MORAGA, Calif. — Due to inclement weather earlier this week, Saint Mary's (17-11) and Grand Canyon (16-14) were forced to play a Saturday doubleheader as part of their four game set this weekend. In a seven inning game one of the twinbill, then Gaels offense erupted for a 10 run second inning, riding the wave to a 12-10 victory. Game two, a nine inning contest, was an absolute pitcher's duel that saw the Gaels keep the Lopes off the scoreboard through seven innings, but a late rally earned GCU the victory 3-2. Saint Mary's will look to polish off the series victory tomorrow, while GCU will do their best to try and salvage a split.
GAME ONE: SMC 12 - GCU 10 (7 Innings)
It was a shaky start for the Gaels through the first frame and a half. Connor Linchey delivered a scoreless first inning on the bump, but an early error in the second plated three unearned runs in the second. The Gaels quickly erased that deficit in the bottom half, as they loaded the bases with one away before Jared Mettam left the yard for the first time in his sophomore campaign, giving Saint Mary's their first lead of the matchup at 4-3. The Gaels would continue to pile it on in the bottom of the second, with six more runs, half of which came in on a Dalton Mashore three run jack, and through two, SMC led GCU 10-3.
GCU responded in the third, as Linchey surrendered three hits and two walks, resulting in a pair of runs before he was chased from the game. Dylan Delvecchio entered and allowed one of the inherited base runners to score, cutting the deficit to three.
A Ryan Pierce RBI single would plate Gavin Napier in the fourth, restoring the Gael lead to four, but two more runs would come across charged to Delvecchio, forcing another call to the pen, as Jason Reitz took the hill. Reitz was lights out in his four innings of work, surrendering just a single run and picking up his first collegiate save. Dalton Mashore launched his second home run of the game in the fourth, as the Gaels would take the win the offensive fireworks show, 12-10.
Dalton Mashore logged his first collegiate multi-home run game. He has now left the yard 17 times over his three seasons in Moraga. Mashore drove in four of the Gaels runs, as did Jared Mettam, sending one over the fence for the first time in 2024, after doing so seven times in his freshman campaign. Mettam's blast came with the bases loaded, and proved to be the winning hit for the Gaels all the way back in the second, giving them their first lead of the game at 4-3. They would not trail from that point on.
GAME TWO: GCU 3 - SMC 2
In opposite fashion of game one today, game two was a showcase of pitching and defense. Ryan Wiltse took the hill for the Gaels in his second start of 2024, and was stellar as ever. The senior tossed seven scoreless frames of four hit baseball, striking out six and walking just one. The outing saw Wiltse's ERA drop all the way down to a stellar 1.67 on the year.
The Gaels got their scoring going in the second inning, when Nathan Chong walked, advanced to second on a Chris Esquivel groundout, and scored on an Anthony Pomilia double pulled to left. It was Pomilia's first RBI as a Gael.
Wiltse was relieved by Adam Enyart in the eighth. Things got off to a rocky start for Enyart, as he surrendered back to back singles to the Lopes eight and nine hitters, but induced a lazy foul out to the catched, followed by a tailor made double play to retire the side. Coleman Schmidt launched a home run over the left center field wall in the bottom of the eighth, as the Gaels extended their lead to 2-0.
Enyart returned to the bump for the ninth inning, and recorded a strikeout, but a pair of walks, forcing the Gaels to call to John Damozonio from the pen. Damozonio fanned the first batter he faced, but gave up back to back hits allowing GCU to score three times and take the lead. Owen Cuffe was the third pitcher used in the inning and stopped the bleeding there.
Back to back walks in the bottom of the ninth seemed to have the Gaels in business, but pinch runner Cody Kashimoto was picked off of second, as momentum swung to favor the Lopes. With two away, Tanner Griffith logged his third single of the day, an infield knock off the pitcher to put runners at the corners, but Gavin Napier was called out on strikes to end the game and give the Lopes their first win of the weekend.
Despite his excellent effort,
Ryan Wiltse took the no-decision in the game, but did see his ERA fall to 1.67, one of the best marks in the WCC this season. Continuing to show excellent potential as the Gaels leadoff hitter of the future,
Tanner Griffith notched his first career three hit game, while
Dalton Mashore had a pair of hits, bringing his total to five in the double header.
The series finale between Grand Canyon and Saint Mary's is scheduled for tomorrow with a first pitch scheduled for 12:05 PM.
Saint Mary's full schedule can be viewed here and season tickets can be purchased by clicking here.
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