PORTLAND, Oreg. - On Friday, May 17th, the Saint Mary's baseball team looked to bounce back after a one run defeat in the opener last night but came up empty again, being held to just five hits and zero runs in the 6-0 defeat. With the loss, the Gaels are no longer able to contest for the second seed in the tournament and will lock up the third seed as they hold the tiebreaker over Gonzaga. 

Senior right hander Ryan Wiltse made his team leading 21st appearance and fourth start of the season Friday afternoon but the Pilots got to him early with three hits in the first inning including a leadoff solo home run. After a clean second inning from Wiltse, he would give up a pair of one out walks and then get a ground out before departing for sophomore Jason Reitz. With runners in scoring position, Reitz would get a big strikeout to end the threat and keep the deficit to just two runs. The Gaels were able to put a runner in scoring position in each of the first three innings but failed to get the clutch hit, leaving them scoreless heading into the fourth.   

Things would get out of hand for Reitz and the Gaels in the fifth inning though as Portland recorded another leadoff homer for the second of the game to push their lead to 3-0. They would go on to record four hits and three runs in the inning including a pair of extra base hits to give them a five run lead. After a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the sixth, trusty lefty Ryan Sanders would get the ball and take the mound for his 18th appearance of the season. 

Sanders was a bright spot for the Gaels as he finished the game with three innings of work, allowing just one run off one hit. In his last 11 innings pitched, Sanders has given up just four earned runs and struck out nine batters helping lower his ERA to 3.91 on the season.  

Saint Mary's recorded just five hits on the afternoon and saw just two batters reach base in the final four innings of play. They will look to pick up some momentum heading into next week's conference tournament and grab a win in the series finale tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 PM. 

The updated WCC standings can be found HERE or at wccsports.com. 

The Gaels fall to 33-19 overall and 16-7 in conference play. Once again the series finale will take place tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 PM and you can stream the game live on ESPN+. Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information. 

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