MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's Baseball won the series finale 8-1 over UIC on Sunday, and didn't allow an earned run on their way to taking game four of opening weekend.
 
Ryan Spalliero opened the game for the Gaels after pitching an inning in relief on Friday, and threw two scoreless innings allowing only an unearned run and just one walk with five strikeouts.
 
His offense gave him an early lead when Coleman Schmidt drove in Gavin Napier and Christian Almanza with a base hit to center in the first inning. Spalliero would allow the first two to reach in the third, and Riley Lamb who come in to pitch for the first time since 2018 when he was a USC Trojan.
 
Lamb would strike out the first batter he faced, and then induce a ground ball that the Flames would scratch across on after via a throwing error from the Gaels when they tired to turn a double play. But he'd get the next batter to line out and end his first inning pitched at SMC after appearing as a catcher and DH last season.
 
OFFENSE LEAVES NO DOUBT
The Saint Mary's offense would begin to hum in the fourth when Blake McDonald drove in Jared Mettam with a single to left and it was 3-1.
 
They would tack on two more in the fifth when Almanza doubled off the wall in the right field corner to score Napier. Nathan Chong drove in one more with a sac fly to score Almanza who had advanced to third on a balk to make it 5-1 SMC.
 
It continued in the bottom of the sixth for Saint Mary's when a Dalton Mashore groundout produced a run. A wild pitch would score another, and a Napier single to center to plated Seth Nager to make it 8-1.
 
John Damozonio would end the fifth in relief of Lamb by stranding two runners in scoring position. It's the second fire the freshman has already put out for the Gaels bullpen this season by stranding inherited runners. Freshman Adam Enyart would close out the game with two hitless innings and striking out three in his debut with just one walk.
 
The teams agreed to conclude the game early, deciding to finish the inning it was in when the clock struck 12:10 p.m., but ending it there in order to help UIC with their travel needs. The Gaels offense did well to make it a moot point with their offensive eruption and shutout pitching.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Napier has started the season 6 for 14 (.429) to start the season with four runs scored as has Mettam with three runs scored. Almanza has driven in four and scored four times while going 5 for 16 (.357).
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will host CSU Bakersfield at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 21.