MORAGA, Calif. - Despite both teams battling the elements all weekend long with rain in the forecast and cold temperatures, Saint Mary's finished the four-game series with six home runs including three today to clinch the series with a 9-2 victory.
Eddie Madrigal,
Diego Castellanos and
Jared Mettam all sent balls over the outfield fence today to contribute to nine runs and ten hits for the Gaels offense. Freshman right hander
Sam Kretsch made his collegiate debut and picked up his first career win with 3+ innings of work allowing just one run. Junior
John Damozonio would finish the six-inning game with 2.2 innings in relief, striking out three batters and picking up his fifth career save and his first of the 2025 season. Six of the nine starters recorded a hit for Saint Mary's as they continued to showcase their deep and versatile offensive lineup, finishing the weekend with 45 total runs on 48 hits.
4TH INNING
Saint Mary's got on the board in the opening frame for the third time this series thanks to a two-out knock from
Eddie Madrigal. Madrigal continues his hot start to the season after coming back from injury last year, concluding the weekend with six hits, two homers and a team high nine RBI's. Madrigal would belt his second homer of the weekend in the third inning to give the Gaels a 2-1 advantage.
Both teams exchanged runs in the third but the Gaels would extend their lead to 4-1 with a pair of runs in the fourth.
Diego Castellanos would take the 3-1 pitch to the opposite field and see his ball fly just over the left field fence for his first career home run. Castellanos was at the heart of the Gaels offensive production for the weekend, finishing 8-for13 with two doubles and a home run.
Later in the inning,
Ryan Pierce would bloop a single into shallow right and score
Cody Kashimoto from second who dove head first just under the tag to extend the Gaels lead to 4-1. Kashimoto led the team with eight runs scored on the weekend providing a great spark out of the leadoff spot for Saint Mary's.
5TH INNING
Saint Mary's has been efficient offensively all series long but big innings have helped put away games as they posted back-to-back 16-run games in games two and three. They would cash in on another big inning in the fifth with five runs on just two hits in the fifth. The scoring got started with a solo line drive shot from shortstop
Jared Mettam for his first homer of the season. Mettam also had a productive opening weekend with seven hits, two doubles and some solid defensive play in his four games.
A walk and a single later with runners on second and third,
Cody Kashimoto would lay down a safety squeeze with one out and freshman pinch runner
Joe McGee would dart home and dive head first to the back of the plate but be called out on the flip from the pitcher. Head coach
Eric Valenzuela would take advantage of the new replay rules for the 2025 season and challenge the play. Upon further review, the umpires would reverse the call as McGee clearly beat the tag and slid over the back corner of the plate for the Gaels sixth run of the game.
A couple pass balls and a pair of Billiken errors would help plate two more runners as Saint Mary's left the fifth inning with a 9-2 lead. Damozonio would come back out to finish the sixth and work around a one-out double to get a strikeout and a fly out to end the inning and seal the 9-2 victory. The game would be called after six innings due to travel constraints, as Saint Louis had flight arrangements later in the afternoon. Kretsch would get credit for the win as the most effective pitcher for the Gaels while Damozonio came in with just a one-run lead and preserved that to earn the save.
Kashimoto, Madrigal Mettam and Castellanos all had two hits in the game while Kashimoto came in to score three of the team's nine runs. After the opening weekend, the Gaels have shown they can do a little bit of everything. They possess good speed at the top of the lineup, are defensively sound finishing the four-game series with just one error and can put the ball in play and force the opposing team to make plays.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's improved to 3-1 on the season, winning the opening series over Saint Louis three games to one. They will hit the road next week to take on a pair of nationally ranked programs in UC Santa Barbara and Vanderbilt. The Gaels will travel south for a single game against the Gauchos on Tuesday, February 18th before heading to Tennessee to take on Vanderbilt for a three-game series starting on Thursday.
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