MORAGA, Calif. - It was a tough day on the diamond for Saint Mary's as they fell 23-8 to San Diego in game two of their three-game series. San Diego started the game on a one-of-a-kind heater, going 9-for-9 to start the game including a leadoff home run from Jack Gurevitch. During that span, the Toreros jumped out to a seven-run lead and then worked three consecutive walks to make it 9-0. The next batter would single to score another run as the USD lineup went 10-for-10 with three walks to start the game.
Finn Chapman would come in as the third pitcher of the inning and record the first out of the game via the strikeout. Ironically enough, Chapman would record two more punchouts to strikeout all three outs in the inning, but not before the Toreros posted a 13-spot in the first inning.
Donovan Chriss made his ninth start of the season but failed to record an out and left the game after facing all nine batters.
The Toreros plated three more in the second inning before the Gael hitters answered with five runs of their own to put some life into the home crowd. Back-to-back walks and a single from freshman
Makoa Sniffen would load the bases with nobody out.
Jared Mettam would ground out to second to get Saint Mary's on the board and record his 17th RBI of the season.
The Gaels would then go on a heater of their own with four straight singles off the bats of
Brett Williams,
Micah Nicholson,
Cody Kashimoto and
Diego Castellanos. Williams singled up the middle to score both Sniffen and Taurek and then Castellanos capped off the five-run inning with another two-RBI hit, scoring Williams and Nicholson to make it an eleven-run ballgame.
San Diego proceeded to score in three of the next five innings to reach 28 runs in the afternoon and put the game to bed. Austin Smith and AJ Beltre would each hit home runs during that stretch to help hand Saint Mary's their largest defeat since 2022. The 28 runs were also the most given up in a game since 2000.
The freshmen continued to shine for Saint Mary's as Sniffen, Williams and Nicholson combined for five hits and three runs scored. Sniffen made his fourth start of the season at first base as head coach
Eric Valenzuela shifted
Eddie Madrigal to right field and Castellanos over to center. Williams did the catching in his seventh start and Nicholson held down the DH spot.
The Gaels recorded back-to-back two-out hits in the sixth inning to add two more to the scoreboard. After a two-out double from
Ryan Pierce to put runners on second and third,
Aiden Taurek would single into left field to score both runners and record the team's eleventh hit of the game.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's fell to 15-18 overall and 2-6 in conference play. They'll look to move on quickly and attempt to grab the series finale over San Diego Sunday afternoon. First pitch is slated for 1:00 PM and you can catch all the action live on ESPN+. Tickets can be bought online at smcgaels.com/tickets.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
