MORAGA, Calif. - Junior transfer
Donovan Chriss made his third start in a Gaels uniform and tossed a career high seven innings, allowing just one run on three hits. Chriss has been stellar since returning to the Bay Area and joining Saint Mary's this season after transferring from UC San Diego, leading the Gaels pitching staff with a 2-0 record and a 3.18 ERA.
San Diego State took a one-run lead with a pair of two-out hits in the fourth but Saint Mary's returned the favor with back-to-back two-out hits in the fifth to take a 2-1 lead. It was a pitchers duel for the first half of the game but the Aztecs had two critical defensive miscues that led to three more runs in the sixth.
John Damozonio closed the game out with two innings in relief to seal the 5-2 victory and clinch the weekend series.
5TH INNING
Chriss was perfect through three innings in his third start as a Gael, retiring all nine batters he faced and striking out three. He would put away the first two batters he faced to start the fourth but the Aztecs rattled off back-to-back hits including a two-out double to the right center gap to take a 1-0 lead in the fourth.
The Saint Mary's offense would get to SDSU's starter in the bottom half of the fifth with two-out hits of their own. With
Tanner Griffith on second,
Eddie Madrigal would yank a single into right field to score the speedy Griffith.
After a tough seven-pitch walk from
Aiden Taurek,
Jared Mettam would go the other way as well and rifle a single through the 3-4 hole to score Madrigal and put the Gaels in front 2-1. The hit would be a historic one for Mettam going down as his 100th career hit since joining the program as a true freshman in 2023.
6TH INNING
Saint Mary's would take advantage of some sloppy defensive mistakes from the Aztecs to score three runs in the sixth. Despite just one hit, the Gaels put the ball in play and also worked two walks in the inning to capitalize on SDSU's mistakes. After retiring the first two batters of the inning, a bunt single from
Cody Kashimoto would start the rally and force a pitching change from the Aztecs.
In would come lefty Luka Pintar who had one job, retire fellow lefty
Tanner Griffith and prevent a potential big inning. Instead, Pintar put Griffith on with four straight balls and got yanked for Peyton Rogers to face
Ryan Pierce. Pierce would ground a ball to short but a bobble and an errant throw would find it's way into the Aztecs dugout to score Kashimoto from second. A unique series of events would occur in the Gaels next at-bat with
Eddie Madrigal. The San Diego State pitcher switched to his full windup with runners on second and third and
Tanner Griffith would get a terrific jump and take off for home. His attempt to steal home would cause the Aztecs catcher to jump forward out of his squat but in turn, get called for catcher's interference. The violation would score Griffith regardless and give Madrigal first base to give the Gaels a 4-1 lead. A wild pitch the next at-bat would score Pierce and complete the three-run inning.
Junior right hander
John Damozonio would come in to finish out the game, completing two innings allowing just one run off two hits. Damozonio was efficient with 25 total pitches in his third appearance of the season. Five different Gaels accounted for the team's five hits while Madrigal and Mettam had the two lone RBI. Four hours or two hours, 19 runs or five runs, it didn't matter for Saint Mary's as they extended their win streak to three games and clinched the series victory over San Diego State with their 5-2 win.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's improved to 7-4 on the season and extended their win streak to three games with their 5-2 victory over the Aztecs. The final game of the three-game series will take place at 1:00 PM on Sunday, March 2nd. Catch all the action on ESPN+ and get your tickets online at smcgaels.com/tickets.
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