Thursday, February 26
Moraga, CA
2:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
5-3
5
vs
4
San Jose State
3-5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
R
H
E
San Jose State
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
4
9
0
Saint Mary's
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
1
5
14
1
#5 Diego Castellanos: 2-4, 2 R, 2 HR (2), 4 RBI vs. San Jose State
Photo by: Ayanna Williams/SMC Athletics
BSB | Gaels Complete Friday Sweep for Fourth Straight Win
2/27/2026 6:40:00 PM | Baseball
MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's baseball team returned to Louis Guisto Field at Br. Ronald Gallagher Stadium Friday morning and pulled off the two-game sweep over San Jose State with a 5-4 win to end game one in 13 innings followed by a 15-5 run-rule victory in game two.
Game one was suspended due to darkness from Thursday evening with both teams knotted at four after 12 innings. Sophomore right hander Sam Kretsch started the continuation game on Friday and struck out the side to send the Gaels to the bottom of the 13th with a chance to win. The Spartans pitcher went on to load the bases with one out, allowing Makoa Sniffen to record his fifth hit of the game, a single back up the middle, to score Cody Kashimoto and give Saint Mary's the 5-4 13-inning victory.
Both teams took a break and geared up for a 2:00 p.m. first pitch for game two but the Gaels came ready to play, scoring five runs over the first two innings. Saint Mary's (6-3) finished with 12 hits, 15 runs and three more home runs en route to its 15-5 win for its sixth of the season. Diego Castellanos recorded his first multi-homer game of his career with back-to-back two-run home runs for his first two of the season. Makoa Sniffen continued his hot streak with his fourth long ball of the season, a three-run shot to left in the first inning.
Sam Kretsch earned his first win of 2026 after tossing a clean frame in the top of the 13th in game one while senior right hander John Damozonio went five innings with a career high seven strikeouts to earn his second consecutive win in game two.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Saint Mary's 5, SJSU 4 (13 Inn.)
San Jose State did a good job keeping one of the best offenses in the country at bay to start game one on Thursday. The Gaels found themselves down 3-1 heading into the eighth inning but got a two-RBI single from Micah Nicholson to tie the game and then a bloop single from Tanner Griffith would score pinch runner Colin Linteo to give Saint Mary's a 4-3 lead going into the ninth.
San Jose State was down to its last out in the top of the ninth as southpaw reliever Talin Gardini was working on six-innings of relief. Gardini nearly got out of the jam but Spartan shortstop Rocco Caballero lined one back up the middle to score the runner from second and tie the game at four. Saint Mary's threatened in the home half of the ninth with runners on second and third but Jared Mettam lined out to a diving first baseman to send the game to extras.
Luis Martin Romero would come in to start the tenth inning for the Gaels and give them three scoreless innings, allowing just one baserunner while recording three strikeouts. San Jose State reliever Luka Pintar was equally as good, giving the Spartans six innings of relief as the game was halted after the 12th inning due to darkness.
Both teams returned in the morning to complete game one but the Gaels wouldn't keep the fans waiting much longer as they walked it off in the bottom of the 13th thanks to an RBI single from Makoa Sniffen. Sniffen was fresh off a career week last week where he was named to Baseball America's Team of the Week and was named the WCC Player of the Week, and added to that success with a career high five hits and the game-winning RBI.
Kretsch picked up his first win of 2026 and also had himself a nice week after recording his first career save earlier in the week at Bakersfield where the Gaels won 10-8 in 12 innings.
Game 2: Saint Mary's 15, SJSU 5 (7 Inn.)
Saint Mary's had logged 25 innings over its last two games and decided game three needed to end early as they run-ruled San Jose State 15-5 after seven innings to secure its fourth consecutive win. SJSU starter Kyle Calzadiaz brought a 1-0 record with a 0.90 ERA over his first two starts into game three but the Gaels jumped on him early, getting an RBI double from Jacob Johnson and a three-run homer from Makoa Sniffen to cap off a four-run first inning.
The Gaels tacked on four more in the fourth with a two-RBI hit from Johnson followed by a two-run bomb from Diego Castellanos for his first of the season. Castellanos sat on a 2-0 fastball and sent the pitch into the right field trees, 101 off the bat and 387 feet for his first hit of the game.
Senior starter John Damozonio worked around a first inning error and a pair of runs in the third to finish his day with five innings, allowing just three hits and two earned runs. Damozonio had the breaking ball working as he struck out a career high seven batters including one in the fifth to help him to his second win of the season.
Saint Mary's put themselves in run-rule position with a six-run fifth inning highlighted by RBI doubles from Brett Williams and Micah Nicholson and another two-run homer from Castellanos for his first career multi-home run game. True freshman Joseph Moreno made his third appearance of the season, completing the final two innings of the ballgame to seal the 15-5 victory.
Johnson bounced back after a hitless outing in game one to go 3-for-3 with a career high six RBI here in game two. Sniffen added another two hits including his fourth homer of the season and three RBI while Castellanos had two home runs and a career high four RBI.
GAME NOTES
Saint Mary's will finish its five-game week at Excite Ballpark for a pair of games against San Jose State. Game three of the four-game series will take place on Saturday at 1 p.m. with the finale happening on Sunday also at 1 p.m.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Game one was suspended due to darkness from Thursday evening with both teams knotted at four after 12 innings. Sophomore right hander Sam Kretsch started the continuation game on Friday and struck out the side to send the Gaels to the bottom of the 13th with a chance to win. The Spartans pitcher went on to load the bases with one out, allowing Makoa Sniffen to record his fifth hit of the game, a single back up the middle, to score Cody Kashimoto and give Saint Mary's the 5-4 13-inning victory.
Both teams took a break and geared up for a 2:00 p.m. first pitch for game two but the Gaels came ready to play, scoring five runs over the first two innings. Saint Mary's (6-3) finished with 12 hits, 15 runs and three more home runs en route to its 15-5 win for its sixth of the season. Diego Castellanos recorded his first multi-homer game of his career with back-to-back two-run home runs for his first two of the season. Makoa Sniffen continued his hot streak with his fourth long ball of the season, a three-run shot to left in the first inning.
Sam Kretsch earned his first win of 2026 after tossing a clean frame in the top of the 13th in game one while senior right hander John Damozonio went five innings with a career high seven strikeouts to earn his second consecutive win in game two.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Saint Mary's 5, SJSU 4 (13 Inn.)
San Jose State did a good job keeping one of the best offenses in the country at bay to start game one on Thursday. The Gaels found themselves down 3-1 heading into the eighth inning but got a two-RBI single from Micah Nicholson to tie the game and then a bloop single from Tanner Griffith would score pinch runner Colin Linteo to give Saint Mary's a 4-3 lead going into the ninth.
San Jose State was down to its last out in the top of the ninth as southpaw reliever Talin Gardini was working on six-innings of relief. Gardini nearly got out of the jam but Spartan shortstop Rocco Caballero lined one back up the middle to score the runner from second and tie the game at four. Saint Mary's threatened in the home half of the ninth with runners on second and third but Jared Mettam lined out to a diving first baseman to send the game to extras.
Luis Martin Romero would come in to start the tenth inning for the Gaels and give them three scoreless innings, allowing just one baserunner while recording three strikeouts. San Jose State reliever Luka Pintar was equally as good, giving the Spartans six innings of relief as the game was halted after the 12th inning due to darkness.
Both teams returned in the morning to complete game one but the Gaels wouldn't keep the fans waiting much longer as they walked it off in the bottom of the 13th thanks to an RBI single from Makoa Sniffen. Sniffen was fresh off a career week last week where he was named to Baseball America's Team of the Week and was named the WCC Player of the Week, and added to that success with a career high five hits and the game-winning RBI.
Kretsch picked up his first win of 2026 and also had himself a nice week after recording his first career save earlier in the week at Bakersfield where the Gaels won 10-8 in 12 innings.
Game 2: Saint Mary's 15, SJSU 5 (7 Inn.)
Saint Mary's had logged 25 innings over its last two games and decided game three needed to end early as they run-ruled San Jose State 15-5 after seven innings to secure its fourth consecutive win. SJSU starter Kyle Calzadiaz brought a 1-0 record with a 0.90 ERA over his first two starts into game three but the Gaels jumped on him early, getting an RBI double from Jacob Johnson and a three-run homer from Makoa Sniffen to cap off a four-run first inning.
The Gaels tacked on four more in the fourth with a two-RBI hit from Johnson followed by a two-run bomb from Diego Castellanos for his first of the season. Castellanos sat on a 2-0 fastball and sent the pitch into the right field trees, 101 off the bat and 387 feet for his first hit of the game.
Senior starter John Damozonio worked around a first inning error and a pair of runs in the third to finish his day with five innings, allowing just three hits and two earned runs. Damozonio had the breaking ball working as he struck out a career high seven batters including one in the fifth to help him to his second win of the season.
Saint Mary's put themselves in run-rule position with a six-run fifth inning highlighted by RBI doubles from Brett Williams and Micah Nicholson and another two-run homer from Castellanos for his first career multi-home run game. True freshman Joseph Moreno made his third appearance of the season, completing the final two innings of the ballgame to seal the 15-5 victory.
Johnson bounced back after a hitless outing in game one to go 3-for-3 with a career high six RBI here in game two. Sniffen added another two hits including his fourth homer of the season and three RBI while Castellanos had two home runs and a career high four RBI.
GAME NOTES
- Saint Mary's extended its win streak to four games after run-ruling San Jose State 15-5
- Castellanos recorded his first multi-homer game of his career in game three, hitting two two-run home runs
- Johnson recorded a career high six RBI and was 3-for-3 from the plate in game three
- 15 runs went down as a new season high for the Gaels
- Saint Mary's has had double-digit hits in all but one game this season
- Sniffen recorded five hits in game one and became the first player with five hits in a game since teammate Ian Armstrong did so in the WCC Tournament last season
- Damozonio recorded a career high seven strikeouts and has improved to 2-1 on the season
- Sam Kretsch was a part of two decisions this week, earning his first career save Tuesday night in a 10-8 win over Bakersfield and then earning his first win of the season in game one against San Jose State
- Tanner Griffith was 0-for-0 from the plate on Friday but reached base all four times, recording two walks and two hit by pitches
- Griffith leads the team with a .714 on-base percentage
Saint Mary's will finish its five-game week at Excite Ballpark for a pair of games against San Jose State. Game three of the four-game series will take place on Saturday at 1 p.m. with the finale happening on Sunday also at 1 p.m.
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: Kretsch, Sam (1-0)
L: GUTIERREZ, Jesse (0-2)
Batting:
2B: ROWLES, Peyton 1 ; CABALLERO, Rocco 1
RBI: FERNANDES, Alex 2 ; CABALLERO, Rocco 2
Base Running:
RUNS: OSORIO-AGARD, JC 1 ; SCHEPPLER, Anthony 2 ; CABALLERO, Rocco 1
CS: MCCOY, Jake 1
HBP: WILSON, Trevor 1
Batting:
2B: Castellanos, Diego 1
RBI: Griffith, Tanner 1 ; Sniffen, Makoa 2 ; Nicholson, Micah 2
SH: Josephson, Ian 1 ; Mettam, Jared 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Griffith, Tanner 1 ; Castellanos, Diego 1 ; Freschi, Dario 1 ; Linteo, Colin 1 ; Kashimoto, Cody 1
SB: Griffith, Tanner 2 ; Sniffen, Makoa 1 ; Williams, Brett 1 ; Linteo, Colin 1
HBP: Freschi, Dario 1 ; Kashimoto, Cody 1
Game Leaders
AB
7
R
0
H
5
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
ph/lf
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ BaseballOF
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/ BaseballLHP
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/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballRHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballRHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballLHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballC
/ BaseballBSB | Saint Mary's vs. San Jose State Game 2 Highlights, 2-27-26
Friday, February 27
BSB | Saint Mary's vs. San Jose State Game 1 Highlights, 2-26-26
Friday, February 27
BSB | Saint Mary's at Bakersfield Highlights, 2-24-26
Wednesday, February 25
BSB | Saint Mary's vs. CSUN Game 3 Highlights, 2-22-26
Sunday, February 22
