baseman Sandra Ruezga '08 advanced the runners to second and third base.
With two outs, Sacramento State's Hilary Johnson singled to centerfield to score the game-winning run.
In game three of the series on Sunday, Saint Mary's fell behind early and could not recover as the Hornets posted four runs early as they dropped the Gaels by a final score of 9-1.
With the Gaels needing to salvage a victory to end the season, senior Lauren Gardner took the team on her shoulders and pitched a complete game shutout to take the game 5-0.
Saint Mary's scored three runs in the second inning. Galloway led the inning off with a double. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Galloway scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Sadie Dolcini.
After a Ruezga single and a double by freshman Katherine Delpit, senior Michelle Mathis hit a two-out double to knock in two more runs in the inning. This gave the Gaels a 3-0 lead.
The Gaels added another run scored by senior Lauren Mello in the bottom of the third to increase their lead to four.
The Gaels added a final insurance run in the sixth inning and did not look back.
Gardner won her seventh game of the season while the Gaels punched out 10 hits in the game.
After the series, the Gaels' record fell to 24-36 overall and 9-11 in Pacific Coast Softball Conference play.