With just under a month of the regular season to play, San Francisco State University’s softball team is in the mix for a California Collegiate Athletic Association postseason berth. 

After their four-game series against the California State University, Stanislaus Warriors was postponed over the weekend due to rain, SFSU entered Monday’s doubleheader at SFSU Softball Field with an 18-19 record, good for fifth place in the CCAA standings. If the season had ended then, the Gators would secure the final spot in the 2026 CCAA Softball Tournament presented by FloCollege. 

G1: Gators 4 Warriors 3

Alexis Perez made her 18th start for the Gators in game one. The freshman right-hander entered Monday’s game touting a 12-7 record and a 5.05 earned run average.

As for the Warriors, they countered with Nat Camarena, a sophomore right-hander who came into the game on a three-game losing streak and a 4.97 ERA to go along with a 4-6 record.

In the first inning, the Warriors came out of the gates swinging, led by a two-run double from sophomore first baseman Madison Rosebrough. Her swing gave the road side a three-run advantage after the first inning.

The second inning showed impressive defensive plays from both teams. For the Gators, senior first baseman Shaunessy Cardwell made a full-extension diving catch on a bunt attempt, followed by Perez catching a line drive on a comebacker. On the other side, the Warriors managed to turn a double play with third baseman Sadie Salas playing in on the dirt, anticipating a bunt attempt. 

“I didn’t even think, I kinda just threw my glove out there and hoped for the best, and the best happened,” Perez said. “I don’t think I was scared at all.” 

The Gators were able to scratch two runs across home plate in the bottom of the third, but a strikeout from sophomore Kate Nelson and a groundout from freshman Taylor Wilson saw them squander a chance to tie the game or even take the lead.

After allowing three runs in the first, Perez settled in, retiring Stanislaus State’s lineup in order in both the third and fourth innings. 

The Gators managed to make it a 3-3 tie in the fourth inning with a two-out rally. Two infield singles by freshman Olivia Mares and senior Ashley Rocha set up freshman Malia Morreira, who delivered with an opposite-field single into left field, scoring Mares from second.

Mares continued to make an impact in the sixth inning. After reaching first base due to an error from Camarena, Mares stole second and took third base following an error on the pick-off attempt. Rocha then blooped a single into center field, allowing Mares to score and give the Gators their first lead of the game, 4-3.

“I think this whole game we did a really good job playing free, so I think going into the sixth inning it wasn’t like ‘oh my gosh,’” Rocha said. “We weren’t pressing… so I just kept my approach and stayed confident.” 

With her side now ahead, Perez went back out in the seventh looking to close out the victory, but allowed the first two batters to reach base. After a single from freshman catcher Marley Hogue, the Warriors had the bases loaded with one out, looking to grab their lead back.

With the game on the line, Perez saved her best pitches for the final batters. She got the second out on a softly-hit pop-up from freshman center fielder Addie Meddings. The Warriors’ last chance was up to Rosebrough, who made solid contact on a 2-1 pitch, but her line drive went right to Cardwell at first base, sealing the win for SFSU.

“Sometimes I just have to tell myself, ‘I’ve done this before, I can work out of this,’ so credit to both sides,” Perez said.

In the loss, the Warriors left nine runners on base in game one. Despite the outcome of the final at-bat, Stanislaus State assistant coach David Cardoza was pleased with how Rosebrough handled it.

“That’s kind of our approach, is middle-away all the time, and she hit the ball good,” Cardoza said.

G 2: Gators 4 Warriors 2

Kharime Caratachea started game two for SFSU, looking to bounce back following her start against the Dominican University Penguins where she allowed five earned runs on nine hits.

In the second inning, Caratachea was able to pitch out of a bases-loaded jam, keeping the game scoreless. That momentum carried on into the bottom half with the Gators grabbing a 1-0 lead thanks to an RBI single from freshman second baseman Deziree Gomez.

The Warriors continued to make Caratachea work as they had the leadoff hitter reach base for the third consecutive inning, but they were still unable to score. Caratachea left two more runners stranded, and after striking out Salas to end the inning, she let out a passionate yell from the circle.

The Gators got their second run in the fourth inning thanks to Rocha’s baserunning. After stealing  second, Rocha stole third, and a miscommunication between the Warriors’ third baseman and shortstop saw the pick-off throw go into left field, allowing her to score easily. 

The right side of the Gators’ infield continued to shine defensively in the fourth inning, as Gomez made a diving stop to her left and threw out Meddings.

Two more runs were added in the fifth inning for the Gators, giving them a 4-0 lead and forcing Warriors starting pitcher Alexis Camberos out of the game.

Throughout the two games the Gator bats had timely hits, but a trend was their ability to manufacture runs through putting the ball in play. SFSU head coach Alicia Reid is content with her team playing that way.

“I think as a team, that’s our style of play,” Reid said. “There’s gonna be days where we pound the ball and we’re working gaps, but our team is built off of athleticism and speed.”

Gator pitching was in the spotlight today as they went on a stretch of 11 straight innings between the two games without allowing a run. That streak would end in the sixth inning as the Warriors would get one on the board, but they still couldn’t get a hit with runners in scoring position.

Trailing by three going into the final inning, Stanislaus State wouldn’t go down quietly. They were able to load the bases and cut the SFSU lead to 4-2, forcing Reid to pull Caratachea and bring in Perez out of the bullpen.

Senior catcher McKenna Beach looked to be the hero this time for Stanislaus State, but in a similar fashion to the first game, Cardwell squeezed the final out as Beach hit a pop-up to first base. 

On a day where pitching led the team to multiple wins, Reid stressed postgame that the everyday message to her pitching staff is to give the team an opportunity, and they did just that in these two games.

“We got out of some jams in both games,” Reid said. “I think that we did a great job of keeping the batters off balanced, both pitchers utilized their changeups today and [Stanislaus State] were chasing a handful of pitches.” 

With the two wins, the Gators moved into fourth place in the CCAA standings and will take on California State University, Dominguez Hills in a four-game series this weekend at SFSU Softball Field. The two games against Stanislaus State that were postponed on Friday, April 10, were rescheduled for Monday, April 20.