BSB | 2025 Season in Review: Gaels Cap 2025 Season with Historic Win in NCAA Regional
6/6/2025 12:46:00 PM | Baseball
MORAGA, Calif. - The 2025 baseball season was one to remember for Saint Mary's as they captured their second ever WCC Tournament Championship and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history. With the odds stacked against them and nothing to lose, the Gaels traveled to Corvallis and took down eighth ranked Oregon State on the opening night of the regional for their first NCAA Tournament victory in program history.
Every member of the Gaels baseball program contributed to history that night as they did something that no other team in the program's history had done before. After the conclusion of a memorable and historic season, we take a look back at the journey of the 2025 Saint Mary's baseball team and all the obstacles they overcame en route to their first ever NCAA Tournament win.
Riding the Rollercoaster…
The 2025 season started with a challenging non-conference slate featuring matchups against 15th ranked Vanderbilt, 21st ranked UC Santa Barbara and Big East member Creighton. The Gaels had ups and downs over the first month and a half of the season. They recorded two win streaks of at least five games while also losing three consecutive games on three different occasions.
After a series win over A-10 member Saint Louis in their home opener, Saint Mary's hit the road for Nashville where they took on the two-time College World Series Champs in Vanderbilt. The Vandy Boys were ranked 15th in the country at the time and despite holding leads in each of the first two games, the Commodores outscored Saint Mary's 34-11 to secure the series sweep.
Saint Mary's took their memorable experience from Hawkins Field with them back to Moraga where they rattled off five straight wins including a series sweep over San Diego State. Despite improving to 9-4 overall and an impressive 8-1 home record, the Gaels would lose momentum with a rough trip to Utah. They were humbled against UNLV with an 11-1 defeat and then dropped two games to former Division II program Utah Tech. On top of that, they returned banged up as third year shortstop Jared Mettam took a fastball to the face and suffered a broken nose.
Saint Mary's went 2-5 over their next seven games to conclude their non-conference schedule dead even at 12-12. It was safe to say the team was searching for some consistency as they entered WCC play on a three-game losing streak.
2-7 Start in Conference Play…
The woes only continued for Saint Mary's at the start of conference play as they won just two games over their first three series. They opened up WCC action in the city where they lost two games to San Francisco, giving up a combined 24 runs in their two losses. They then returned home for a brutal six-game stretch against the top two teams from the 2024 season in Portland and San Diego.
The Gaels nearly pulled off the series win but dropped the first two games in extra innings to the Pilots. After salvaging the series finale and starting a two-game win streak with a midweek win over Fresno State, the Gaels would hit another wall with the Toreros who swept Saint Mary's and outscored them 40-11. The three-game sweep would put them at 2-7 in WCC play with plenty of work to do to put themselves back in the mix for a spot in the conference tournament.
The Start of the Hot Streak…
Needing to turn their season around in a hurry in order to make the conference tournament, Saint Mary's got going in the right direction with a road sweep over Pepperdine. For the first time in the season, all three starters for the Gaels earned wins on the mound in their conference series. Lukas Sarantos made his first collegiate start and went 6.1 innings to take game one while Donovan Chriss and John Damozonio got the wins in games two and three.
Game two featured a pivotal moment for the Gaels as head coach Eric Valenzuela was ejected by home plate umpire Ryan Bleiberg on a close 3-2 pitch that walked the batter with two outs. The very next at-bat, Donovan Chriss struckout the Waves hitter on three pitches and sent the Gaels dugout into a frenzy to strand two runners and keep the game scoreless. Valenzuela's action gave the team a spark as they put up three runs in the fifth inning en route to the 4-2 victory.
Saint Mary's went on to win five straight conference series to conclude the regular season, going 13-2 over that stretch and climbing all the way to third place in the WCC standings. They earned series sweeps over Pepperdine, Pacific and Santa Clara, averaging over eight runs per game and hitting .319 as a team in those nine games. In between, they also earned hard fought series wins over LMU and Gonzaga. Their road series against the Zags was one for the ages as both teams combined for 51 runs over the three games with two of the three being decided by just one run.
A series sweep over Santa Clara that featured six home runs and 31 runs scored would seal their top-three finish and earn them a trip to the WCC Tournament for the third consecutive season. Saint Mary's stood as one of the top offenses on the west coast, finishing conference play with a .312 batting average, a WCC high 269 hits, 36 home runs and a near .500 slugging percentage. The Gaels had something special in the works as they entered the conference tournament as the hottest team in the WCC, winning eight of their last nine conference games.
Reaching the Mountain Top…
Saint Mary's rode the perfect storm into the conference tournament and were able to slug their way to their first WCC Tournament championship since 2016. The Gaels went 4-1 and secured wins over San Francisco, Gonzaga and LMU to reach the championship game with a perfect 3-0 record.
Reigning WCC champs San Diego had a tougher road to championship Saturday as they fell in their opener to LMU to put them in the losers bracket. The Toreros rattled off elimination wins over Gonzaga and in a rematch with LMU to reach the championship game. The road never lessened for the Gaels as they lost a seven-run lead in the first championship game and fell in 14 innings to USD after a walk-off home run. With the championship format, they had to turn around and face off again in a winner take all game just 55 minutes later.
Despite the heartbreaking defeat and feeling so close to their first trophy in nearly a decade, Saint Mary's was able to regroup and reset, holding off another late surge from San Diego to win the championship 9-8. With pitching at a premium late in the tournament, freshman Jaden McNeely and junior transfer Elliott Joslin would combine for five innings of work, allowing just four runs off four hits to give the Gaels a one-run lead after five.
Then, junior pitcher John Damozonio would put together one of the most heroic pitching performances of the season. The San Jose native would come in to finish the game, pitching four complete innings allowing just one earned run off seven hits. Damozonio gave up a solo shot in the sixth to tie the game at six but pitched a clean frame in the seventh and eighth giving the Gaels a chance to take the lead for good in the bottom half of the eighth.
That week in Las Vegas had every bit of postseason drama written all over it and the script got even better as Saint Mary's loaded the bases with just one out in the eighth and a chance to take the lead. Second year Gael Ryan Pierce came to the plate and after going down 1-2 in the count, he would lunge a sinking line drive to the left center gap that got by the diving Austin Smith to clear the bases for arguably the biggest hit of the season for the Gaels. Brian Duroff would add another insurance run the next at-bat with a double to the left field corner to complete a thrilling four-run inning for Saint Mary's.
Damozonio would return to the mound for his fourth inning of work and despite three errors in the inning that contributed to a three-run ninth, Damozonio remained in the game and struckout the final batter with runners on the corners to end the game and ignite the celebration.
After a brief dogpile, the entire team would sprint to the outfield wall where a pool was located just beyond the center field fence. The Gaels would leap the fence and take a dip in the pool of champions as every winning team has done since the tournament was moved to Las Vegas in 2023. In just his second season back in Moraga, Eric Valenzuela had the Gaels back on top with their second WCC Tournament championship in program history.
A Stunner in Corvallis…
After securing the conference tournament title, Saint Mary's earned their second NCAA Tournament bid in program history with both coming under Valenzuela. The team earned the four-seed in the Corvallis Regional, hosted by eighth ranked Oregon State.
In front of a sold out crowd at Goss Stadium of more than 4,000 people, Saint Mary's put together arguably their most complete team performance of the season to knock off top-seed and eighth ranked Oregon State for their first NCAA Tournament victory in program history. The mighty Gaels jumped out to a three-run lead in the first and then had a massive three-run homer from Brian Duroff in the seventh that proved to be the game winner.
The storyline all season long had been the Gaels offense but that night, they got masterful performances from seniors Dylan Delvecchio and Daniel Guevara Castro who combined for a season high 16 strikeouts. Delvecchio pitched into the seventh with an absolute gutsy performance, striking out a career high ten batters, allowing four runs off seven hits. Castro came in after a pair of base runners reached in the seventh and went on to strikeout six of the seven batters he faced to earn his third save of the season.
"One of the greatest games I've ever been a part of", said Valenzuela. "The energy, the setting, the crowd, it was such a special game and moment for our team. When you win games like this it's a total team effort. I just believe that all the tough times we had this season and the wild tournament in Vegas helped prepare us for this setting. We weren't scared and we were prepared for the moment. What a great game, what a great day" (Valenzuela).
Saint Mary's was one of four four-seeds in the entire NCAA Tournament field to take down the regional host on the opening day of the tournament. The Gaels would fall in the winners bracket of the regional in another closely contested game to three-seed USC and ultimately see their historic postseason run come to an end on Sunday with a defeat to Oregon State.
Their magical 2025 season ended with their second ever WCC Tournament Championship, second ever NCAA Tournament bid and their first regional victory in program history, all under Eric Valenzuela.
Season Stats and Records…
What a year it was for Saint Mary's and more specifically their offense. The Gaels led the West Coast Conference in batting average (.299), runs per game (7.6), hits per game (10.1), runs batted in (418) and slugging percentage (.480).
Leading the charge all year long was third-year first baseman Eddie Madrigal who bounced back from a season ending injury in 2024 to put together an MVP caliber season in 2025. Madrigal led all starters with a .368 batting average, 66 runs scored, 89 total hits, 13 doubles, 21 home runs and a whopping 1.160 OPS. Madrigal littered his name in the program single-season ranks, breaking the record for hits with 89, runs scored with 66 and RBI with 78 on the year. He was named to the All-WCC First Team and was also named the WCC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. This was also the first time in program history Saint Mary's has had players with 20+ homers in back-to-back seasons as program great Christian Almanza had 24 long balls last season.
Left fielder Aiden Taurek also put up career numbers with a .328 batting average and a conference high 20 doubles. His 20 doubles ranked third in the single-season program ranks, sitting in a tie with former assistant coach Zach Kirtley who had 20 doubles during the 2016 season. The Gaels also got another great season from a freshman catcher in Ian Armstrong. The Junipero Serra product batted .364 from the plate with five homers and 40 RBI. Armstrong was also great behind the plate, finishing the year with a .992 fielding percentage and throwing out eleven baserunners, most by a Gaels catcher since JC Santini threw out 13 runners in 2021. Armstrong was the first Saint Mary's freshman to be named to the First/Second All-WCC team since 2019.
On the mound, senior southpaw Dylan Delvecchio truly came on as the team's best pitcher over the last month and a half of the season. He went on to lead the team with a 7-3 record and a 4.90 ERA, lowest amongst qualified starters. His seven wins were the most in a single-season since Ky Bush went 7-5 with a 2.99 ERA during the 2021 season. Fellow southpaw Derik Eaquinto took on a different role in his third year as a Gael, moving to the backend of the bullpen and leading the team with four saves.
Daniel Guevara Castro was also stellar out of the bullpen over the last month of the season, recording three saves over his last six appearances. Castro helped the Gaels to history as he pitched the final 2.1 innings in their win over 8th ranked Oregon State in the NCAA Regional. He retired seven of the eight batters he faced and struckout six of those seven batters for a career high.
Other notable records included 28 appearances from sophomore relief pitcher Noah Waldeck which ranked second most in a single-season and 30th in Division I. Cody Kashimoto led the entire country with 23 sacrifice bunts as he contributed to the deadly 1-2 punch at the top of the order with Eddie Madrigal. The Gaels also posted their best road record in the modern stat era, dating back to 2000, with a 17-13 record for the best road record in the WCC.
Words from Coach V…
"I'm very proud of this team! They battled all year long and believed in the standard of what we want Gael Baseball to be. It's just the start and the future is bright but can't say enough about this group! Starting 2-7 in conference to make it to Sunday of the NCAA Regionals is pretty special" (Valenzuela).
The team will take some time off and regroup as players go to compete for their respective summer teams. Fall practices will start in October as the team will look to defend their conference tournament title for the 2026 season. Full 2025 season results and statistics 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
Every member of the Gaels baseball program contributed to history that night as they did something that no other team in the program's history had done before. After the conclusion of a memorable and historic season, we take a look back at the journey of the 2025 Saint Mary's baseball team and all the obstacles they overcame en route to their first ever NCAA Tournament win.
Riding the Rollercoaster…
The 2025 season started with a challenging non-conference slate featuring matchups against 15th ranked Vanderbilt, 21st ranked UC Santa Barbara and Big East member Creighton. The Gaels had ups and downs over the first month and a half of the season. They recorded two win streaks of at least five games while also losing three consecutive games on three different occasions.
After a series win over A-10 member Saint Louis in their home opener, Saint Mary's hit the road for Nashville where they took on the two-time College World Series Champs in Vanderbilt. The Vandy Boys were ranked 15th in the country at the time and despite holding leads in each of the first two games, the Commodores outscored Saint Mary's 34-11 to secure the series sweep.
Saint Mary's took their memorable experience from Hawkins Field with them back to Moraga where they rattled off five straight wins including a series sweep over San Diego State. Despite improving to 9-4 overall and an impressive 8-1 home record, the Gaels would lose momentum with a rough trip to Utah. They were humbled against UNLV with an 11-1 defeat and then dropped two games to former Division II program Utah Tech. On top of that, they returned banged up as third year shortstop Jared Mettam took a fastball to the face and suffered a broken nose.
Saint Mary's went 2-5 over their next seven games to conclude their non-conference schedule dead even at 12-12. It was safe to say the team was searching for some consistency as they entered WCC play on a three-game losing streak.
2-7 Start in Conference Play…
The woes only continued for Saint Mary's at the start of conference play as they won just two games over their first three series. They opened up WCC action in the city where they lost two games to San Francisco, giving up a combined 24 runs in their two losses. They then returned home for a brutal six-game stretch against the top two teams from the 2024 season in Portland and San Diego.
The Gaels nearly pulled off the series win but dropped the first two games in extra innings to the Pilots. After salvaging the series finale and starting a two-game win streak with a midweek win over Fresno State, the Gaels would hit another wall with the Toreros who swept Saint Mary's and outscored them 40-11. The three-game sweep would put them at 2-7 in WCC play with plenty of work to do to put themselves back in the mix for a spot in the conference tournament.
The Start of the Hot Streak…
Needing to turn their season around in a hurry in order to make the conference tournament, Saint Mary's got going in the right direction with a road sweep over Pepperdine. For the first time in the season, all three starters for the Gaels earned wins on the mound in their conference series. Lukas Sarantos made his first collegiate start and went 6.1 innings to take game one while Donovan Chriss and John Damozonio got the wins in games two and three.
Game two featured a pivotal moment for the Gaels as head coach Eric Valenzuela was ejected by home plate umpire Ryan Bleiberg on a close 3-2 pitch that walked the batter with two outs. The very next at-bat, Donovan Chriss struckout the Waves hitter on three pitches and sent the Gaels dugout into a frenzy to strand two runners and keep the game scoreless. Valenzuela's action gave the team a spark as they put up three runs in the fifth inning en route to the 4-2 victory.
Saint Mary's went on to win five straight conference series to conclude the regular season, going 13-2 over that stretch and climbing all the way to third place in the WCC standings. They earned series sweeps over Pepperdine, Pacific and Santa Clara, averaging over eight runs per game and hitting .319 as a team in those nine games. In between, they also earned hard fought series wins over LMU and Gonzaga. Their road series against the Zags was one for the ages as both teams combined for 51 runs over the three games with two of the three being decided by just one run.
A series sweep over Santa Clara that featured six home runs and 31 runs scored would seal their top-three finish and earn them a trip to the WCC Tournament for the third consecutive season. Saint Mary's stood as one of the top offenses on the west coast, finishing conference play with a .312 batting average, a WCC high 269 hits, 36 home runs and a near .500 slugging percentage. The Gaels had something special in the works as they entered the conference tournament as the hottest team in the WCC, winning eight of their last nine conference games.
Reaching the Mountain Top…
Saint Mary's rode the perfect storm into the conference tournament and were able to slug their way to their first WCC Tournament championship since 2016. The Gaels went 4-1 and secured wins over San Francisco, Gonzaga and LMU to reach the championship game with a perfect 3-0 record.
Reigning WCC champs San Diego had a tougher road to championship Saturday as they fell in their opener to LMU to put them in the losers bracket. The Toreros rattled off elimination wins over Gonzaga and in a rematch with LMU to reach the championship game. The road never lessened for the Gaels as they lost a seven-run lead in the first championship game and fell in 14 innings to USD after a walk-off home run. With the championship format, they had to turn around and face off again in a winner take all game just 55 minutes later.
Despite the heartbreaking defeat and feeling so close to their first trophy in nearly a decade, Saint Mary's was able to regroup and reset, holding off another late surge from San Diego to win the championship 9-8. With pitching at a premium late in the tournament, freshman Jaden McNeely and junior transfer Elliott Joslin would combine for five innings of work, allowing just four runs off four hits to give the Gaels a one-run lead after five.
Then, junior pitcher John Damozonio would put together one of the most heroic pitching performances of the season. The San Jose native would come in to finish the game, pitching four complete innings allowing just one earned run off seven hits. Damozonio gave up a solo shot in the sixth to tie the game at six but pitched a clean frame in the seventh and eighth giving the Gaels a chance to take the lead for good in the bottom half of the eighth.
That week in Las Vegas had every bit of postseason drama written all over it and the script got even better as Saint Mary's loaded the bases with just one out in the eighth and a chance to take the lead. Second year Gael Ryan Pierce came to the plate and after going down 1-2 in the count, he would lunge a sinking line drive to the left center gap that got by the diving Austin Smith to clear the bases for arguably the biggest hit of the season for the Gaels. Brian Duroff would add another insurance run the next at-bat with a double to the left field corner to complete a thrilling four-run inning for Saint Mary's.
Damozonio would return to the mound for his fourth inning of work and despite three errors in the inning that contributed to a three-run ninth, Damozonio remained in the game and struckout the final batter with runners on the corners to end the game and ignite the celebration.
After a brief dogpile, the entire team would sprint to the outfield wall where a pool was located just beyond the center field fence. The Gaels would leap the fence and take a dip in the pool of champions as every winning team has done since the tournament was moved to Las Vegas in 2023. In just his second season back in Moraga, Eric Valenzuela had the Gaels back on top with their second WCC Tournament championship in program history.
YOUR SAINT MARY'S GAELS ARE THE 2025 @WCCsports BASEBALL TOURNAMENT CHAMPS! THEY WILL HEAD TO AN NCAA REGIONAL FOR JUST THE SECOND TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY! #GaelsRise @d1baseball @NCAABaseball pic.twitter.com/RO43pJ52n6
— Saint Mary's Baseball (@SMC_Baseball) May 25, 2025
A Stunner in Corvallis…
After securing the conference tournament title, Saint Mary's earned their second NCAA Tournament bid in program history with both coming under Valenzuela. The team earned the four-seed in the Corvallis Regional, hosted by eighth ranked Oregon State.
In front of a sold out crowd at Goss Stadium of more than 4,000 people, Saint Mary's put together arguably their most complete team performance of the season to knock off top-seed and eighth ranked Oregon State for their first NCAA Tournament victory in program history. The mighty Gaels jumped out to a three-run lead in the first and then had a massive three-run homer from Brian Duroff in the seventh that proved to be the game winner.
The storyline all season long had been the Gaels offense but that night, they got masterful performances from seniors Dylan Delvecchio and Daniel Guevara Castro who combined for a season high 16 strikeouts. Delvecchio pitched into the seventh with an absolute gutsy performance, striking out a career high ten batters, allowing four runs off seven hits. Castro came in after a pair of base runners reached in the seventh and went on to strikeout six of the seven batters he faced to earn his third save of the season.
Saint Mary's DEFEATS No. 8 national seed Oregon State👀@SMC_Baseball secures their first NCAA tournament win in program history🔥
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) May 31, 2025
(🎥@WCCsports)
pic.twitter.com/pfgdyf4GyI
"One of the greatest games I've ever been a part of", said Valenzuela. "The energy, the setting, the crowd, it was such a special game and moment for our team. When you win games like this it's a total team effort. I just believe that all the tough times we had this season and the wild tournament in Vegas helped prepare us for this setting. We weren't scared and we were prepared for the moment. What a great game, what a great day" (Valenzuela).
Saint Mary's was one of four four-seeds in the entire NCAA Tournament field to take down the regional host on the opening day of the tournament. The Gaels would fall in the winners bracket of the regional in another closely contested game to three-seed USC and ultimately see their historic postseason run come to an end on Sunday with a defeat to Oregon State.
Their magical 2025 season ended with their second ever WCC Tournament Championship, second ever NCAA Tournament bid and their first regional victory in program history, all under Eric Valenzuela.
Season Stats and Records…
What a year it was for Saint Mary's and more specifically their offense. The Gaels led the West Coast Conference in batting average (.299), runs per game (7.6), hits per game (10.1), runs batted in (418) and slugging percentage (.480).
Leading the charge all year long was third-year first baseman Eddie Madrigal who bounced back from a season ending injury in 2024 to put together an MVP caliber season in 2025. Madrigal led all starters with a .368 batting average, 66 runs scored, 89 total hits, 13 doubles, 21 home runs and a whopping 1.160 OPS. Madrigal littered his name in the program single-season ranks, breaking the record for hits with 89, runs scored with 66 and RBI with 78 on the year. He was named to the All-WCC First Team and was also named the WCC Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. This was also the first time in program history Saint Mary's has had players with 20+ homers in back-to-back seasons as program great Christian Almanza had 24 long balls last season.
Left fielder Aiden Taurek also put up career numbers with a .328 batting average and a conference high 20 doubles. His 20 doubles ranked third in the single-season program ranks, sitting in a tie with former assistant coach Zach Kirtley who had 20 doubles during the 2016 season. The Gaels also got another great season from a freshman catcher in Ian Armstrong. The Junipero Serra product batted .364 from the plate with five homers and 40 RBI. Armstrong was also great behind the plate, finishing the year with a .992 fielding percentage and throwing out eleven baserunners, most by a Gaels catcher since JC Santini threw out 13 runners in 2021. Armstrong was the first Saint Mary's freshman to be named to the First/Second All-WCC team since 2019.
On the mound, senior southpaw Dylan Delvecchio truly came on as the team's best pitcher over the last month and a half of the season. He went on to lead the team with a 7-3 record and a 4.90 ERA, lowest amongst qualified starters. His seven wins were the most in a single-season since Ky Bush went 7-5 with a 2.99 ERA during the 2021 season. Fellow southpaw Derik Eaquinto took on a different role in his third year as a Gael, moving to the backend of the bullpen and leading the team with four saves.
Daniel Guevara Castro was also stellar out of the bullpen over the last month of the season, recording three saves over his last six appearances. Castro helped the Gaels to history as he pitched the final 2.1 innings in their win over 8th ranked Oregon State in the NCAA Regional. He retired seven of the eight batters he faced and struckout six of those seven batters for a career high.
Other notable records included 28 appearances from sophomore relief pitcher Noah Waldeck which ranked second most in a single-season and 30th in Division I. Cody Kashimoto led the entire country with 23 sacrifice bunts as he contributed to the deadly 1-2 punch at the top of the order with Eddie Madrigal. The Gaels also posted their best road record in the modern stat era, dating back to 2000, with a 17-13 record for the best road record in the WCC.
Words from Coach V…
"I'm very proud of this team! They battled all year long and believed in the standard of what we want Gael Baseball to be. It's just the start and the future is bright but can't say enough about this group! Starting 2-7 in conference to make it to Sunday of the NCAA Regionals is pretty special" (Valenzuela).
The team will take some time off and regroup as players go to compete for their respective summer teams. Fall practices will start in October as the team will look to defend their conference tournament title for the 2026 season. Full 2025 season results and statistics 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
Players Mentioned
1B
/ BaseballC
/ BaseballRHP
/ BaseballRHP
/ BaseballRHP
/ BaseballLHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballLHP
/ BaseballRHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball1B/OF
/ BaseballLHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball1B/3B
/ BaseballRHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballRHP
/ BaseballBSB | Saint Mary's vs. Seattle U Highlights, 5-1-26
Friday, May 01
BSB | Saint Mary's vs. Cal Highlights, 4-28-26
Tuesday, April 28
BSB | Saint Mary's at San Diego Highlights, 4-26-26
Sunday, April 26
BSB | Saint Mary's at San Diego Highlights, 4-25-26
Saturday, April 25
