MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's Baseball booked their trip to the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas with a 6-0 win over San Diego paired with BYU's loss to UOP on Saturday.
 
OPENING WITH A BANG
SMC christened Brother Ronald Gallagher Stadium with a soft opening welcoming family and friends of the program, while the Gaels christened it with a flurry of offense in the opening inning.
 
With a 2-0 count, leadoff hitter Gavin Napier hit his second home run in as many days, belting a no-doubt, solo shot over the fence in left to get the party started.
 
After Bill Ralston was hit by a pitch and Christian Almanza hit an opposite-field double, Nathan Chong dropped a single into center field for a 2-0 SMC lead with no one out. Blake McDonald singled through the left side to make it 3-0 Gaels with one out, and the home team was off to a hot start in their new digs.
 
Saint Mary's loaded the bases after Jared Mettam was hit by a pitch as the Gaels kept the pressure on USD. The Toreros would make a play at the plate to get a force out and then a strike out to end the inning, but Gaels hot start had the crowd and the team fired up.
 
The Gaels kept their foot on the pedal and tacked on to keep the Toreros from gaining any momentum. Eddie Madrigal reached on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the third, stole second and advanced to third on an error on the throw. That was followed by an RBI single up the middle from Dalton Mashore for a 4-0 Saint Mary's lead.
 
They kept it going in the bottom of the fourth when Blake McDonald singled through the middle to score Almanza to make it 5-0. Coleman Schmidt ripped a single off the foot of the USD pitcher and the ball landed in right field allowing Almanza to score again and put the Gaels up 6-0.
 
SEALING THE DEAL
Starting pitcher Ryan Wiltse didn't allow a hit through four innings in his best start of the season. He got around a leadoff double and a two-out walk in the fifth with a fly out to left to the inning, before allowing two singles to start the sixth.
 
Owen Cuffe would come in fro Wiltse and retire the Toreros left-handed, clean-up hitter, before Jack Snook got the next two batters on a fly out to Madrigal in right and a line out snared by Almanza.
 
Snook would pitch two innings in relief and freshman Adam Enyart closed it out with a scoreless 1.2 innings.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
It was the first time USD had been shutout in WCC play this season. The Gaels will return to the WCC Tournament for the first time since 2017 after winning it all in 2016.
 
Napier extended his hit streak to 11 games, Madrigal extended his to eight games, and McDonald pushed his up to six games. Almanza's hit on-base streak is up to 16 games and Schmidt's is now up to 10.
 
McDonald recorded his fifth game of driving in two runs and it was Almanza's 17th multi-hit game.
 
UP NEXT
Senior Day is set for 1:00 p.m. in Moraga. Saint Mary's will officially christen Brother Ronald Gallagher Stadium before the game.