MORAGA, Calif. –– Carlos Lomeli's stellar performance and the sixth homerun from Joe Vranesh secure the series sweep over Portland on Sunday.

HOW IT HAPPENED
 

• Junior Joe Vranesh got the Gaels started on Sunday with a solo shot over the left center field wall to put the Gaels up 1-0 in the bottom of the third.

 

• Kevin Milam led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a single over the head of the second baseman before a wild pitch advanced him to second base. Austin Chauvin then hit a sacrifice fly to left field that put Milam on third base with two outs, but the Gaels couldn't get him across the plate and the inning ended.

 

• Sophomore Carlos Lomeli cruised through the first six innings as he had allowed only one hit and struck out seven batters. With two outs in the first through the sixth inning, Lomeli sat down 16 consecutive batters. In the bottom of the fifth, Bryce Willits knocked his first hit of the game up the middle before Conor Thane laid down a successful bunt and advanced Willits to second. Joe Vranesh then hit a sacrifice fly to right field and Willits took his spot on third base.

 

• Lomeli came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning for the Gaels and the leadoff batter hit a single up the left side. The following batter grounded out and advanced the runner to second. The next at-bat resulted in another ground-out giving Saint Mary's the second out of the inning. The final out of the inning was a fly out to center field and Lomeli completed his first career shutout to secure the sweep of Portland.

QUOTABLES

"We had a good plan going into this weekend," said head coach Eric Valenzuela. "Portland has a lot of big hitters and Carlos was able to execute on the outside corner of the plate to stay ahead. To see the fight from these guys and watching them find a way to win was great to see."

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 1: First career shutout for sophomore Lomeli (9.0 IP, 4 H, 9K, 0BB)
• 6: Number of homeruns for junior Vranesh after Sunday's game, most on the team
• 13: SMC improves to 13-1 at home after the series finale
• 2: Second shutout of the season for the Gaels
• .159: Batting average for the Portland Pilots through the series (15-for-94)

COMING UP

The Gaels will play the final game of their four-game homestand on Tuesday at 3 p.m. against the Nevada Wolfpack.

#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.