MORAGA, Calif. – The Gaels will hit the road this week for their third appearance in the WCC Tournament in the last four years. Their first matchup will take place on Thursday against the No. 2 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Schedule:
 

Thursday, May 23
3:00 PM	Game 1: No. 1 Brigham Young vs No. 4 LMU	TheW.tv
7:00 PM	Game 2: No. 2 Gonzaga vs No. 3 Saint Mary's	TheW.tv
Friday, May 24
12:00 PM	Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs Loser Game 2	TheW.tv
3:30 PM	Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs Winner Game 2	TheW.tv
7:30 PM	Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs Loser Game 4	TheW.tv
Saturday, May 25
3:00 PM	Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs Winner Game 5	TheW.tv
Approx. 7:00 PM	Game 7: If Necessary	TheW.tv

SCOUTING REPORT
The Gaels ended the season on a high-note as they won the series against Pepperdine in the final weekend of the year. Saint Mary's won the last two games of the series, with the win in game two securing their position WCC Tournament. Following a strong series, the team is ranked first in the conference and 57th in nation in batting average (.287) and second in the WCC with a win-loss percentage of 0.623 behind BYU. SMC is ranked first in the conference and 20th nationally with a fielding percentage of 0.979. Saint Mary's pitching also continues to dominate as they are ranked first in the WCC and 15th in the nation with a WHIP of 1.24. They are also ranked first in the conference and 10th in the country with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.98. The Gaels are also ranked first in the WCC and 36th nationally with 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

The Gaels raked in the All-Conference awards on Monday after the completion of a number of impressive  season performances. Tyler Thornton was named Freshman of the Year and to the All-WCC First Team and the All-WCC Freshman Team. Thornton amassed a 9-2 record in 12 starts (70.1 innings pitched) and his 2.56 earned run average is the lowest of any starter on the team. He is ranked 11th in the country and first in the West Coast Conference in hits allowed per nine innings (5.37) and his nine wins are tied for the 12th-most in the nation (first in the WCC). Joining him on the Freshman team is Bryce Willits, who leads the team with a .341 batting average and, in 138 at-bats, has collected 14 RBI, nine doubles, and two homeruns. He also has a .397 on-base percentage and an .846 OPS (.449 slugging). Joining Thornton on the First Team are juniors Joe Vranesh and Ken Waldichuk. Sophomore Carlos Lomeli was named to the All-WCC Second Team and junior Ryan Novis, junior Kevin Milam, and Willits were all named honorable mentions.

Sophomore right-hander Carlos Lomeli put together an impressive performance at Pepperdine on Sunday, delivering the series victory and his second WCC Pitcher of the Week Award. Lomeli shut down the Waves in Malibu, tossing 8.0 innings, allowing no runs and just two hits while striking out five and walking three. He had retired seven-straight to end the seventh and he did not give up his second hit until the eighth. Lomeli has given up just two runs and 10 hits in his last 21.0 innings of work. Saint Mary's now has 10 weekly awards which is five more than the school with the second-most (BYU) and they have had at least one player win the award in each of the last three weeks. Saint Mary's now has 10 weekly awards which is five more than the school with the second-most (BYU) and they have had at least one player win the award in each of the last three weeks.

GONZAGA
The Gonzaga Bulldogs ended the regular season in second place in the the WCC with a record of 18-9 in conference play. During the last weekend of the season, Gonzaga took the series win over the Loyola Marymount Lions after winning in both the series opener and the series finale. The team only lost two series against conference opponents this season, Saint Mary's and Pepperdine, while they swept USF and Portland for their only WCC-sweeps of the year. Gonzaga leads the conference with a 0.424 slugging percentage and they are also first in the WCC in total doubles (116) and triples (15). Last time the Gaels and the Bulldogs met was in early May and SMC won the series with wins in the first and third games.

On the mound, junior Nick Trogrilic-Iverson has been a prominent starter for the Bulldogs this season and has recorded 25 appearances with six starts. Iverson has an ERA of 4.52 and a record of 4-2 through a total of 61.2 innings pitched. He held opponents to a .278 batting average and ended the season with a 1.37 WHIP. Sophomore Jacob Alek has been Gonzaga's star reliever as he posted a 2.20 ERA and a WHIP of 1.13. Through 73.2 innings, he has posted a 7-3 record with 11 saves and three starts. Batters are hitting just .202 against Alek this year and he has only given up 18 earned runs thus far. The pitching staff as a whole has an ERA of 4.88 and they have pitched three shutouts as a team.

Junior Troy Johnston leads the team with a batting average of .327 and he has the second-most hits on the team (68). He has played and started in all 52 games for the Bulldogs this season and has recorded a total of 44 RBI and a slugging percentage of .601. He has the second-most home runs on the team (9) and the most doubles (26) by a margin of 10. He is also ranked first in the conference and third in the nation with an average of 0.50 doubles per game. Senior Nick Nyquist has the second-highest batting average on the team (.317) and leads GU with a total of 10 home runs. He also has the second-highest OPS on the team with a slugging percentage of .584 and an on-base percentage of .410.

BYU
The BYU Cougars ended the season with a 19-8 conference record, good enough for first place in the WCC. In their last weekend of the regular season, the Cougars took their seventh conference win of the year over Santa Clara when they won the final two games of the season. BYU has three sweeps this season during conference play against Saint Mary's, Portland, and Pacific and they have only lost one WCC-series all year (San Diego). The Cougars have the highest on-base percentage in the conference (0.385) which is ranked 49th in the country. They are also first in the conference in double plays (47) and double-plays-per-game (0.92). The last time that the Gaels and the Cougars met was in late March, and Saint Mary's was swept by BYU in Provo.

On the mound, Justin Sterner has been the top starter for the Cougars as he has posted a 2.92 ERA through 15 appearances and 13 starts. He has an 8-3 record through 71.0 innings pitched and is holding opposing batters to a .215 average. He has given up just 23 earned run this season while striking out 71 batters and allowing just 23 walks. Sterner has also given up just one home run all year. In the relief position for BYU, Reid McLaughlin has pitched in 24 appearances and has posted an ERA of 2.72. WIth a record of 7-1 through 49.2 innings, McLaughlin has only allowed 15 earned runs while holding opposing batters to a .243 batting average. He has recorded four saves this season which is tied for most on the team with Drew Zimmerman.

Brock Hale leads the team with a .340 batting average, has played and started in all 51 games for the Cougars this season, and was named the WCC Player of the Year. He has recorded a team-high, 11 home runs this season and 44 RBI to combine for a .589 slugging percentage. Hale also has the second-highest on-base percentage among the Cougars (.467) while leading the team in total hits (67). Jackson Cluff is also hitting productively for BYU with a batting average of .340 and a slugging percentage of .539. Cluff is also ranked first in the conference and 56th in the nation with an on-base percentage of 0.473. He is also ranked first in the WCC with an average of 1.10 runs batted in per game. Cluff's on-base percentage is also helped by the fact that he is ranked first in the conference with 37 walks on the season.

LMU
The Loyola Marymount Lions ended the season with a record of 15-12 in the WCC which put them in fourth place. In their final series of the regular season, the Lions dropped the series to Gonzaga after winning only one game. The Lions picked up series wins against San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, and Pacific, while also sweeping Santa Clara this year. LMU has the lowest ERA in the conference (3.61), which is good enough for 27th in the nation. They are also ranked first in the conference with a total of 71 stolen bases this season and an average of 1.37 per game. The last time that the Gaels and the Lions met was in mid-April, when the Gaels took the series after winning both the series opener and the series finale.

On the mound, senior Codie Pavia has been dominant for the Lions with an ERA of 1.78 through 13 appearances and was named the WCC Pitcher of the Year. Pavia has a record of 6-5 through 81.0 innings pitched and has been holding opposing batters to a .230 average. He has only allowed 17 earned runs this season while striking out 73 batters and walking just 16. He also has a WHIP of 1.06 and is one of only two pitchers on the team to have pitched a complete game this season. Sophomore Nick Frasso has been an efficient reliever for the Lions with an ERA of 2.68 through 14 appearances and 47.0 innings pitched. He has a 0.91 WHIP and has recorded the second-highest number of saves (6) on the team.

Offensively for the Lions, junior Trevin Esquerra has the highest batting average on the team (.320) as well as the highest slugging percentage (.627) which has him ranked second in the conference. He has a total of 15 home runs this season which is ranked third in the conference and 36th in the country, while also recording 17 doubles and 53 RBI. He has also played and started in every game for LMU this season. Senior Brandon Shearer is another top producer for LMU as he has a batting average of .315 with a total of 64 hits on the season. His on-base percentage (.408) is the second-highest on the team and he is the only other Lion besides Esquerra to have played and started in every game this season.

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