One for the books: Braxton Brown went two-for-four and drove in five runs—boosting her single season RBI record to 54. / Photo by Tod Fierner for SMC Athletics
West Coast Champion Gaels Make Even More History, Reach 40 Wins with 11–3 Win at Santa Clara
Saint Mary’s finishes the season in true winning fashion, taking two out of three against the Broncos. Now the Gaels head into postseason play.
The Saint Mary’s Softball team will take some momentum into the 2026 NCAA postseason after an emphatic 11–3 run-rule victory over the Broncos on Saturday afternoon at the Santa Clara Softball Stadium. The Gaels locked up the West Coast Conference Title outright the night before with a victory over longtime rival Santa Clara. Now Saturday’s game puts an exclamation point on an already epic season.
After being limited to just six runs over the first two games of their final WCC series, the Gaels saw their bats come to life in the finale. They scored five runs in the first two innings alone to set the tone early in the eight-run win. The victory marked the 40th this season for Head Coach Sonja Garnett’s squad. They join former SMC Baseball Coach Miles McAfee’s 1977 team as the only two programs to reach 40 wins in a season in Saint Mary's history.
On Saturday, both Hannah Ferguson and Sam Buckley went unretired in the contest, each reaching base four times. Ferguson tallied three hits and was plunked once, scoring three times to break the single season program runs record: She scored 50 times this year. Buckley made it on base four times without swinging the bat, walking three times and being hit once by a pitch, also scoring three runs.
Braxton Brown was the beneficiary of Ferguson, Buckley, and others being on base ahead of her. She drove in five, adding to her single season RBI record, which now stands at 54. Mia Zabat tallied a pair of hits and scored twice. Pitcher Ella Thurman went the distance in the circle for the second time in as many outings and the fourth time this season.
Hitting Hard and Fast
The Gaels (40–14, 15–3 WCC) jumped ahead by five runs in the blink of an eye. In just the first two innings, they surpassed their run tally in both games one and two against the Broncos (26–25, 11–7 WCC). Hannah Ferguson got things going with a one-out single in the top of the first, followed by Sam Buckley being hit by a pitch. After Ferguson and Buckley each moved up 60 feet on a Braxton Brown flyout, Alex Cutonilli sent an opposite field single to right, plating both.
Ella Thurman worked around a two-out double in the bottom of the first, and the Gaels added three insurance runs to start the second. Mia Zabat led off the inning with a single and scored on a Ferguson infield knock. After Buckley worked a walk, Brown cashed in both of them on a pure single to center.
The top of the fourth was the biggest offensive frame for the Gaels. Camille Lara and Sam Buckley each worked walks, sandwiching another Hannah Ferguson infield single to load the bases for Braxton Brown. This time, Brown drove a ball all the way to the wall in center, plating Lara and Ferguson; on an errant throw, Buckley scored as well, clearing the bases. Brown went on to score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of catcher Andrea De La Rosa, and midway through the fourth the Gaels led 9–0.
Santa Clara ended pitcher Ella Thurman’s scoreless streak in the bottom of the fourth, breaking through for three runs with just one of those charged as earned. The Gaels quickly got back into run rule territory in the top of the fifth. With one out, they loaded the bases for Buckley, who worked her fourth free pass of the game to make the lead seven runs. Then Brown drove in her fifth run of the game on a fielder’s choice, making it 11–3. Thurman allowed a leadoff single in the bottom of the fifth but rolled a double play before inducing the game-ending flyout to right to end the afternoon early.
A Season for the Record Books
Along with earning their 40th win of the season on Saturday, the Gaels won their 15th WCC contest—the most of any team since the conference began sponsoring softball in 2014. Saint Mary’s won every conference series this season, another program first.
In terms of individual player stats, Hannah Ferguson extended her hit streak to 12 straight games, going unretired in four plate appearances. Ferguson also broke Sam Buckley’s single season runs record from a year ago, scoring three times to boost her WCC-leading tally to 50 runs scored.
As for Buckley, the junior also went unretired, drawing three walks being hit by a pitch once. That ran her season on-base percentage to .521.
Braxton Brown drove in five for the Gaels for her second five-plus RBI game this season. She added to her program single season record RBI tally, now at 54. Freshman Andrea De La Rosa logged her eighth collegiate hit and her fourth collegiate double, driving in a run in the process. For pitcher Ella Thurman, the win notches her record to 7–4.
Up Next: Selection Show Watch Party at UCU Pavilion
On Sunday, May 10, the Gaels will host a Selection Show viewing party inside UCU Pavilion. Doors open at 3:30 p.m. Pacific with the selection show beginning at 4 p.m. on ESPN2. Admission is free.
