CONROE, TX — Saint Martin's Softball (2-3) opened their 2025 season in Texas at the First Pitch Invitational, facing some of the region's top competition.

The Saints were tasked to compete against Texas Woman's University to open the weekend on Friday, January 31st. The Pioneers would start the game hot, but the Saints were able to match their output in the first inning, as sophomore Ashley Goodale was able to get to home plate to tie the contest 1-1. In the following innings, Texas Woman's would build momentum with an impressive offensive innings, scoring 10 runs in a matter of three innings. The Saints would be unable to match TWU's scoring and would fall, 11-1. Shortly after game one, the Saints would face Texas A&M International University. The Dust Devils were able to score in the first inning while the Saints stayed scoreless. The Saints buckled down as a hit-by-pitch would send Kaylee Walker across home plate, putting the Saints on the board. TAMIU would load the bases in the bottom of the inning, which would set them up to score four runs as SMU would be unable to close the inning. The Saints would get another run on the board thanks to an Ava Heston RBI that would send a runner home. Unfortunately, the Saints would be unable to score in the back half of the contest and would lose 6-2.

The team would return to action on Saturday, February 1st with a morning contest against St. Mary's (TX). The Saints would be ready to go on offense as Jules Detrinidad, Ebner, and Shelby Lawson would all drive in runs in the bottom of the first. St. Mary's would slowly climb back and take the lead following an explosive five-run fourth inning, which would be matched by the Saints in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a fielding error, Ebner single, and clutch Lawson triple. Lawson would total four RBIs and Ebner contributed three of her own as the Saints would extend their lead. With two more runs in the sixth and a strong defensive showing in the final innings, the Saints would claim their first win of the season, 10-9. Chloe Leverington would be credited with the win on the mound. The second game of the day against Midwestern State would be a much lower-scoring affair than the team's previous contests, largely in part to the pitching performance by Amanda Peterson. Peterson would go all seven innings and only allow one earned run throughout the entire contest while sinking two strikeouts. The offense would do their part in the fourth and fifth innings thanks to an RBI double by Kekai Schultz, which would be followed up by a Lawson RBI and Ebner sacrifice fly. 

Sunday would see the Saints square off against St. Edward's University to round out their time in Texas. St. Edwards would score in the first inning before both teams would go scoreless in the following frames. SEU would break the streak by rattling off six runs in the fourth inning, putting SMU at a 7-0 deficit. A walk would result in the Saints' first run of the contest, but scoring would slow down once again. The Saints would find a spark in the bottom of the seventh inning when an Ebner double would send Goodale home, starting a streak of scoring for SMU. Peterson, Walker, Schultz, and Analise Griffiths would all record RBIs in their final plate appearances of the weekend, but St. Edward's would finally find a third out, making the final score 8-6. Saint Martin's would end the weekend with a 2-3 record.

Head Coach Jim Peterson is looking forward to their next round of competition after a couple of wins in Texas:

"For our first weekend of play, we played a couple good games, but we made a few early-season mistakes on the field. Overall, we got two wins for the weekend and we are looking forward to our next tournament in California."

SMU Softball will head down to Turlock, California next week to compete in the Tournament of Champions, and face some of the best competition in Division II. You can get more information here.