LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Saint Mary's got great outings from their bullpen once again in night two of the WCC Tournament, allowing for the bats to explode for a six-run eighth inning to pull away from two-seed Gonzaga for the 14-6 victory. A pair of Gael hitters also etched their names into the WCC Tournament history books as
Eddie Madrigal homered twice to tie the single-game record and a two-RBI single in the eighth from freshman
Ian Armstrong would give him a tournament record five hits in the game.
Talin Gardini picked up his third win of the season with a career high five innings pitched after taking over in the second for
Garret Plata. Gardini recorded four strikeouts on the night and was able to pitch to contact to limit big innings, allowing just three runs with zero walks. The Gaels offense got going early with a combined eight runs over the first two innings as they finished the night with a season high 19 hits including a two-homer night from Madrigal and a two-run shot in the first from
Brian Duroff for his sixth of the season.
Saint Mary's moved to 2-0 in the tournament for the first time since 2023 and will take on LMU who upset top-seed San Diego earlier in the day 8-3. The two teams will face off for the first time since April 27th where Saint Mary's won the conference series two games to one. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 PM and can be streamed live on ESPN+.
HOW IT HAPPENED…
1ST INNING
Being the lower seed, Saint Mary's got to showcase their offense first and did so in a big way with a pair of home runs off the bats of
Eddie Madrigal and
Brian Duroff. Madrigal needed just two pitches to crunch one over the right field wall for his 20th of the season.
Three batters later, the Gaels would punish Gonzaga after a two-out error, bringing
Brian Duroff to the plate. Duroff launched the 1-2 pitch to the deepest part of the yard for his sixth homer of the season, giving the Gaels a quick three-run lead out of the gate.
Junior southpaw
Garret Plata got his first start of the season but is no stranger to the mound as he's been one of the team's most versatile arms out of the bullpen with 24 appearances. Plata produced weak contact all throughout the first inning but Gonzaga answered right back with a three-spot of their own to tie the game.
2ND INNING
The bats did anything but slow down in the top of the second as Saint Mary's put up five runs off six hits including another bomb from the league leader for his 21st of the season. Madrigal punished a 3-1 pitch over the pool in right center to push the Gaels lead to 6-3. The two-run homer would be his second multi-home run game of the season.
Gonzaga starter Finbar O'Brien would hit the next batter and then All-WCC Second Team member
Aiden Taurek would continue the hit parade and line a triple into the right center gap to plate another run and extend their lead to four. Taurek busted around the bases for his second triple and 39th RBI of the season.
Ryan Pierce capped off the five-run inning with a bloop single to center to plate Taurek as Saint Mary's took an 8-3 lead.
Just like these teams did two weeks ago in Spokane, they would trade blows as the Zags crawled back with a run in the fourth and a two-spot in the sixth to make it a two-run game. Gonzaga reliever Kai Francis went 5.2 innings in relief and gave up hard contact with nine hits but was able to strand seven runners during his outing to keep the Zags within striking distance.
On the flip side, Plata completed just the first inning as
Eric Valenzuela made another early change. Freshman
Talin Gardini would come in for his 20th appearance of the season and put together another solid outing against the Gonzaga offense. Gardini went 4.1 innings in relief two weeks prior and recorded his second win of the season against the Zags. He would replicate that performance with a career high five innings in relief, allowing just three runs off five hits en route to his third win of the season.
8TH INNING
The game would tense up over the middle innings as the two teams combined for just three runs over a five-inning span. However, the Gaels would get some well needed insurance with a six-run eighth inning to help seal the win.
Gonzaga committed two errors in the half inning as the Gaels put the ball in play and also put down a couple of bunts to move runners over. Two runs would come around to score after a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt attempt from
Aiden Taurek.
Later in the inning, Gonzaga would bring the infield in with runners on second and third but
Diego Castellanos would bounce a high chopper over the second baseman to score two runs and give the Gaels a 12-6 lead. Castellanos finished the night with a pair of hits and two RBI to bring his season total to 36.
After a one-out double to the left center gap from
Jared Mettam to put runners in scoring position, freshman catcher
Ian Armstrong would cap off a historic night with his fifth hit of the ballgame to not only plate two more runs, but set the single-game WCC Tournament record for hits. Armstrong finished a perfect 5-for-5 from the plate for a career high in hits and also added a run scored and two RBI.
Senior lefty
Derik Eaquinto followed Gardini and got out of a jam in the seventh to keep Gonzaga off the scoreboard. Then, sophomore
Noah Waldeck would make his team high 26th appearance of the season and complete the final two innings for the Gaels, not allowing a single baserunner to seal the 14-6 victory.
Saint Mary's racked up a season high 19 hits and kept the Zags offense at bay, allowing just six runs off seven hits over the nine innings. Eight of the nine SMC hitters recorded a hit in the ballgame including eight combined hits from
Jared Mettam and
Ian Armstrong out of the 7-8 spots in the lineup.
After going hitless in game one, Madrigal mashed two home runs to tie the single-game WCC Tournament record and reached base four times out of the leadoff spot. Junior second baseman
Cody Kashimoto was also stellar in the field with several diving plays and a clutch double play to help strand a runner in the seventh inning.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's improved to 33-23 overall and advanced to the winners bracket with a 14-6 victory over two-seed Gonzaga. They will take on four-seed LMU in the second game on Friday slated for a 4:05 PM first pitch. The Gaels have moved to 2-0 in the WCC Tournament for the first time since 2023. Stream the game live on ESPN+ and get your tickets online at wccsports.com.
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