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SMC California Athletics

Saint Mary's College Athletics Gaels
Kevin Milam
Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
6
Saint Mary's SMC 16-10, 3-1 WCC
10
Winner BYU BYU 19-5, 5-2 WCC
Saint Mary's SMC
16-10, 3-1 WCC
6
Final
10
BYU BYU
19-5, 5-2 WCC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Saint Mary's SMC 2 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 6 6 2
BYU BYU 5 0 2 1 1 0 1 0 X 10 14 2

W: WOOD, Jordan (4-0) L: Milam, Kevin (3-3) S: MCLAUGHLIN, Reid (2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

BASE | Comeback Bid Falls Short as SMC Drops Series Opener at BYU

PROVO, Utah–– Saint Mary's looked to stage another 6-run comeback in the series opener at BYU, but the Gaels' efforts fell short as SMC dropped their first WCC contest of the season, 10-6. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Saint Mary's struck first in Thursday night's series opener. With one out, junior Kevin Milam reached with a 1-out base hit. Freshman Bryce Willits followed with an inside-out base hit to left field which got by the fielder. As a result, Willits reached third, scoring Milam from first. Then, on the following pitch, junior Ryan Novis delivered Willits from third with a base hit through the left side. At the end of the inning, SMC led 2-0.
  • The Cougars responded with five runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Their runs came from a pair of homers off of the bats of Hale (a 3-run shot) and McIntyre (a 2-run homerun). 
  • BYU pushed two more across in the third thanks to a pair of base hits and RBI from Kringlen and Hill.
  • Hale hit his second homerun and the Cougars' third of the game in the bottom of the fourth, extending BYU's lead to 8-2.
  • Junior Joe Vranesh responded with a solo shot (his fifth of the season) in the next half inning which cut the Gaels' deficit to five runs in the fifth. 
  • With four hits in the bottom of the fifth, BYU added to their run total, going ahead 9-3. However, SMC limited the damage with incredible defense: with the bases loaded and one out, a sharp ground ball was hit up the middle which was only stopped by a diving attempt from senior Eddie Haus. A quick flip to senior Conor Thane and a strong throw to first completed the double play and eliminated the scoring threat. 
  • Saint Mary's got three runs back in the top of the sixth thanks to a sacrifice fly from Haus, and a walk from sophomore JC Santini and a hit-by-pitch to sophomore Gabe Giosso (each with the bases loaded). The Gaels exited the inning having cut the deficit to just three runs (9-6).
  • BYU's McLaughlin entered the game in the top of the seventh and got Vranesh to hit into a 1-out, bases loaded double play to end the inning. He pitched the rest of the game and held the Gaels hitless, stifling any SMC attempt to erase the deficit.
  • In the bottom of the seventh, the Cougars picked up their 10th run of the game with a 1-out sacrifice fly after the leadoff batter reached on a fielding error. BYU led 10-6 after seven innings of play.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
  • 8: Bryce Willits has stretched his hitting streak to eight games. He is hitting .535 (15-for-28) during that time. 
  • 4: The Gaels' fourth-straight game with 6 or more runs
  • 11: The Gaels struck out 13 Cougars
  • 12 :SMC has had 12 games in which their pitchers have recorded 10 or more strikeouts (tonight was their third-straight) 
COMING UP
 
Game two of the series will take place on Friday with first pitch coming at 6:00 p.m. MT. Junior left-hander Ken Waldichuck is set to make his seventh start of the season. 
 
#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.
 
 
 
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