MORAGA, Calif. — For the second time this season, the Gaels (18-11, 4-2 WCC) get set for a five game week, taking on Cal (16-13) twice before heading to Southern California for a three game series against LMU (12-20, 1-8 WCC). The Cal series will be split with a game on the road for SMC on Tuesday evening and a Wednesday matchup slated for the late afternoon in Moraga.
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels at Cal Golden Bears
Tuesday, April 9 at 6 PM
Evans Diamond – Berkeley, Calif.
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LIVE STATS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs Cal Golden Bears
Wednesday, April 10 at 3 PM
Brother Ronald Gallagher Stadium – Moraga, Calif.
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TICKETS
Saint Mary's Gaels at LMU Lions
April 12-14, George C. Page Stadium – Los Angeles, Calif.
Friday, 6 PM | WATCH |
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Saturday, 4 PM | WATCH |
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Sunday, 1 PM | WATCH |
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THE LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's took three of four against the top team in the Western Athletic Conference, the Grand Canyon Lopes in Moraga last weekend. Games one and two of the series saw quite a bit of offensive firepower from the Gaels. In game one, Saint Mary's fell behind 2-0 through two innings, but rallied back to tie things up in the third. The Gaels would take their first lead in the game through four innings at 4-3 before a 51 minute lightning delay halted the game. The long delay chased both starting pitchers from the game with no decisions. GCU would knot things up in the sixth on a solo home run, but a two run error in the bottom half would give the Gaels a 6-4 lead that they would not relinquish, taking the win 11-6. Nathan Chong logged a three hit, three run ballgame, and got the Gaels scoring started in the second inning with a solo blast to left field. Derik Eaquinto earned the Friday start, exiting the game after four innings with a 4-3 lead. Ryan Sanders worked four innings of relief, picking up his third victory of the season.
Again, the Gaels found themselves in an early hole in game two, a scheduled seven inning contest, with three Lopes runs coming across in the top of the second. Saint Mary's turned the game on its head in the bottom half, hanging up a 10 spot in the frame, sparked by a grand slam from Jared Mettam and a three run blast from Dalton Mashore. The grand slam from Mettam was his first home run of the season, and pushed the Gaels ahead 4-3. They would not trail for the remainder of the contest. Pitching was a bit more of an adventure for the Gaels in game two, as starter Connor Linchey and the first arm out of the pen, Dylan Delvecchio combined to surrender nine runs in the first three innings. Ahead 11-9 through 3+ innings, Coach Valenzuela called to the pen for Jason Reitz, who settled things to the tune of four innings, surrendering one run on one hit for his first collegiate save. Mashore and Mettam combined for eight of the Gaels 12 runs driven in, with Mashore logging his first career multi-home run game.
Game three featured out first pitcher's duel of the series. In his second start of the season, Ryan Wiltse was incredible, tossing seven scoreless innings, surrendering just four hits while striking out six, now owning the WCC best 1.67 ERA. Wiltse exited the game with a 1-0 lead, thanks to Anthony Pomilia's first Gael RBI in the second. Coleman Schmidt added an insurance run with a solo shot off the scoreboard in dead center in the eighth. Adam Enyart worked a scoreless eighth inning, but things began to fall apart in the ninth, as Enyart surrendered a pair of walks, before being pulled for John Damozonio, who allowed both of the inherited runners to score as well as the go-ahead run. The Gaels would put both the tying and winning runs on base in the bottom of the ninth, but would strand them at first and third as GCU punched back to bring the series to 2-1.
The series finale was another tight one. Having gone deep into their bullpen for the first three games, the Gaels walked out true freshman Shawn McBroom for his first collegiate start and he did not disappoint. McBroom took a no-hitter into the fifth, and surrendered just one run through 6.2 innings. Christian Almanza would lift his 36th career home run over the right field wall in the third to spot the Gaels a 2-0 lead, and while GCU scratched one across in the seventh, the Gaels would respond in the eighth when Aiden Taurek came off the bench with a pinch hit RBI single to bring the score to 3-1. Preston Howey entered in the seventh and was excellent for his first 1.1 innings, but surrendered back to back home runs to start the ninth, bringing the score to 3-3. He battled back to retire the side and bring the Gaels to the plate in need of just one run to end things. The game looked bound for extras with two quick outs in the bottom of the ninth, but a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases for Coleman Schmidt, who delivered the game winning hit through the left side to secure the game a series victory for the Gaels.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN BEARS
Cal is off to a 16-13 start under the seventh year direction of Head Coach Mike Neu. Currently, the Golden Bears are 3-0 against WCC opponents, having defeated San Francisco, Santa Clara and Pacific, and will look for the NorCal WCC school sweep against the Gaels. The team is coming off of a sweep at the hands of the Arizona Wildcats, their second consecutive sweep in conference play. Junior catcher Caleb Lomavita has provided the biggest bat in a potent Cal lineup, batting 0.358 with 17 extra base hits and 40 RBI. The Golden Bears have worked with three different midweek starters this season, Andres Galan, Quinn Larson, and Luke Short. Short has worked his way into the weekend rotation, so look for Galan and Larson to earn starts against the Gaels in this Tuesday and Wednesday clash. Cal took the only meeting between these two squads last year, winning 9-3 in Moraga.
ABOUT THE LIONS
It has been a rough start for LMU this season, after being picked to finish tied fourth in WCC Play with the Gaels to open the season. The Lions have amassed an early 12-20 record, with just one win through their first three WCC series. They will take on a pair of Big West foes, UC Santa Barbara and UC Riverside on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively before squaring off with the Gaels. Donegal Fergus is in his first season at the helm after stops as an assistant with Seattle University, University of Washington, UC Santa Barbara and the Minnesota Twins. Brendan Bobo and Sam Biller have been the offensive standouts for Coach Fergus in the early goings. The duo have combined for 26 extra base hits and 55 RBI, both appearing in all 32 contests. Pitching has been a struggle for the Lions, who hold a 6.01 team ERA, but junior southpaw Ryan Towers has shored up the ace of the staff role with a 1-1 record and a 3.53 ERA through eight starts. LMU took two of three over the Gaels last year in Moraga, but the Gaels also defeated LMU in the WCC Tournament with a 4-1 victory last May.
Saint Mary's full schedule can be viewed here and season tickets can be purchased by clicking here.
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