Wednesday, May 21
Las Vegas, NV
2:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
32-23
9
vs
4
San Francisco
26-30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
San Francisco
2
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
4
5
0
Saint Mary's
0
1
1
0
0
3
4
0
X
9
11
0
Photo by: Kyle Terada
BSB | Gaels Get Their Revenge and Take Down Dons in WCC Tournament, Advance to Take on Gonzaga
5/21/2025 6:34:00 PM | Baseball
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - It had been 53 days since Saint Mary's and San Francisco met in the conference opener where USF took two games to start a tough stretch for the Gaels who went on to lose five of their next six conference games. Today though, they would get their revenge in Las Vegas, knocking off the Dons 9-4 to advance in the WCC Tournament and push their current win streak to six games. Saint Mary's is now 3-0 in first round elimination games in the conference tournament dating back to 2023 and will face off against WCC rival Gonzaga Thursday night at 6:05 PM.
The game didn't go completely to plan for Eric Valenzuela and his staff as freshman starter Lukas Sarantos was removed from the game in the second inning but once again senior Dylan Delvecchio came in and threw a gem, allowing just one run off one hit over 4.1 innings of work to earn his team leading sixth win of the season.
The Gaels were down 3-2 after three innings but a three-run sixth would put them in front for good. Diego Castellanos connected on a two-run bomb to the pool in right center field to give Saint Mary's their first lead of the afternoon. Two more home runs in the seventh inning off the bats of Jared Mettam and Aiden Taurek would help seal the five-run victory as Daniel Guevara Castro earned the three-inning save.
HOW IT HAPPENED…
Freshman pitcher Lukas Sarantos made his sixth start of the season and put his perfect record on the line, but gave up a two-run homer in the first and allowed a two-out walk in the second that prompted Valenzuela to go to the bullpen. With it being an elimination game, both coaches had to be willing to keep their guys on short leashes to keep the game from getting out of hand.
Senior southpaw Dylan Delvecchio would come in and throw another gem to earn his sixth win of the season. Delvecchio pitched through the sixth inning for 4.1 innings, allowing just one run off one hit and striking out four Dons hitters. Delvecchio has now earned three wins in his last three outings, including a pair of starts against Gonzaga and Santa Clara.
Delvecchio helped steady the ship for the Gaels as they found themselves down 3-2 through five innings of play.
6TH INNING
The league's best offense was held quiet for the first half of the game but it was only a matter of time before they barreled some baseballs and took advantage of runners in scoring position. The scoring would get started with a bit of luck as Brian Duroff skied a fly ball to shallow right field that would find the turf between second, first and right field. Three pitches later, Diego Castellanos would connect on a ball to deep right center field that seemed to just keep carrying and found its way into the pool over the center field wall for his seventh of the season.
Two batters later, Ian Armstrong would single to right field to keep the inning alive and then Tanner Griffith would double to the right center wall to score Armstrong and give Saint Mary's a 5-2 lead, a lead they would never surrender.
The bottom half of the lineup has been stellar all season long for the Gaels and they came through again today with six hits and seven RBI in spots 6-9.
7TH INNING
Senior reliever Daniel Guevara Castro would come in for the final three frames and started off on the right foot with a pair of strikeouts to put up another zero for San Francisco in the top half of the seventh.
Four more runs in the bottom of the seventh would seal the deal for the Gaels as they connected on two more homers from Jared Mettam and Aiden Taurek. Taurek got down 1-2 in his at bat with one out in the inning but absolutely crushed the next pitch high off the advertisement in left field for his ninth of the season, extending the Gaels lead to 6-3. His solo shot came off the bat at 108 MPH and traveled an estimated 437 feet.
Ryan Pierce singled through the left side to extend the rally and then a ground out from Duroff would put Pierce into scoring position with two outs and Castellanos at the dish. San Francisco would elect to make a pitching change and then intentionally walk Castellanos to face Mettam with two outs.
Mettam may have taken the chess move personally as he jumped on the first pitch of the at bat and lined his fourth home run of the season over the left field wall to complete the four-run inning for Saint Mary's. Mettam finished the afternoon with a pair of hits including the nail in the coffin with his three-run homer in the seventh inning.
Castro worked around a pair of two-out hits in the ninth but finished the game off with a ground out to Cody Kashimoto at second to earn his second save of the season. Delvecchio and Castro combined to allow just four hits and two runs over their 7.1 innings of relief, allowing the offense to get going late, scoring seven runs in their final three at bats. Aiden Taurek and Ryan Pierce did the damage in the top half of the lineup coming for four hits and a pair of RBI while Castellanos and Mettam combined for four hits and five RBI in the bottom half of the order.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's improved to 32-23 overall and have now won six straight games dating back to their conference series win over Gonzaga. The Gaels are also 3-0 in first round elimination games in the WCC Tournament dating back to 2023. They will advance to the double elimination portion of the tournament and take on two-seed Gonzaga on Thursday, May 22nd at 6:05 PM.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
The game didn't go completely to plan for Eric Valenzuela and his staff as freshman starter Lukas Sarantos was removed from the game in the second inning but once again senior Dylan Delvecchio came in and threw a gem, allowing just one run off one hit over 4.1 innings of work to earn his team leading sixth win of the season.
The Gaels were down 3-2 after three innings but a three-run sixth would put them in front for good. Diego Castellanos connected on a two-run bomb to the pool in right center field to give Saint Mary's their first lead of the afternoon. Two more home runs in the seventh inning off the bats of Jared Mettam and Aiden Taurek would help seal the five-run victory as Daniel Guevara Castro earned the three-inning save.
HOW IT HAPPENED…
Freshman pitcher Lukas Sarantos made his sixth start of the season and put his perfect record on the line, but gave up a two-run homer in the first and allowed a two-out walk in the second that prompted Valenzuela to go to the bullpen. With it being an elimination game, both coaches had to be willing to keep their guys on short leashes to keep the game from getting out of hand.
Senior southpaw Dylan Delvecchio would come in and throw another gem to earn his sixth win of the season. Delvecchio pitched through the sixth inning for 4.1 innings, allowing just one run off one hit and striking out four Dons hitters. Delvecchio has now earned three wins in his last three outings, including a pair of starts against Gonzaga and Santa Clara.
Delvecchio helped steady the ship for the Gaels as they found themselves down 3-2 through five innings of play.
6TH INNING
The league's best offense was held quiet for the first half of the game but it was only a matter of time before they barreled some baseballs and took advantage of runners in scoring position. The scoring would get started with a bit of luck as Brian Duroff skied a fly ball to shallow right field that would find the turf between second, first and right field. Three pitches later, Diego Castellanos would connect on a ball to deep right center field that seemed to just keep carrying and found its way into the pool over the center field wall for his seventh of the season.
B6 | SMC 4 - SMC 3
— Saint Mary's Baseball (@SMC_Baseball) May 21, 2025
DIGGY DINGER FOR THE LEAD!!!
Diego Castellanos with a two run blast to give Saint Mary's their first lead here in the bottom of the sixth!#GaelsRise @WCCsports pic.twitter.com/QhBUAPt6Rh
Two batters later, Ian Armstrong would single to right field to keep the inning alive and then Tanner Griffith would double to the right center wall to score Armstrong and give Saint Mary's a 5-2 lead, a lead they would never surrender.
B6 | SMC 5 - USF 3
— Saint Mary's Baseball (@SMC_Baseball) May 21, 2025
TACK ON ANOTHER, TANNER!
Griffith splits the right center gap, scoring Ian Armstrong from first!#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/c1vsiHxYCk
The bottom half of the lineup has been stellar all season long for the Gaels and they came through again today with six hits and seven RBI in spots 6-9.
7TH INNING
Senior reliever Daniel Guevara Castro would come in for the final three frames and started off on the right foot with a pair of strikeouts to put up another zero for San Francisco in the top half of the seventh.
M7 | SMC 5 - USF 3
— Saint Mary's Baseball (@SMC_Baseball) May 21, 2025
TYING RUN TO THE PLATE? NO PROBLEM FOR DANNY!
After 4.1 stellar innings of relief from Dylan Delvecchio, Danny Guevara Castro comes out of the pen and hangs up a zero, as we head to the seventh inning stretch!#GaelsRise @WCCsports pic.twitter.com/w2GV5Jb8Bq
Four more runs in the bottom of the seventh would seal the deal for the Gaels as they connected on two more homers from Jared Mettam and Aiden Taurek. Taurek got down 1-2 in his at bat with one out in the inning but absolutely crushed the next pitch high off the advertisement in left field for his ninth of the season, extending the Gaels lead to 6-3. His solo shot came off the bat at 108 MPH and traveled an estimated 437 feet.
B7 | SMC 6 - USF 3
— Saint Mary's Baseball (@SMC_Baseball) May 21, 2025
NO...DOUBT...ABOUT IT!!!
Aidan Taurek tags one way over the left field fence!#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/hKKz4ndvSg
Ryan Pierce singled through the left side to extend the rally and then a ground out from Duroff would put Pierce into scoring position with two outs and Castellanos at the dish. San Francisco would elect to make a pitching change and then intentionally walk Castellanos to face Mettam with two outs.
Mettam may have taken the chess move personally as he jumped on the first pitch of the at bat and lined his fourth home run of the season over the left field wall to complete the four-run inning for Saint Mary's. Mettam finished the afternoon with a pair of hits including the nail in the coffin with his three-run homer in the seventh inning.
B7 | SMC 9 - USF 3
— Saint Mary's Baseball (@SMC_Baseball) May 21, 2025
THE GAELS KEEP ON PILING IT ON!
Jared Mettam turns on the first pitch thrown by USF reliever Quentin Pohorski to extend the Gaels lead to six runs!#GaelsRise @WCCsports pic.twitter.com/7Ek9XQbIBp
Castro worked around a pair of two-out hits in the ninth but finished the game off with a ground out to Cody Kashimoto at second to earn his second save of the season. Delvecchio and Castro combined to allow just four hits and two runs over their 7.1 innings of relief, allowing the offense to get going late, scoring seven runs in their final three at bats. Aiden Taurek and Ryan Pierce did the damage in the top half of the lineup coming for four hits and a pair of RBI while Castellanos and Mettam combined for four hits and five RBI in the bottom half of the order.
FINAL | SMC 9 - USF 4
— Saint Mary's Baseball (@SMC_Baseball) May 21, 2025
Cody Kashimoto insures that...THE GAELS ARE MOVING ON! This web gem ends today's game, as the Gaels will see Gonzaga tomorrow at 6 PM! #GaelsRise @d1baseball @WCCsports #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/DEwRqdJkGh
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's improved to 32-23 overall and have now won six straight games dating back to their conference series win over Gonzaga. The Gaels are also 3-0 in first round elimination games in the WCC Tournament dating back to 2023. They will advance to the double elimination portion of the tournament and take on two-seed Gonzaga on Thursday, May 22nd at 6:05 PM.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Freschi, Dario (6-3)
L: Aidan Risse (5-3)
S: Kretsch, Sam (2)
Batting:
3B: Kody Watanabe 1
HR: TJ Rogers 1
RBI: TJ Rogers 2 ; Eddison Esquivel 1 ; Matteo Bellisimo 1
SF: Eddison Esquivel 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kody Watanabe 1 ; Kenny DeCelle 1 ; TJ Rogers 1 ; JT Amaral 1
SB: Patrick Keighran 1
Batting:
2B: Martin Romero, Luis 1 ; Castellanos, Diego 1 ; Mettam, Jared 1 ; Griffith, Tanner 1
HR: Petrie, John 1 ; Castellanos, Diego 1 ; Mettam, Jared 1
RBI: Petrie, John 1 ; Josephson, Ian 1 ; Castellanos, Diego 2 ; Mettam, Jared 3 ; Griffith, Tanner 2
SH: Kashimoto, Cody 1
SF: Griffith, Tanner 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Staton, Cam 1 ; Petrie, John 1 ; Josephson, Ian 1 ; Martin Romero, Luis 2 ; Castellanos, Diego 2 ; Mettam, Jared 1 ; Armstrong, Ian 1
CS: Mettam, Jared 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
Players Mentioned
C
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballRHP
/ BaseballLHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball1B/3B
/ BaseballRHP
/ BaseballOF
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