MORAGA, Calif. — After their first two matchups saw the baseball flying all over Brother Ronald Gallagher Stadium, game three, and today game four between the Saint Mary's Gaels (18-11) and Grand Canyon Lopes (16-15) featured low scoring pitching duels, with the Gaels taking the finale 4-3 with a walk-off winner to clinch a series victory 3-1 over the Lopes. 

Shawn McBroom earned his first collegiate start, after tossing a combined five shutout innings between his first two career bullpen outings. The true freshman was lights out again on the hill, retiring the first eight batters he faced, in order, and taking a no-hit bid into the fifth. Christian Almanza provided the only offense for the Gaels through the first two thirds of this ballgame, putting a jolt into a ball over the right field fence in the third with Gavin Napier on first, giving SMC a 2-0 lead. 

The Lopes strung together a pair of two out hits in the seventh, plating the only run they could against McBroom, and the Gaels opted for a call to the pen for closer Preston Howey. Howey retired the only batter he faced in the seventh, and retired the side in the eighth. 

Saint Mary's added a big insurance run in the eighth, when Coleman Schmidt doubled to right, and Aiden Taurek came off the bench and delivered a pinch hit single, plating Schmidt to grow the Gaels lead to 3-1. That run would turn out to be huge for the Gaels, as GCU led off the ninth with back to back solo shots over the right field fence, knotting things up at three apiece. Despite the early rough patch in the ninth, Howey responded by retiring the next three batters in order to get the Gaels back to the plate in need of just one run to end it. 

The first two batters in the ninth each grounded out, and extra innings seemed imminent. Almanza lit the spark for a two out rally, however, with a single to the right side. Ryan Pierce followed that up with a single of his own to right, and the Gaels would opt to run Hunter Hirayama at second for Almanza, representing the winning run. Tanner Griffith worked a four pitch walk to load to bases for Coleman Schmidt. On a 2-2 count, Schmidt delivered the game winning hit, a single through the 5-6 hole, plating Hirayama and ending the game. 

Christian Almanza had the first four-hit game of his illustrious career, bringing his season batting average to 0.382 for the year, and to 0.324 for his SMC career. Ryan Pierce and Coleman Schmidt both also logged multi-hit games. Shawn McBroom was stellar in his first collegiate start, going 6.2 innings, surrendering just one run on four hits, taking a no-decision. The freshman's ERA now sits at a miniscule 0.77.  

The Gaels will next take on Cal for a two game set before returning to their WCC schedule. Game one will be in Berkeley on Tuesday, April 9 and will start at 6 PM, while game two will be in Moraga with a scheduled 3 PM first pitch on Wednesday, April 10. 

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

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