BERKELEY, Calif. — Saint Mary's Baseball and Cal entered this mid-week contest on Wednesday heading in different directions. The Gaels were winners of three-straight over the weekend in WCC play, while the Bears dropped three-straight to Oregon State. If Cal was looking for a bounce-back performance, they were disappointed as they welcomed the Gaels to Evans diamond. The long-ball was deadly again for Saint Mary's, as the Gaels took Wednesday's contest against Cal 6-3. Saint Mary's is now 18-16 after the win, and winners of four-in-a-row.
 
GROWN MANN STRENGTH
For the second game in a row, Blake Mann has provided the big bopping for the Saint Mary's offense. In the second inning, Mann led off and drew the count full before sending a ball out to left-center field, one of the deepest parts of the park. The ball just cleared the wall, giving the Gaels a 1-0 lead and Mann his second home run of the year. He wasn't done there. After two-out singles from Justin Banks and Marc Goulart, Mann cranked a no-doubter to left field, bringing home three and making it 4-0 Gaels. It is the first multi-home run game by a Gael since Banks hit two against Cal on March 7. For Mann, he now ranks second on the team with three home runs, all coming in the last two games. He added a bases-loaded walk in the ninth to give himself five RBIs, the most by a Gaels in a game this season.
 
SOMETHIN' 'BOUT SANDERS
Knowing that most mid-week games feature a lot of pitching changes, it was a bit surprising to see the Gaels roll with Ryan Sanders as long as they did on Wednesday. But with the way he was pitching, the decision was easy for head coach Greg Moore. Sanders took over in the second for Carlos Lomeli, and was on point from the very beginning. He went six-up and six-down to begin his outing before running into trouble in the fourth, where he allowed a run, but left the bases loaded. The final line for Sanders was impressive: one earned run across six innings, the longest outing of his collegiate career. He did allow ten hits, but he also struck out eight, setting a career-best.
 
ODDS AND ENDS
The Gaels scored their fifth run in odd fashion, with the ball never leaving the infield. Javy Espinoza led off with a bunt single, and then moved to second on a throwing error. He was then sacrificed to third on another bunt, and then scored on a wild pitch, making it 5-1 in the seventh…Jackson Hulett took over for Sanders in the eighth, with a run already home, and got out of the inning with a runner on third and the tying run at the plate…Wednesday's win marks the first this year for Saint Mary's while being out-hit by the other team…Michael Hobbs locked up his third save of the season by securing the win in the ninth inning.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will take on WCC opponents for the duration of the regular season, and they are back in conference play this weekend against Pacific. A three-game series against the Tigers begins on Friday afternoon at 2:00 pm with Ryan Taurek on the mound for Saint Mary's, making his second Friday start of the year. The series continues with a doubleheader on Saturday at 11:00 am, as both teams attempt to get the series in before expected Bay Area rains arrive on Sunday.