LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Your Saint Mary's Gaels are set to make their second straight appearance in the WCC tournament and will kick the action off in the first game of the tournament against six seed Pepperdine on Wednesday, May 22nd at 3:00 PM. After returning from Long Beach State for his second stint with the program, head coach Eric Valenzuela has taken the Gaels back to the top of the conference with a 16-8 WCC record and 33 wins on the year. 

Helping make their return to postseason action is first baseman Christian Almaanza who has put up staggering numbers this season, tying the single-season record in home runs (22) and enters the tournament with a .345 batting average. Almanza can hit to all fields and is just the tip of the iceberg to a deep and talented Saint Mary's lineup. The Gaels rank second in the conference with a near .300 team average and first by a mile in home runs with 95 on the season. 

Adding to the team's home run total are five other Gaels with double digit homers. Sophomore infielder Ryan Pierce follows Almanza with 13 of his own as he belted one in the team's final series against Portland. Dalton Mashore and Nathan Chong each have 12 and Coleman Schmidt and Brian Duroff have 11 each to give the Gaels power up and down the lineup. 

Saint Mary's prides themselves on balanced hitting and clean defense as they also rank second in the conference in fielding percentage (.976). Anchoring their rotation is senior lefty Derik Eaquinto who ranks inside the top-10 in the WCC in ERA, innings pitched, strikeouts and wins just to name a few. Ryan Wiltse and Preston Howey have also combined for eight wins on the year as the Gaels will take an experienced group into this year's tournament. 

Just earlier this month, the Gaels recorded 22 runs and swept Pepperdine in Moraga. They've won four of their last five matchups with the Waves dating back to last season and will look for their fourth win this season on Wednesday. 

Additional tournament information can be found below and you can access all these links at smcgaels.com. 

LOCATION

Las Vegas Ballpark
1650 S Pavilion Center Dr.
Las Vegas, NV 89135

SCHEDULE

Saint Mary's will take on sixth seed Pepperdine on Wednesday, May 22nd at 3:00 PM. Wednesday will act as an elimination day as the first two seeds earned byes with #3 taking on #6 and #4 taking on #5. 

The winning teams will be re-seeded for a pair of games on Thursday and then three more on Friday including a pair of elimination games. The championship game will take place on Saturday at 1:00 PM with an if necessary game after. 

#1 USD
#2 Portland
#3 Saint Mary's
#4 Gonzaga
#5 Santa Clara
#6 Pepperdine

MEDIA LINKS

Live Stream on ESPN+
Live Stats
Tickets
Tournament Central

Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X/Twitter to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.

#GaelsRise