MORAGA, Calif. — Pitching has long been a strength of this Saint Mary's team under head coach Greg Moore, and it appears that won't be changing in 2021. The Gaels tossed their first shutout of the season in the final game of the season-opening series against Utah Valley, with the Gaels winning by a final of 2-0 on Sunday afternoon. SMC earns the split in the four games against the Wolverines after dropping the first two games of the series.
 
SHUT 'EM DOWN
Sunday starter Dalton Ponce was great on the mound in his four innings of work, tossing hitless baseball with six strikeouts across those four innings. His day was cut short because of an elevated pitch count, thanks to four walks and a hit batter. But Ponce was on from the beginning, with five strikeouts in the first two frames, including striking out the side in the second.
 
ONE AFTER ANOTHER
Part of what makes the Gaels pitching staff so dominant is the depth they feature, with quality arms up and down the bullpen no matter how deep into a series you get. With the bullpen needing to get 15 outs (five innings of work), coach Moore turned to five trusted arms, all of which threw scoreless baseball. Liam Steigerwald, Jackson Hulett, Preston Howey, Chris Santiago, and Christopher Campos combined to strikeout eight in five innings, with Campos closing it off for his first collegiate save. In the series, the Saint Mary's bullpen allowed just three earned runs in 15.2 innings.
 
SCORING WITHOUT HITTING
The Gaels got both of their runs in the second inning, when Jack Murphy and Campos led off the frame with a pair of singles. Saint Mary's would wind up scratching across a pair of runs in the inning without recording another hit, as Gabe Giosso was hit by a pitch, and then JC Santini walked with the bases loaded to give the Gaels a 1-0 lead. With one out, Kyle Velazquez hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Campos and end the scoring on the day. Saint Mary's recorded just one more hit over the final six innings of the game.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will head out on the road for the first time during the 2021 season as they have a four-game series against California Baptist waiting next weekend. The series begins with a Friday afternoon contest at 2:00 pm before the Gaels and Lancers meet up for a twin bill on Saturday at 3:00 pm, and the series concludes in quick fashion on Sunday morning at 11:00 am.
 
CARDBOARD CUTOUTS
We are all excited that Saint Mary's athletics are back, but we understand that it's not quite the same since YOU, THE FANS, are not be able to attend in person. But that doesn't mean you can't be there in body (well, sort of) and spirit, supporting your Gael Athletic Programs! For $75, you can upload your photo to represent you as a cardboard cutout in the stands at one of 6venues on campus (Women's 'Volleyball in UCU Pavilion, Men's and Women's Soccer at Saint Mary's Stadium, Baseball at Louis Guisto Field, Men's and Women's Tennis at the Korth Tennis Complex, Softball at Cottrell Field, or Beach Volleyball at Saint Mary's Campus Courts). A link for more information can be found HERE.
 
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