Box Score MALIBU, Calif. — Sunday afternoon marked a pivotal game for Saint Mary's Baseball, locked up with Pepperdine in the series finale. After dropping the first two games of the series, the Gaels needed to find a way to get back on track and avoid falling to 1-5 in WCC play against two of the better teams in the conference. They turned to their roots on Sunday, grounded in strong pitching and a few timely hits, which ultimately powered them to a 3-2 win over the Waves on Sunday. Saint Mary's now stands at 12-11 (2-4) while the Waves fall to 11-11 (4-2).
 
THE BIG ONE
The Gaels got their three runs of the game all in one inning, putting up the first crooked number of the series. The entire rally came with two outs, and began when JC Santini sent his second home run of the year down the left field line, tying the game up at 1-1. The Gaels had not homered since March 7, when Justin Banks hit a pair against Cal. That was the jolt the Gaels needed to get their bats some life, as Chris Santiago was hit by the next pitch, and Gaeb Giosso singled him to second base. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, and then with two strikes, and after fouling off a pitch, Blake Mann singled to right field, scoring both and giving the Gaels a 3-1 lead that they would not relinquish.
 
REBOUNDING
Sunday afternoon was a great rebound-start for Ky Bush, who was knocked around hard in the early innings of his last start against San Diego. Bush did allow a pair of runs, but only one of them was earned, while holding the Waves to just two hits, no walks, and six strikeouts. The unearned run came in the second, when a throwing error from Santini allowed a run to score on a sacrifice bunt, giving Pepperdine a 1-0 lead. In the fifth, Bush allowed a solo home run to make it a 3-2 game, but he did a great job at limiting foot traffic on the bases outside of those innings.
 
SLAMMING THE DOOR
Give credit to the Gaels bullpen for shutting down a Pepperdine offense that had no trouble against the Gaels in the first two games of the series. Saint Mary's relief pitching combined to allow just hit over the final four innings, and that one hit came in the ninth. Ryan Taurek took over for Bush and got five outs, Michael Hobbs then took over for Taurek in the seventh inning and got four outs on a pair of strikeouts. The ninth inning was for Christopher Campos to navigate, and despite allowing a single and a walk, he was able to end the game with a bounce out to first base to secure his team-leading fourth save of the season.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will head home for the weekend leading up to the Easter holiday as the Gaels welcome in Portland for a three-game series beginning on Thursday, April 1. The games on Thursday and Friday will begin at 3:00 pm, with Saturday's series finale set to take place at 1:00 pm. The Gaels will likely send Carlos Lomeli to the mound in the opener, taking his usual place atop the Gaels rotation.