MORAGA, Calif. – Santa Clara softball earned a split in a pair of pitcher's duels at Saint Mary's on Saturday.

The Broncos (6-16, 3-6 WCC) took the first game of the day 3-2 but fell in the second to the Gaels (11-20, 2-4 WCC) by the same score.

GAME 1
The arm of Zoe Straughn and the bat of Emma Bickford led the Broncos to victory in the first game of the day.

Straughn (2-1) tossed the first complete game of her career, allowing two runs on just four hits. She struck out one and walked four. She allowed just one hit through the first 6 1/3 innings.

Bickford knocked in all three Santa Clara runs with a solo home run in the sixth and a two-out, two-run single in the seventh.

The Gaels fought back in the home half of the seventh and cut the deficit to 3-2 on a double by Maddie Gallagher followed by an RBI single from Kenedi Lopes. A two out infield hit put the winning run on base but Straughn closed it out with a fly out to center.

Lopes finished the day 2-for-3 and had the first hit for Saint Mary's, a double leading off the fifth. Marissa Montelongo knocked her in to give the Gaels a brief lead.

Sofia Earle (5-10) went 6 1/3 innings in the start and took the loss. She allowed three runs, just one earned, on four hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

GAME 2
This time it was Saint Mary's that scored late to overcome a deficit. The Gaels were shutout for the first four innings but one in the fifth and two in the sixth proved to be enough offense.

After evening the score at 2-all, a wild play in the bottom of the sixth gave Saint Mary's the lead. With runners on second and third and one out, Montelongo laid down a bunt that Liyah Lopez flipped to Sarah Ellersick with her glove to get the runner. When the batter, Bry Waters, took off for second, Jojo Bryant broke for home. The throw to second was just late and the throw home was too.

Smith led the offense, going 3-for-3 with and driving in the first run for Saint Mary's with a single up the middle in the fifth to drive in Nishihara.

Eileen Perez (2-4) went the distance to pick up the win. She allowed two runs on four hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.

Ellersick got the first run of the game in on a solo home run in the first and Ashley Trierweiler made it 2-0 in the second with an RBI single to score Lopez who had doubled.

Lopez (2-3) was good in the circle but took the loss. In 6 innings, she allowed three runs, one earned, on seven hits with a walk and a strikeout.

UP NEXT
The Broncos play a midweek game at Cal Wednesday at 3 p.m.

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