RENO, Nev.–– Saint Mary's suffered a heartbreaker on Tuesday, falling to Nevada after leading with two outs in the ninth.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 

• Nevada got on the board first in the bottom of the second: a single, a groundout, and a balk sent the Wolfpack's Shrum to third with one out. Two pitches later, McLaughlin lifted a fly ball to center field to score the runner from third.

 

• The Gaels responded in the top of the third when a 1-out squeeze bunt attempt was successful from junior Ryan Novis: Nevada attempted to catch freshman Marc Goulart at home, but the tag was too late and it allowed Novis to reach first. Saint Mary's now had runners at first and second, but they eventually moved to second and third after a wild pitch. SMC pushed across two more runs in the frame and led 3-1 after 2.5 innings.

 

• The following inning, SMC put two more runs on the board thanks to Novis' second and third RBI of the game. With two outs and runners on second and third, he placed a single into right center to push the Gaels' lead to four runs.

 

• Saint Mary's held Nevada from scoring until the bottom of the six, but the Wolfpack cut into SMC's deficit with three runs. In his third inning of work, junior right-hander Andrew Hansen loaded the bases with no outs. Sophomore Michael Hobbs entered the game and hit the first batter he faced, forcing in a run for Nevada. The righty struck out the next batter, but then allowed a two-run single to pull the Pack within one run (5-4). Hobbs then retired the next two batters to limit the damage.  

 

• Freshman Dalton Ponce then took over and did not surrender a run until two outs in the bottom of the ninth. After giving up a leadoff base hit, Ponce quickly secured the next two outs. However, a triple scored the runner from first and the attempted throw to third was errant, allowing the runner to score and win the game. 

 
NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 8: SMC's win streak was snapped at eight games – their longest since 1985. 
• 10: Novis and Vranesh now have 10-game hitting streaks.
• 3: The most errors committed by Saint Mary's all season and their first error in eight-consecutive games. The Gaels entered the game leading the country with a .990 fielding percentage.

COMING UP
 
The Gaels will now head to Cal Poly for their final non-conference series of the season. First pitch is set for Friday, March 22 at 6:00 p.m.
 
#GaelsRise – Tickets for all upcoming home game are available for purchase hereon SMCGaels.com or by calling the SMC Ticket Office at (925) 631-GoTx. Fans can find all live coverage links on SMCGaels.com.