SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Saint Mary's (25-16, 10-5 WCC) lost the rubber match and series against Santa Clara (21-19, 8-7 WCC) in walk-off fashion 8-7, despite Christian Almanza hitting his 21st home run of the season to set a new program single-season record.

The Gaels scored first on a Coleman Schmidt solo home run in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead. Dylan Delvecchio pitched 2.2 innings allowing no runs on one hit with two walks and two strikeouts. This lead stayed strong until the fourth, when the Broncos scored three in a two error bottom of the fourth to take a 3-1 lead. 

The Saint Mary's offense tied the game at 3-3 in the sixth on back-to-back home runs from Almanza and Ryan Pierce. The Almanza home run set the record for most home runs in a single season, in Saint Mary's program history. Santa Clara delivered two home runs of their own in the seventh inning to retake the lead 6-3. 

Almanza drove in another for the Gaels in the eighth, along with a run that scored on a double play to cut the lead to 6-5. For the second straight game, Santa Clara picked up crucial insurance by scoring one more in the eighth. 

The Gaels were trailing 7-5 heading into the final frame, and once again gave a formidable comeback effort, tying the game at 7-7 via two sacrifice flies courtesy of freshmen Aiden Taurek and Tanner Griffith. Santa Clara singled through the right side of the infield and scored the game-winning run to take the game and series victory. 

Both Almanza and Schmidt had multi-hit performances including home runs. Almanza went 3/4 and Schmidt went 2/3 with a walk. Anthony Pomilia went 1/2 with a double in his day, and Nathan Chong went 1/1 when pinch hitting in the ninth.

The Gaels return home on Tuesday for a midweek matchup with the San Jose State Spartans with a scheduled 3:00 p.m. first pitch.

Saint Mary's full schedule can be viewed here and season tickets can be purchased by clicking here.

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