Friday, February 20
Moraga, CA
2:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
vs
CSUN
#5 Diego Castellanos (left) and #4 Cody Kashimoto (right)
Photo by: Ayanna Williams/SMC Athletics
BSB | Six-Game Homestand Continues with CSUN
2/18/2026 2:12:00 PM | Baseball
MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's baseball team will return to Louis Guisto Field at Br. Ronald Gallagher Stadium as part of its six-game homestand to start the 2026 season and host Big West member CSUN this weekend.
Through the first week of play, Saint Mary's (1-2) owns the best batting average (.358) and slugging percentage (.566) in the West Coast Conference, and also hit a WCC-best five home runs in its season-opening series with Creighton in week one.
Game one of the three-game set with CSUN is slated for Friday with first pitch at 2 p.m. PT. Tickets can be bought online at smcgaels.com/tickets and you can stream the whole series live on ESPN+.
GAME COVERAGE AND INFORMATION
BSB | Saint Mary's vs. CSUN | Louis Guisto Field at Br. Ronald Gallagher Stadium
Moraga, Calif. | Feb. 20-22 | 2 PM, 1 PM, 1 PM
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets
GAELS OUTLOOK
Saint Mary's Drops Opening Series to Creighton…
The bats came to play for the Gaels in the 2026 season opening series but Creighton walked away with the narrow 2-1 series win in Moraga last week. After scoring just three runs in the opener, Saint Mary's got good offense and a solid pitching performance in game two to record their first win of 2026. First-year Gael Cam Staton was stellar in his debut, pitching six strong innings en route to his first win of the season. Fellow first-year Gael Jacob Johnson blasted a three-run home run to contribute to a five-run fifth inning as the Gaels cruised to the 7-2 victory, setting up the rubber match in game three.
Saint Mary's spotted Creighton seven runs, all in the first inning, but nearly came all the way back as they pulled to within one run after a solo homer from catcher Brett Williams in the eighth inning. The Gaels bullpen held Creighton to just two runs scored over the final eight innings but a ground ball double play ended the threat in the ninth to give the Bluejays the 9-8 victory.
Tanner Griffith and Diego Castellanos led the team in hitting after the opening series, each hitting over .500 with a combined ten hits, two doubles and a two-run homer from Griffith for his first of the season.
Stellar Debuts from Cam Staton and Jacob Johnson…
Head coach Eric Valenzuela welcomed 20 total newcomers to the 2026 squad but got two standout performances from transfers Cam Staton and Jacob Johnson last weekend. Staton was a strikeout machine at Sierra College last season, leading the state of California with 113 strikeouts, and was able to go six strong innings in his SMC debut to secure his first win of the season. Staton sat 92-93 on his fastball and did a great job keeping Creighton off balanced, allowing just two runs on four hits over his six innings of work. Returners Talin Gardini and Lukas Sarantos helped finish off the game to secure the 7-2 victory for the Gaels.
At the plate, Cuesta College transfer Jacob Johnson led the team in RBI for the weekend after recording a combined five hits, a double and two home runs. The Danville native got the start at third base and after going 0-for-3 from the plate in his debut, he bounced back to hit home runs in back-to-back games including a four-RBI game in the Gaels' 7-2 game two win. Johnson started the first two games at third base and then moved over to first for game three. He left the weekend with the team lead in home runs (2) and RBI (6) for a solid start to his SMC career.
Griffith and Castellanos Hitting over .500 After Opening Series…
Tanner Griffith and Diego Castellanos will be two key pieces to the Gaels' success this season and the outfield duo got off to a great start in their season opening series against Creighton. Griffith started in center field for all three games and ended his weekend going 4-for-7 from the plate along with a double and a two-run home run in game three for his first of the season.
Castellanos was named to the WCC Preseason Team earlier this month and lived up to the hype, leading the team with six hits over his three games. Castellanos was just 1-for-5 with three strikeouts in game one before rattling off five hits over the final two games of the series. He also recorded a career high four hits and scored three runs in the 7-2 victory in game two.
Griffith and Castellanos will be everyday starters for the Gaels this season and should be big contributors to the team's success here in 2026.
Series History…
Saint Mary's and CSUN are knotted at 9-9 in their series history dating back to 2012. The two teams will meet on Friday for the first time since 2022. The Matadors took all three games in that series four years ago as the Gaels will seek their first home win over CSUN since 2015. The last time SMC head coach Eric Valenzuela faced off with CSUN was in 2017 but the Gaels came out on the right side of that one, winning the series three games to one and outscoring CSUN 16-4 in those three wins.
ABOUT THE MATADORS (3-0, 0-0 Big West)
After being picked to finish ninth in the 2026 Big West Coaches Preseason Poll, CSUN went out and swept new WCC member Seattle U to start their 2026 campaign. The Matadors outscored the Redhawks 22-11 and kept them under five runs a game. CSUN will take on another WCC foe in Portland in their midweek game later this evening before heading up to Moraga for their three-game series with Saint Mary's starting on Friday.
The Matadors returned 14 players from the 2025 roster while adding 24 newcomers. Of those 24 newcomers 13 are transfers and 11 are true freshmen. They did welcome back 2025 All-Big West honorees Kyle Panganiban and Andrew Becker. Panganiban was named to the Second Team with a .313 batting average, 63 hits, 15 doubles and five home runs while Becker was an Honorable Mention selection as a true freshman, recording a team high 31 RBI and a .324 batting average over his 47 games.
Eddie Cornejo returns for his fourth season as head coach and his seventh overall after joining the staff back in 2020. He holds an 82-75 record as head coach of the Matadors with his best season coming in 2023 when he led CSUN to 34 wins, their most in a single-season in over two decades.
Tickets for the weekend series can be bought online at smcgaels.com/tickets and fans can catch all the action live on ESPN+.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Through the first week of play, Saint Mary's (1-2) owns the best batting average (.358) and slugging percentage (.566) in the West Coast Conference, and also hit a WCC-best five home runs in its season-opening series with Creighton in week one.
Game one of the three-game set with CSUN is slated for Friday with first pitch at 2 p.m. PT. Tickets can be bought online at smcgaels.com/tickets and you can stream the whole series live on ESPN+.
GAME COVERAGE AND INFORMATION
BSB | Saint Mary's vs. CSUN | Louis Guisto Field at Br. Ronald Gallagher Stadium
Moraga, Calif. | Feb. 20-22 | 2 PM, 1 PM, 1 PM
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets
GAELS OUTLOOK
Saint Mary's Drops Opening Series to Creighton…
The bats came to play for the Gaels in the 2026 season opening series but Creighton walked away with the narrow 2-1 series win in Moraga last week. After scoring just three runs in the opener, Saint Mary's got good offense and a solid pitching performance in game two to record their first win of 2026. First-year Gael Cam Staton was stellar in his debut, pitching six strong innings en route to his first win of the season. Fellow first-year Gael Jacob Johnson blasted a three-run home run to contribute to a five-run fifth inning as the Gaels cruised to the 7-2 victory, setting up the rubber match in game three.
Saint Mary's spotted Creighton seven runs, all in the first inning, but nearly came all the way back as they pulled to within one run after a solo homer from catcher Brett Williams in the eighth inning. The Gaels bullpen held Creighton to just two runs scored over the final eight innings but a ground ball double play ended the threat in the ninth to give the Bluejays the 9-8 victory.
Tanner Griffith and Diego Castellanos led the team in hitting after the opening series, each hitting over .500 with a combined ten hits, two doubles and a two-run homer from Griffith for his first of the season.
Stellar Debuts from Cam Staton and Jacob Johnson…
Head coach Eric Valenzuela welcomed 20 total newcomers to the 2026 squad but got two standout performances from transfers Cam Staton and Jacob Johnson last weekend. Staton was a strikeout machine at Sierra College last season, leading the state of California with 113 strikeouts, and was able to go six strong innings in his SMC debut to secure his first win of the season. Staton sat 92-93 on his fastball and did a great job keeping Creighton off balanced, allowing just two runs on four hits over his six innings of work. Returners Talin Gardini and Lukas Sarantos helped finish off the game to secure the 7-2 victory for the Gaels.
At the plate, Cuesta College transfer Jacob Johnson led the team in RBI for the weekend after recording a combined five hits, a double and two home runs. The Danville native got the start at third base and after going 0-for-3 from the plate in his debut, he bounced back to hit home runs in back-to-back games including a four-RBI game in the Gaels' 7-2 game two win. Johnson started the first two games at third base and then moved over to first for game three. He left the weekend with the team lead in home runs (2) and RBI (6) for a solid start to his SMC career.
Griffith and Castellanos Hitting over .500 After Opening Series…
Tanner Griffith and Diego Castellanos will be two key pieces to the Gaels' success this season and the outfield duo got off to a great start in their season opening series against Creighton. Griffith started in center field for all three games and ended his weekend going 4-for-7 from the plate along with a double and a two-run home run in game three for his first of the season.
Castellanos was named to the WCC Preseason Team earlier this month and lived up to the hype, leading the team with six hits over his three games. Castellanos was just 1-for-5 with three strikeouts in game one before rattling off five hits over the final two games of the series. He also recorded a career high four hits and scored three runs in the 7-2 victory in game two.
Griffith and Castellanos will be everyday starters for the Gaels this season and should be big contributors to the team's success here in 2026.
Series History…
Saint Mary's and CSUN are knotted at 9-9 in their series history dating back to 2012. The two teams will meet on Friday for the first time since 2022. The Matadors took all three games in that series four years ago as the Gaels will seek their first home win over CSUN since 2015. The last time SMC head coach Eric Valenzuela faced off with CSUN was in 2017 but the Gaels came out on the right side of that one, winning the series three games to one and outscoring CSUN 16-4 in those three wins.
ABOUT THE MATADORS (3-0, 0-0 Big West)
After being picked to finish ninth in the 2026 Big West Coaches Preseason Poll, CSUN went out and swept new WCC member Seattle U to start their 2026 campaign. The Matadors outscored the Redhawks 22-11 and kept them under five runs a game. CSUN will take on another WCC foe in Portland in their midweek game later this evening before heading up to Moraga for their three-game series with Saint Mary's starting on Friday.
The Matadors returned 14 players from the 2025 roster while adding 24 newcomers. Of those 24 newcomers 13 are transfers and 11 are true freshmen. They did welcome back 2025 All-Big West honorees Kyle Panganiban and Andrew Becker. Panganiban was named to the Second Team with a .313 batting average, 63 hits, 15 doubles and five home runs while Becker was an Honorable Mention selection as a true freshman, recording a team high 31 RBI and a .324 batting average over his 47 games.
Eddie Cornejo returns for his fourth season as head coach and his seventh overall after joining the staff back in 2020. He holds an 82-75 record as head coach of the Matadors with his best season coming in 2023 when he led CSUN to 34 wins, their most in a single-season in over two decades.
Tickets for the weekend series can be bought online at smcgaels.com/tickets and fans can catch all the action live on ESPN+.
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
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