MORAGA, Calif. - Saint Mary's will look to turn the page this week as they hit the road for a game against San Jose State Tuesday night before heading to Southern California to take on Pepperdine starting on Thursday, April 17th. The Gaels sit at 2-7 through three weeks of conference play but will have a chance to win their first series against Pepperdine this weekend. 

Saint Mary's took the first game of their two-game season series with San Jose State back in early March thanks to a walk-off home run from Diego Castellanos. They will look to extend their three-game win streak over the Spartans Tuesday night before heading to Pepperdine to finish out the week where they have a four-game win streak over the Waves dating back to 2024. 

GAME COVERAGE 

BSB | Saint Mary's at San Jose State | Excite Ballpark
San Jose, Calif. | April 15th | 6:05 PM
Live Stats | Mountain West Network | Tickets

BSB |  Saint Mary's at Pepperdine | Eddy D. Field Stadium
Malibu, Calif. | April 17-19 | 3/3/1 PM
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets

GAELS OUTLOOK

Castro with Eight Scoreless Innings Streak…

Senior relief pitcher Daniel Guevara Castro has been on quite the run over his last six appearances, completing eight scoreless innings dating back to March 25th where he threw 1.2 innings in relief against UC Santa Barbara. Castro joined the Gaels baseball program in 2024 as a transfer out of Canada College. 

He made just five appearances that season but has put up career numbers this season with nine appearances and over ten innings pitched. As a result, he's put together a current eight-inning scoreless streak where he's allowed just two hits. Castro has brought stability to a shaky Gaels bullpen and leads all eligible pitchers with a 3.37 ERA (min. 9 appearances). 

Freshmen Standouts Continued…

The freshmen trio of Micah Nicholson, Makoa Sniffen and Brett Williams continued to shine in the team's weekend series with San Diego. Despite some tough results, the trio played in all three games and combined for eleven hits, five runs scored and four RBI. Collectively they hit .524 from the plate and provided a great offensive spark all weekend long. 

Sniffen started the last two games of the series at first base while Nicholson saw playing time as the designated hitter on Saturday and then at second base on Sunday. Williams started behind the dish in all three games and finished 2-for-5 for the weekend with two runs scored and three RBI to lead the team. 

Saint Mary's sits at 2-7 in conference play but a group of talented freshmen could give them the spark they need to win their first WCC series of the season as the Gaels head down to Pepperdine this weekend.

Tuesday Starter…

#40 Sean Cannon (0-0, 4.15 ERA)

Freshman right hander Sean Cannon will get the nod for Tuesday's game against San Jose State. Cannon has been a nice spark plug for the Gaels out of their bullpen but will make his first career start on Tuesday. In five appearances, Cannon has allowed just two runs and has a 4.15 ERA.  

Series History…

Saint Mary's has won six of their last seven games over San Jose State dating back to 2019. The Gaels defeated the Spartans in walk-off fashion earlier this season thanks to a solo home run from Diego Castellanos. 

The Spartans have not won a home game over the Gaels since 2019 and are just 2-10 in their last 12 matchups. Despite the recent success for the Gaels, they are just one game above .500 dating back to 2003. The Spartans owned the 2000's as they were 11-6 from 2003-2011.

Saint Mary's has also been in good form against Pepperdine, having won five of their last six matchups including four straight dating back to last season. The Gaels swept the Waves in 2024 and tacked on one more win in the conference tournament in Las Vegas with a 14-10 first round win. 

ABOUT THE SPARTANS (Mountain West)

San Jose State enters Tuesday's game with a 20-16 overall record and are 8-7 in Mountain West action. After dropping two of three to San Diego State to start conference play, the Spartans turned around and swept Air force in dominant fashion, outscoring them 30-4 over the three-game series. 

They lost back-to-back series after that to Fresno State and Washington State before taking two of three from Nevada this past weekend. They rank second to last in the Mountain West with a .271 team batting average but lead the conference with a 5.05 ERA. They have five pitchers with a sub 5.00 ERA on the year and have some great arms out of the bullpen including EJ McGrew and Tyler Albanese. 

In their rotation, Win Scott leads all pitchers with nine starts and a 4-2 record while David Thomas has eight starts and a 4.57 ERA. The Mountain West is in a logjam as five teams are separated by just two games from sports 2-6. 

The Spartans sit in a tie for second place with Nevada at 8-7 while the Bulldogs lead the conference at 9-4 as they were the preseason favorites. San Jose State lost in walk-off fashion in Moraga earlier in the season but will seek their first home victory over Saint Mary's since 2019. 

ABOUT THE WAVES (WCC)

Pepperdine enters the week at 9-26 overall and 5-7 in conference play. Despite a tough non-conference schedule and an 0-7 start to the season, they salvaged WCC wins over Gonzaga and San Diego before taking two of three against Santa Clara. They would fall twice to Portland the next series but their five WCC wins has them in the mix. 

Statistically, Pepperdine has not been a great hitting team as they rank dead last with a .224 team average and average under four runs per game. Of their five conference victories, four have been by four runs or fewer as they have shown to put up tough fights and stay in ballgames. 

Senior Nick Upstill is the team's lone .300 hitter as he leads the way with a .333 average, 33 hits and seven doubles. Fellow senior Julian Nunez is hitting just ,223 on the season but leads the team with four home runs and 13 RBI. Tommy Scavone and Matthew Boyer have combined for sixteen starts on the mound to anchor their rotation and have a combined 4-5 record. Both pitchers get plenty of leash as they have combined to throw 5+ innings in eleven of their sixteen starts this season. 

Tuesday's game against San Jose State will be streamed on the Mountain West Network and then the conference series with Pepperdine will return to ESPN+. Additional game information and ticket links can be found 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. 

#GaelsRise