MORAGA, Calif. - Saint Mary's kicked off the 2025 season with a bang, tallying 45 runs and six home runs as they cruised to a 3-1 series win over Saint Louis. Two first year Gaels earned wins on the mound while redshirt junior Garret Plata picked up his third career win out of the bullpen in the team's 16-3 victory on Saturday. 

At the plate, four different players finished the four-game series above .400 as Saint Mary's belted six home runs and 14 extra base hits. Sophomore right fielder Diego Castellanos led the team with eight hits and also belted his first career home run in Sunday's finale. Jared Mettam and Cody Kashimoto also had seven hits apiece while Eddie Madrigal smashed two homers and led the team with nine RBI's. 

The Gaels will head south to take on 21st ranked UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday, February 18th at 4:05 PM. Saint Mary's will look to end a four-game losing streak to the Gauchos dating back to 2019 and their first win over a ranked opponent since last season when they beat 4th ranked Florida 9-7. 

GAME COVERAGE

BSB | Saint Mary's vs. UC Santa Barbara | Caesar Uyesaka Stadium
Santa Barbara, Calif. | Tuesday, February 18th | 4:05 PM
Live Stats | Listen | ESPN+ | Tickets 

GAELS OUTLOOK

The Gaels put up a whopping 45 runs in their four-game series with the Billikens to start the 2025 season 3-1. The Gaels lost a majority of their power from the 2024 season but that didn't seem to be a problem in the opening series, belting a conference high six home runs. Eddie Madrigal contributed to a tremendous story in the opening game of the series as he connected on a solo shot in his first at-bat back from injury dating back to last season. On top of that, Madrigal's last at-bat in 2024 ended with a solo home run against Utah Valley so he recorded back-to-back homers dating back to the 2024 campaign. 

After being held scoreless for the final five innings and dropping game one 9-4, Saint Mary's went on to outscore Saint Louis 41-6 in the final three games of the series. They did a little bit of everything offensively, implementing hit and run situations, putting runners in motion, dropping down some bunts and also smashing six home runs. As a team, the Gaels struckout just twelve times on the weekend, committing to putting the ball in play and forcing the opposing team to make plays. 

On the mound, six players made their SMC debut with four of them being true freshmen making their collegiate debut. UC San Diego transfer Donovan Chriss helped Saint Mary's to their first win of the season with five innings and a career high seven strikeouts to earn his first win as a Gael. Redshirt junior Garret Plata came in relief to pick up his third career win on Saturday and freshman right hander Sam Kretsch earned his first collegiate win in the 9-2 series finale victory, allowing just one run and striking out four batters. 

Saint Mary's will hit the road for the first time this week and battle a pair of ranked opponents in UC Santa Barbara and Vanderbilt. Before they head to Nashville for the first time since 2017, they will take on the 21st ranked Gauchos Tuesday night at 4:05 PM.     

ABOUT THE GAUCHOS (Big West)

The No. 22 UC Santa Barbara Baseball team has been picked to repeat as Big West Champions, with nine of the conference's other 10 coaches placing the Gauchos atop their ballots in The Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll. Santa Barbara also placed a conference-best three players on The Big West Preseason Coaches' Team: pitchers Tyler Bremner, Jackson Flora and Cole Tryba.

No. 22 UC Santa Barbara (3-0) cracked double digits for the first time this season, completing a three-game sweep of Campbell (0-3) with a 14-4 victory Sunday afternoon. Jonathan Mendez went 3-for-4 and finished a triple shy of the cycle, Isaac Kim went a perfect 3-for-3, and the Gauchos scored on three wild pitches. On the mound, Calvin Proskey struck out four in his first career start, while Santa Barbara native Chase Hoover earned the win in his debut for the hometown team.

Andrew Checketts was named UC Santa Barbara's head coach on June 22, 2011, becoming the university's ninth head baseball coach. Entering his 14th season with the Gauchos in 2025, Checketts has a record of 455-247-5 as Santa Barbara's skipper, making him the winningest head coach in program history. During his tenure, the Gauchos have won three Big West Championships and appeared in seven NCAA Tournaments, reaching the 2016 College World Series. Checketts himself has been named Big West Coach of the Year on three occasions — 2019, 2022 and 2024. After leading Santa Barbara to their third Big West Championship in five years and hosting an NCAA Regional on campus for the first time ever in 2024, Checketts was named West Region Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association.

Tomorrow's game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and tickets can be bought online at smcgaels.com. Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information. 

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