MORAGA, Calif. — The three-game series between Saint Mary's Baseball and Portland featured a lot of quality pitching, with the exception of Saint Mary's scoring 10 runs in the sixth inning on Friday. Saturday afternoon was cooler weather wise and so too were the Gael bats, stymied by Portland pitching. The Pilots scattered three runs across three different innings and that was all they needed to walk away with a 3-0 victory on Saturday and take two out of three from the hosting Gaels. Both teams are now 13-13 on the season, while Portland is 6-3 in WCC play and the Gaels are just 3-6.
 
TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE
Entering the weekend fourth in the WCC in strikeouts, Ky Bush picked up right where he left off all season long. Things were dicey for the left-hander in the first inning, as the first three runners reached base via a pair of errors and then a walk. With nobody out and the bases loaded, Bush then was able to record three-consecutive strikeouts to retire the side and set the tone for the remainder of his outing. He struck out nine in 5.1 innings, tying a career-best that he set three starts prior. Every inning, Bush had at least one strikeout, and was sitting at seven through the first three innings. His outing was even more impressive considering he sat at 53 pitches after just two innings of work, but was able to work into the sixth.
 
FLIP OF THE SWITCH
Yesterday, as Saint Mary's put up a season-best 14 runs on 12 hits, the Gaels offense was humming. Saturday afternoon, they were able to put runners on base but had trouble advancing runners into scoring position. At no point during the game did the Gaels have multiple runners on base at one time, and only once (a Justin Banks double in the fourth) did SMC put a runner in scoring position. All five hits were scattered amongst five different hitters, with Banks recording the lone extra-base hit. Nick Mistone was 1-1 with a pair of walks on the afternoon, and Ryan Ellis received the only other free pass for the Gaels.
 
HOW THEY SCORED
Portland got three runs in three different innings, starting with a Sam Brown home run to lead off the second inning. Brown sent a deep fly ball into the alley in right center that nearly cleared the netting, making it 1-0. It took Portland until the sixth inning to score again, when a wild pitch from Ryan Taurek scored Henry Muench to make it 2-0. Taurek settled in after the errant pitch and kept the Pilots scoreless until the ninth, when a fake-bunt-turned-single from Hunter Montgomery scored Brown from second base. Taurek was actually great in relief, going 3.2 innings and striking out five.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will enjoy the Easter holiday off and return to action next weekend on the road with their first out-of-state trip as the Gaels travel to Spokane to take on Gonzaga. First pitch on Friday night under the lights is set for 6:00 pm, and the same holds true for Saturday, April 10 before the series shifts to day baseball on Sunday, April 11.