MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's Baseball took game two of a three-game set against the first-place Portland Pilots, winning 5-2 on Saturday afternoon at Louis Guisto Field to win the first two games of the series.
 
Connor Linchey needed just 69 pitches to get through seven innings of one-run ball, allowing just two hits and one walk with three strikeouts. Christian Almanza hit his second two-run homer in as many games, this time to left center to take the team lead with his seventh long ball. The win puts SMC at 5-3 in WCC play and drops Portland to 6-2.
 
The Gaels started the scoring with some ball, as Dalton Mashore singled to right field, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. After Almanza walked, Coleman Schmidt put a ball in play to third base. Schmidt showed bunt earlier in the at bat, so the third baseman was playing in, but after initially looking like he was going to throw home to get Mashore, he hesitated and changed his mind, and instead tried to start a 5-4-3 double play, but Schmidt was able to be the throw to first for an RBI groundout and a 1-0 SMC lead.
 
Saint Mary's would get another run in the bottom of the second when Blake McDonald doubled to the left-field corner, and was driven home by Jared Mettam, who tripled to left center after making a great read on the throw to the cut-off man to make it to third.
 
Almanza's homer would come in the bottom of the fifth, and just like yesterday occurred with first base open, as the Pilots have not pitched around him since the entire lineup has been producing. The Stockton, Calif. native drove a 3-2 pitch out to left center off the top of the netting above the fence to make it 4-0 SMC.
 
Mettam would deliver again in the sixth with an infield single on a chopper to third that scored Bill Ralston to make it 5-0 SMC. The Pilots would get a run in the top of the seventh with an RBI ground out, but that would be all they would manage versus Linchey.
 
An RBI groundout would be how the conference's top offense coming into the series would get their second run as well. Adam Enyart would earn his first collegiate save though after getting the last two outs to seal the 5-2 win.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Blake McDonald's double extended his hit streak to eight games and his on-base streak to 10. It was Almanza's sixth multi-RBI game this season and he and Schmidt are tied for the team lead with 20 runs driven in.
 
Saint Mary's is now 4-1 in games started by Linchey and 6-0 this year when they allow two runs or less.
 
UP NEXT
Game three of the series is set for 1:00 p.m. at Louis Guisto Field on Sunday.