MORAGA, Calif. - The Gaels are no strangers to scoring runs as they posted double-digit runs for the second consecutive game to take down Santa Clara 11-9 in game one. Freshman reliever
Sean Cannon got credit for his third win of the season with his two innings out of the bullpen after the Gaels took a two-run lead in the fifth.
Saint Mary's also blasted another three home runs to bring their season total to 65 for second most in the WCC.
Ryan Pierce crushed a two-run homer in the first and then
Aiden Taurek and
Brian Duroff went yard in the fifth when the Gaels took back the lead for good.
Daniel Guevara Castro closed the door and recorded his first save of the season, getting the final four outs of the game.
At the moment, Saint Mary's sits alone in third place in the conference standings at 13-9 but will await the results from two night games later this evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED...
1ST INNING
Freshman
Lukas Sarantos made his fifth consecutive start after taking over the "Friday" starter role back in mid April. Sarantos gave up some hard contact early and was eventually pulled in the fourth inning. Sarantos got some nice defensive help in the first inning as
Aiden Taurek threw out a runner at home to end the inning and keep the Broncos from striking first. The outfield assist went down as Taurek's second of the season.
The energy would carry over to the offensive side in the bottom half of the inning as
Ryan Pierce crushed a no-doubter to left field for his 13th of the season. The homer would come with two outs as the Gaels jumped out in front 2-0 after Taurek would draw a walk that brought Pierce to the plate.
5TH INNING
Despite giving up the two-run shot early, Santa Clara responded with five unanswered runs to take a three-run lead and bounce the Gaels starter in the process. Saint Mary's got RBI singles from
Tanner Griffith and
Eddie Madrigal in the fourth to cut the deficit to one and then retook the lead in the fifth thanks to two long balls off the bats of Taurek and
Brian Duroff.
Cody Kashimoto singled to start the inning and then Taurek went to the opposite field for his eighth of the season to put the Gaels in front 6-5. Two batters later, Duroff did the same thing and lashed a ball down the right field line that just carried into the netting over the yellow line to give the Gaels a two-run lead. Duroff brought his home run total to six with three of those coming in the month of May as the senior from Danville has come on nicely for the Gaels down the stretch.
Cannon would surrender a two-out RBI double to the right field corner in the sixth inning to bring the Broncos to within one but he induced a fly out the next at-bat to put himself in line for the win. Cannon concluded his outing with two innings of work allowing one run off two hits while recording a strikeout.
7TH INNING
Sophomore right hander
Noah Waldeck would come into the game as the team's third reliever and work around a leadoff single to put up a clean frame in the seventh. The Gael bats would get back to the plate and come up with a pair of clutch two-out RBI hits to provide some needed insurance over the final two innings.
An infield single from freshman
Brady Petit would extend the inning and load the bases. The very next at-bat,
Jared Mettam would yank a single through the 5-6 hole to score a pair of runs and give Saint Mary's a 9-6 lead. Freshman catcher
Ian Armstrong would follow suit and double down the left field line the very next at-bat to plate two more and give the Gaels a commanding 11-6 lead with two innings to play.
As a team, the Gaels are at their best when the bottom half of their lineup gets on base and keeps the train rolling. The bottom four hitters combined for five hits and five ribbies in the game as all nine starters recorded a hit on the afternoon.
Waldeck,
Garret Plata and
Daniel Guevara Castro would piece together the final two innings as the Gaels fought off another late surge from Santa Clara's offense to take game on 11-9. Taurek led the Gaels with three hits, three runs scored and two RBI thanks to his two-run shot back in the fifth.
Eddie Madrigal and
Cody Kashimoto also combined for four hits out of the top two spots in the lineup while Mettam was 2-for-4 with a pair of ribbies.
Saint Mary's continues to pace the WCC in offense with a team batting average of .292 and 375 runs scored, averaging over seven runs and nearly ten hits per game. They currently sit alone in third place in the conference standings at 13-9 but will await the result of Portland/Gonzaga later this evening to see if that changes.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's improved to 29-23 overall and 13-9 in conference play, remaining in third place with two games to play in the regular season. The Gaels will resume their series finale with Santa Clara on Friday, May 16th at 3:00 PM. Tickets can be bought online at smcgaels.com/tickets and you can catch all the action live on ESPN+.
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