MORAGA, Calif. – Exactly 270 days ago, Saint Mary's suited up for the final time of the 2018 season. A lot has transpired since those final moments of last year's campaign: four SMC players selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, a 5-year contract extension for head coach Eric Valenzuela, the hiring of Associate Head Coach Bryan Peters, the naming of two 2019 Preseason All-Americans, two Gaels on the All-West Coast Conference Preseason Team, and the SMC being picked to finish first in the WCC by Baseball America (just to name a few). However, all of these events have been leading up in anticipation of one moment: opening day of 2019. Saint Mary's will embark upon a season full of opportunity when they host Washington State for a four-game series February 15-17.
 
Pitchers:
 
Saint Mary's will debut a full complement of 15 pitchers on Friday, including five freshman hurlers. One of whom (Tyler Thornton – a true freshman from Santa Fe Christian High School) will anchor the Gaels' four-person rotation this weekend against the Cougars.
 
The other starters will include: junior left-hander Ken Waldichuk (2018 Second-Team All-American, 2018 All-WCC First Team, 2019 Preseason All-American, All-WCC Preseason Team), junior righty Kevin Milam (2018 All-WCC Second Team, 2019 Preseason All-American, All-WCC Preseason Team), and sophomore right-hander Carlos Lomeli (11 appearances and five starts in 2018 – a 4.21 earned run average, and only allowed 34 hits in 36 1/3 innings pitched).
 
Another important returner is sophomore Michael Hobbs who served as the team's primary closer in 2018. The Corona, Calif. native collected 11 saves last year which put him in fourth-place on the all-time career saves list for SMC and it was the second-most saves in a single season for any Gael in program-history.  
 
Infielders:
 
There are 14 infielders listed on the 2019 roster, including catchers and utility players. One of such players is Milam who enters the season as one of 2018's best two-players in the country. Last year, he entered the starting rotation while batting over .300 at the plate for the second straight year. Milam led SMC with a .302 batting average and a .430 on-base percentage. He was second on the team behind Jackson Thoreson with five home runs, 12 doubles and 29 runs batted in. In his first year as a starter on the mound, he went 6-4 with a 3.68 ERA, striking out 81 in 85 2/3 innings.
 
Meanwhile, freshman Daniel Mendez will see the majority of the time behind the plate to begin the season with redshirt freshman Marc Goulart and sophomore JC Santini also listed as catchers.
 
Outfielders:
 
Saint Mary's will enter the season with eight outfielders and will be led by juniors Joe Vranesh and Matt Green who shared time in right field towards the end of the season. Green posted a .289 batting average as he recorded 35 hits in 121 at-bats. Furthermore, he produced eight doubles and 16 runs batted in. Vranesh appeared in 41 games with 39 starts in 2018 with a .267 average. The Alamo, Calif. native also hit five home runs with five doubles, 15 RBI, and a .380 on-base percentage.
 
While Thane and Vranesh patrol the corners, junior Ryan Novis will captain the three with time in center. In his 16 appearances last season, Novis earned a .400 batting average and a .543 slugging percentage.
 
Schedule:
 
The Gaels will begin their non-conference slate against three Pac-12 opponents mixed in with a single game at San Jose State.
 
The West Coast Conference schedule begins on March 15 for Saint Mary's as they host Pacific, but the Gaels immediately head back on the road to face three more non-conference opponents (Nevada, Cal Poly, and UC Santa Barbara) before returning to the bulk of their conference games.
 
SMC's biggest homestand stretches from April 16-28 where the Gaels will play a total of seven-consecutive games at Louis Guisto Field. The stretch begins with a matchup on Tuesday against San Jose State before hosting Loyola Marymount Thursday through Saturday.
 
For the full schedule release, click here.
 
#GaelsRise – For ticket information to all home baseball games, call the SMC Ticket Office today at 925-631-4689 or click the ticket link here to purchase your seats now.