After shaking off the effects of a two-week break, the Hornet softball team added two more victories to their total, knocking off Saint Mary?s in a doubleheader Saturday.

The Hornets had last weekend?s doubleheader with Tennessee called off due to bad weather conditions, leaving their last real game down in San Diego in the Campbell Cartier Classic, which ended Feb. 18.

“I think we did a really great job getting back into the swing of things,” head coach Kathy Strahan said. “We have been in the gym fighting off the rain for the past two weeks and we really made some improvements considering that.”

Those improvements started with the pitching staff that lowered their season earned run average to 3.08. Freshman Nicole Deatherage registered her first collegiate shutout in the first game, handing the Gaels a 2-0 defeat. The freshman allowed only two runners past second base and forced three double plays to insure the shutout.

“Nicole really improved this weekend,” Strahan said. “The San Diego tournament was her first big test and it exposed some of her weaknesses. She has really worked those out over the past two weeks and really made some dramatic improvement.”

Deatherage has now thrown 12 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.In the first game, sophomore third baseman Veronica Rodrigues smacked her second home run of the year in the fifth inning off of Gael pitcher Jennifer Eaton. Rodrigues? shot was responsible for all of the game?s runs.

Sophomore Jillian Bivert earned her second shutout of the year defeating the Gaels 2-0, giving up only seven hits. Bivert battled her way out of a jam in the first inning with the bases loaded and allowed only six base runners the rest of the game. Bivert recorded three strikeouts and two walks in the victory.

Jennifer Joniken scored in the fourth inning, thanks to a throwing error by Gael starter Sara Weidlen, to record the game?s first run. Patty Villa added a pinch hit single, plating Rodrigues later in the game to add to the Hornets? lead.

The Hornets improved their record to 5-4 overall and will look to build on that starting Friday at the National Invitational Tournament hosted by San Jose State. The Hornets will face Purdue, Arizona State and Santa Clara in pool play before moving to bracket play on Saturday.

“This weekend will be big for us,” Strahan said. “It should be interesting to see if we can build off of our recent success against some quality programs.”