MORAGA, Calif. — The Gaels will play the final game of the homestand on Tuesday against the Nevada Wolfpack before traveling over the bridge for a three-game set against the San Francisco Dons.


SCHEDULE
Game #32
Saint Mary's Gaels (19-12, WCC 6-3) vs. Nevada Wolfpack (16-15, MW 6-9)
Tuesday, April 9, 3:00 p.m.
Moraga, Calif. –– Louis Guisto Field
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Game #33
Saint Mary's Gaels (19-12, WCC 6-3) at San Francisco Dons (18-13, WCC 7-5)
Friday, April 12, 3:00 p.m.
San Francisco, Calif. –– Benedetti Stadium
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Game #34
Saint Mary's Gaels (19-12, WCC 6-3) at San Francisco (18-13, WCC 7-5)
Saturday, April 13, 1:00 p.m.
San Francisco, Calif. –– Benedetti Stadium
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Game #35
Saint Mary's Gaels (19-12, WCC 6-3) at San Francisco (18-13, WCC 7-5)
Sunday, April 14, 1:00 p.m.
San Francisco, Calif. –– Benedetti Stadium
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SCOUTING REPORT
Following three-straight wins over the weekend, the Gaels improved to 19-12 on the season and 6-3 in conference play. Saint Mary's has also been dominant at home this year and hold a home record of 13-1 (0.928), which is the highest win percentage at home in the conference. The team is ranked second in the WCC and 38th in the nation in doubles on the season (63). They're also ranked 22nd in the country and first in the conference in strikeouts per nine innings (9.8). The pitching staff allowed just two earned runs last week across three games (0.67 ERA). Junior Ken Waldichuk is ranked highly as well (18th nationally, 1st in WCC) in total games started this season. Junior Joe Vranesh is leading the team with a slugging percentage of .619, which is second in the conference.

After a sweep of conference opponent Portland, Gael pitchers received multiple awards; sophomore Carlos Lomeli produced a stellar performance in Sunday's series finale against the Pilots, landing him the Rawlings West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week award. Lomeli cruised through his seventh start of the season against UP as he tossed the first complete game shutout of his career and only gave up four hits in the process. He recorded nine strikeouts while not allowing a single earned run or walk. He sat down 16-consecutive batters from two outs in the first through the sixth inning. Following a dominant outing against Portland on Friday, junior lefthander Waldichuk was named a Collegiate Baseball National Pitcher of the Week. In 7.0 IP, he struck out a season-high, 12 batters, allowing just six hits, one earned run, and struck out five-consecutive batters at one point.

Gael sluggers have also been producing big numbers this season, including junior Vranesh who leads the team in a number of categories. He leads the team in slugging percentage (.619), homeruns (6), and OPS (1.057). He also has the second highest batting average (.319) on the team behind junior Ryan Novis (.364). He is tied with senior Austin Chauvin for most triples on the team (3) and is second on the squad with total doubles (10) behind junior Kevin Milam. Junior Novis is the hits-leader for SMC with 43 and he also leads the team with a total of 28 RBI on the season.

NEVADA
The Wolfpack will visit Louis Guisto Field with a record of 16-15 and they are 6-9 in the Mountain West Conference. They are currently on a two game losing streak after dropping the last two games against San Diego State this last weekend. They took the first game of the series in the bottom of the ninth with an RBI-single to secure the narrow 8-7 win. Nevada has lost four of their last six matchups and they have only won two of their seven series this season. The team has a 7-6 record on the road this year and their most recent road win was on March 24 when they took a ten-inning, 7-6 win over UNLV. Last time the two teams met on March 19, The Gaels fell 6-5 in the final inning against Nevada, sqaundering a one-run lead in the bottom fo the ninth.

Junior Jaylon McLaughlin is leading the Wolfpack with a .340 batting average and has the third most hits on the team (32). Sophomore Joshua Zamora and junior Dillan Shrum are both tied for most homeruns on the team with seven apiece and are also tied with 21 RBI each. Shrum leads the squad in slugging percentage (.561), on-base percentage (.415) and OPS (.976), while Zamora leads the team with 37 hits. Nevada also has eight players who have at least one triple this season and four players who have five or more doubles so far. The team as a whole has a batting average of .257 and a team OPS of .750.

On the mound, junior Ryan Anderson has started in eight games for the Wolfpack, which is tied with Owen Sharts for most starts on the team. Anderson has a record of 4-1 with a 3.28 ERA, which is the lowest of regular starters on team. He has a WHIP of 1.13 through 46.2 innings pitched and has only allowed 17 earned runs this season. He leads the team with 49 strikeouts and has given up just one homerun through eight games. Senior Bradley Bonnenfant is the top reliever for Nevada with an ERA of 2.65 through his 14 appearances this year. He is 4-1 and has a WHIP of 1.47 with three saves and 18 strikeouts.

SAN FRANCISCO
The San Francisco Dons are 18-13 this season with a conference record of 7-5. The team is coming off a 2-1 series loss to Loyola Marymount in which they bounced back to win the second game of the series after dropping the first. However, they then lost in the series finale on Sunday. The Dons have won five of their last seven games and recently swept conference opponent Santa Clara in three games to close out the month of March. The team has a home record of 12-3 and up until recently were tied with the Gaels for best home record in the WCC. They dropped two at home to LMU last weekend, but had not lost at home prior to that series since March 16.

Sophomore Jack Winkler is bringing up the team average this season and leads the Dons' regular starters with a batting average of .317. He also has the most hits (38) and doubles (10) for USF and is tied for second with three homeruns. Senior Jonathan Allen has also been key for San Francisco as he has ten homeruns this season which is tied for first in conference. He also has the highest slugging percentage (.609) and the most RBI (36) on the team. Allen is second behind Winkler in hits on the team (33).

On the mound for the Dons, junior Riley Ornido has been their top starter with a record of 5-3 and an ERA of 1.08. Through 50.0 innings pitched he has a WHIP of 1.14 and has only allowed six earned runs all season. Ornido is holding opposing hitters to a .175 batting average and has struck out 49 batters. He has only given up five doubles and two homeruns this season. Sophomore Alex Pham is a key reliever for the Dons with a 3.41 ERA and three saves. He has a WHIP of 1.10 through 37.2 innings pitched and has only allowed 11 earned runs this season.

#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.