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SMC California Athletics

Saint Mary's College Athletics Gaels
Ken Waldichuk
Tod Fierner
2
Portland POR 19-12, 2-8 WCC
4
Winner Saint Mary's (CA) SMC 17-12, 4-3 WCC
Portland POR
19-12, 2-8 WCC
2
Final
4
Saint Mary's (CA) SMC
17-12, 4-3 WCC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Portland POR 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 7 2
Saint Mary's (CA) SMC 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 X 4 7 0

W: Waldichuk, Ken (3-3) L: MORSE, Eli (2-4) S: Hobbs, Michael (4)

Game Recap: Baseball |

BASE | Waldichuk Dominates as Gaels Beat Portland 4-2

MORAGA, Calif. –– The Gaels secured the 4-2 series opener against the Portland Pilots on Friday propelled by a three-run homerun from junior Kevin Milam.

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
  • Joe Vranesh ripped a line drive double up the third base line to lead off the bottom of the first inning. Bryce Willits then followed up with a single to short right field that advanced Vranesh to third base. Ryan Novis laid down a successful sacrifice bunt to put Willits on second base before Kevin Milam unloaded to left field for his third homerun of the season and put the Gaels up 3-0. Eddie Haus kept the hits coming for the Gaels and hit a single to left center, but the next batter grounded into a double play and the first inning was over.
 
  • The Pilots drove in their first run of the day after the leadoff batter hit a single to right center and was then driven in after a teammate hit a single straight up the middle. The run was unearned however because the runner reached second on a pass-ball during the previous at-bat. Saint Mary's got out of the top of the second inning before allowing any more runs to cross the plate and the Gaels kept the lead 3-1.
 
  • Novis hit a leadoff single past the third baseman to begin the bottom of the third inning. Eddie Haus then reached on an error on the throw to first and advanced Novis from second base to third. Portland's pitcher tossed a wild pitch that moved Haus from first to second for Austin Chauvin. Chauvin hit to the third baseman who caught Haus in the run-down, but Novis was able to cross and the Gaels went up 4-1.
 
  • Portland scored their second run of the day in the top of the seventh after a single to right-center scored the runner on second who had hit a double to right field in the previous at-bat. Ken Waldichuk was able to get SMC out of the inning and the Gaels remained on top 4-2.
 
  • Ken Waldichuk tossed another strong start for the Gaels on Friday as he pitched 7.0 innings and recorded just one earned runs. He gave up six hits, but collected a season-high 12 strikeouts and walked only one batter all day.

QUOTABLES

"With any of the teams in the conference you're going to face a good Friday guy so you have to have somebody who can compete and throw strikes," said head coach Eric Valenzuela. "He had his good stuff today and was able to settle in."

NOTABLE NUMBERS
  • 12: Season-high strikeouts for Waldichuk (previously 9 on March 16 vs. Pacific)
  • 21: Total number of pitches for junior Michael Hobbs in two innings to close out the game
  • 4: Fourth conference win of the season for Saint Mary's
  • 11: Active hit-streak for freshman Bryce Willits.
COMING UP

The Gaels will play game two of the series against the Portland Pilots on Saturday with 1 p.m. as the scheduled time for first pitch.

#GaelsRise – Tickets for all upcoming home game are available for purchase here on 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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