MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's Baseball dropped game two of the three-game series against LMU 12-7 on Saturday afternoon, though the game was tied 5-5 before things unraveled in the ninth and the Lions pulled away to clinch the series.
 
LMU struck first when they loaded the bases in the first with nobody out. Ryan Taurek helped get the Gaels out of the jam by only giving up one run on a ground ball double play, and another ground ball out would end the Lions threat in the first.
 
SMC answered with a two-out rally in the bottom half of the first. Christian Almanza doubled down the right field line to score Coleman Schmidt tying the game at 1-1. Nathan Chong then hit a two-run home run to dead center field giving the Gaels a 3-1 lead.
 
The early inning scoring continued when the Lions picked up runs on an error and sacrifice fly, re-tying the game at 3-3. Another sacrifice fly in the fourth would give LMU a 4-3 advantage.
 
Things got quiet until the sixth when Almanza hit a home run half way up the batter's eye in center field to tie the game 4-4. Almanza's 12th HR of the season puts him in second on the conference leaderboard.
 
Sam Biller came up clutch again for LMU with an infield single to plate the go-ahead run in the seventh at 5-4. But the Gaels quickly countered with a Nick Mistone pinch-hit RBI single, which tied the game 5-5.
 
Things took a turn for the worst in the ninth inning on a series of unfortunate events for the Gaels. Biller continued his clutch hits for the Lions with a go-ahead two-run home run giving LMU the 7-5 lead.
 
But the rally did not stop there for the visitors. Grant Weiss singled to left and an error would give the Lions another two runs making it 9-5. Two wild pitches would give LMU two more runs, and finally the onslaught finished with a Khadim Diaw RBI single, giving the Lions a 12-5 lead after the top half of the ninth.
 
Saint Mary's didn't go without a fight though in the bottom of the ninght, as Gavin Napier hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning for the Gaels third home run of the day and his fourth on the season. That would be all the Gaels would muster however as LMU hung on for the 12-7 win over SMC.

Ryan Sanders pitched well in relief for the Gaels, allowing just one run in 4.1 innings pitched on three hits with no walks and three strikeouts.
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels look to avoid the sweep tomorrow at home against first-place LMU at 1:00 p.m.