MORAGA, Calif. — The Gaels return home this week to face local opponent San Jose State before beginning a three-game set against first-place, conference rival LMU.

SCHEDULE
Game #36
Saint Mary's Gaels (20-15, 6-6 WCC) vs. San Jose State Spartans (18-18, 12-6 MW)
Tuesday, April 16, 3:00 p.m.
Moraga, Calif. –– Louis Guisto Field
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Game #37
Saint Mary's Gaels (20-15, 6-6 WCC) vs. Loyola Marymount Lions (22-13, 11-4 WCC)
Thursday, April 18, 3:00 p.m.
Moraga, Calif. –– Louis Guisto Field
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Game #38
Saint Mary's Gaels (20-15, 6-6 WCC) vs. Loyola Marymount Lions (22-13, 11-4 WCC)
Friday, April 19, 3:00 p.m.
Moraga, Calif. –– Louis Guisto Field
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Live Stats 

Game #39
Saint Mary's Gaels (20-15, 6-6 WCC) vs. Loyola Marymount Lions (22-13, 11-4 WCC)
Saturday, April 20, 1:00 p.m.
Moraga, Calif. –– Louis Guisto Field
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Live Stats 

SCOUTING REPORT
The Gaels are entering the week with a 20-15 record and they are 6-6 in conference play. They suffered their second WCC sweep of the season last weekend against USF. SMC matched USF's hits (32) in the series, but only scored 11 runs compared to the Dons' 16. The series finale featured a 3-run, 9th-inning comeback by SMC to tie the game at 9 runs apiece to force extras, but Saint Mary's fell 10-9 in 12 innings. SMC is ranked 20th in the nation in fielding percentage (.979) and 19th/1st in the WCC in strikeouts per nine (9.9). Tyler Thornton is ranked 36th in least amount of hits allowed per nine (5.65) and 25th/1st in the WCC in strikeouts per nine (12.27). Carlos Lomeli is ranked 16th/1st in the WCC in walks allowed per nine (1.14)

Standouts from last series include junior Ken Waldichuk who dealt another gem this week. He tossed seven scoreless innings at San Francisco, only allowing three hits and two walks while striking out nine. When he exited the game, he had not allowed a hit for 3.2 innings. This was his third start this season with nine or more strikeouts. Sophomore Gio Diaz collected four hits in Sunday's matchup for a total of 8 in the series against USF (8-for-16 - .500 batting average). He is now batting .306 with 33 hits on the season, which is the fourth most on the team.

Gael batters are remaining hot despite the sweep from USF and the lineup features four players with batting averages over .300 including: Ryan Novis (.336), Joe Vranesh (.313), Gio Diaz (.306), and Kevin Milam (.301). Freshman Bryce Willits has burst onto the scene as of late, winning the starting role at third base and is batting .338 with 6 doubles and eight RBI in 68 at-bats. Vranesh leads the team with 6 home runs including the game-winner in game three against Portland. SMC is also looking forward to returning home as they are 14-1 at home this season which is the best home record in the WCC. The Gaels won their 11th-14th games at home after sweeping Portland, then defeating Nevada in 12 innings. SMC is on an 9-game win streak at home.

SAN JOSE STATE
The Spartans have an 18-18 record so far with a 12-6 Mountain West Conference mark. The team has lost two games in a row after traveling to UNLV this last weekend, but they have won four of their last seven games. They have had three series sweeps this year, the most recent coming in the first weekend of April against New Mexico. The last time SMC and SJSU met was on February 26 when the Spartans beat the Gaels by a score of 7-3. San Jose State has an away record of 7-14 this year and they have won just one of their last nine away games.

Junior Kellen Strahm has been leading the Spartans this season with a batting average of .406 and a total of 52 hits on the season, the most on the team. Strahm has the highest slugging percentage on the team (.578) as well as the highest on-base percentage. He also leads the team in homeruns (5) and is tied for most RBI (25) with teammate James Shimashita. Freshman Shimashita is producing for SJSU in his first season and has the second highest batting average on the team (.311) as well as second highest on-base percentage (.394).

On the mound for San Jose State, senior Andrew Mitchell has made nine productive starts and has a 3-4 record with a 3.81 ERA so far. Through 52.0 innings pitched, he has allowed just 34 hits and is holding opposing batters to a .160 batting average. He has also struck out 76 batters which leads the team by a margin of 42. In relief for the Spartans, sophomore Nicholas Morales has made 16 appearances and has an ERA of 3.37. In 26.2 innings, he has given up only 16 hits and has opposing batters hitting just .170.

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
LMU will be visiting Louis Guisto Field with a record of 22-13 and they are in first-place (11-4) in the West Coast Conference. The Lions are most recently coming off of a series win against conference rival San Diego last weekend in which they won the first two games before losing in the series finale. Of the five conference series they have played, LMU has won all five including a sweep of Santa Clara. The team has an away record of 8-8 this season with their last road-victory coming against San Francisco in early April. The Gaels and the Lions have not met yet this season but the last time the teams met a year ago, the Lions swept the Gaels in a three game set to end the season and move on to the WCC Tournament.

Junior Trevin Esquerra has been key for the Lions this season with a batting average of .329 and an OPS of 1.080. Esquerra has the highest slugging percentage on the team (.699) based on 15 doubles and a triple. Of the 14 homeruns that LMU has as a team, Esquerra is responsible for 12. He leads the team in RBI (42) and hits (47) and has an on-base percentage of .381. Junior Nick Sogard is also doing well for the Lions with a batting average of .326 and an on-base percentage of .434. Sogard also has the second most hits on the team with 45.

On the mound for LMU, senior Codie Paiva has been an efficient starter with nine starts, a 5-2 record, and an ERA of 1.59. Through 56.2 innings pitched, Paiva has allowed just 10 earned runs, while keeping batters to a .222 batting average. He has struck out 51 batters, which is a team-high, and has walked only 10. Sophomore Matt Voelker has been pitching in relief for the Lions and in 15 appearances, he has an ERA of 3.49 and a WHIP of 1.21. He has only given up 24 hits in 28.1 innings pitched and has struck out 25 batters.

#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.