Sunday, March 15
Phoenix, AZ
11:00 AM
Saint Mary's College of California
11-8
11
vs
8
Rice
12-9
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
8th innning8
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Rice University
0
0
3
0
2
1
1
1
8
8
0
Saint Mary's
0
0
0
0
0
6
0
5
11
19
2
#23 Makoa Sniffen: 6 H, 3 R, 3 2B, 3 RBI combined vs. Rice and GCU
BSB | Gaels Split Sunday Doubleheader with Wild Comeback Win over Rice
3/15/2026 7:50:00 PM | Baseball
PHOENIX, Ariz. - The Saint Mary's baseball team split Sunday's doubleheader with an 11-8 win over Rice before falling 6-3 to Grand Canyon to end its weekend in Phoenix.
The Gaels tallied over 50 hits in their four games and got rewarded for their first win of the weekend in game one on Sunday, erasing a six-run deficit to beat Rice 11-8. All eleven runs came in the final three innings with a six-run sixth and a five-run eighth to give Saint Mary's its 11th win of the season.
The Gaels almost pulled off another comeback in game two against Grand Canyon after cutting the deficit to three with a two-run double from Makoa Sniffen in the eighth. The Lopes would retire the Gaels in order in the ninth inning though to hang on for the 6-3 victory.
Jacob Johnson and Makoa Sniffen led the way with five combined hits on the day while junior right hander Luis Martin Romero picked up his first win as a Gael in game one over the Owls.
GAME 1: Saint Mary's 11, Rice 8
Saint Mary's had outhit its opponents 29-19 through the first two games in Phoenix but found themselves winless with a pair of one-run defeats. Their luck would turn though in the morning game of Sunday's doubleheader as the Gaels recorded a season high 19 hits and erased a six-run deficit to defeat Rice 11-8.
The comeback would start with a six-run sixth inning which included RBI doubles from Makoa Sniffen, Ian Armstrong, Tanner Griffith and a two-run bomb from Dario Freschi for his first collegiate home run. Armstrong's double made it a 6-3 game and then Freschi took a 3-2 pitch three-quarters of the way up the right field netting for a no-doubt shot, to make it a one-run game. Griffith's double into the right field corner three at-bats later would eventually tie the game at six.
Rice went on to plate runs in the seventh and eighth to retake an 8-6 lead but once again the Gaels erupted for a five-run eighth inning to snatch the lead back for good. The Saint Mary's offense chased two pitchers and scored five runs off four hits in the inning to take an 11-8 lead. Three of the four hits were extra-base hits with RBI doubles from Johnson and Castellanos while Sniffen hit his team leading second triple of the season that put them in front 9-8.
Junior right hander Luis Martin Romero made his second appearance of the weekend and would get credit for his first win as a Gael, recording the final two outs of the top of the eighth inning. Of the 19 hits, three Gaels had three-hit games to lead the way including true freshman Ian Josephson who made his first career start on Sunday. The San Mateo native went 3-for-5 from the plate with a run scored and played a solid shortstop to give the Gaels a great spark.
19 hits went down as a new season high for Saint Mary's and its most in a single-game since defeating Gonzaga 14-6 in the WCC Tournament last season.
GAME 2: GCU 6, Saint Mary's 3
Sophomore Lukas Sarantos got his first start of the season for Saint Mary's in the second game of the day against Grand Canyon. Sarantos was cruising early and throwing swing and miss stuff, recording five strikeouts through his first three innings of work. The Lopes would get some traffic though in the fourth and fifth inning and combine to score five runs to take a 6-1 lead. Sarantos surrendered two in the fourth and then started the fifth but couldn't get out of it, making way for Sam Kretsch. Sarantos ended his day with four full innings, five hits, four earned and a season high five strikeouts.
The Gaels had work to do and got some life in the top of the eighth scoring two runs off three hits to cut the deficit to three. A leadoff single from Tanner Griffith and a double to the left field corner from Jacob Johnson would put runners in scoring position with one out. Makoa Sniffen would cash in the two runs with a double off the center field wall, his fifth of the season, to make it a 6-3 game.
Joseph Moreno would make his fifth appearance of the season and pitch two clean frames to send the Gaels back to the plate down two but they would go down in order to end the game and give the Lopes the 6-3 win.
The Gaels reached the double-digit hit mark again thanks to multi-hit performances from Griffith, Johnson and Sniffen. Sniffen's two RBI brought his season total to 25 while Johnson continues to pace the Gaels in hitting with 36 hits and a .439 batting average.
GAME NOTES
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's will take the week to rest up before opening West Coast Conference play at home against Pepperdine starting on Friday. Stream the series 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
The Gaels tallied over 50 hits in their four games and got rewarded for their first win of the weekend in game one on Sunday, erasing a six-run deficit to beat Rice 11-8. All eleven runs came in the final three innings with a six-run sixth and a five-run eighth to give Saint Mary's its 11th win of the season.
The Gaels almost pulled off another comeback in game two against Grand Canyon after cutting the deficit to three with a two-run double from Makoa Sniffen in the eighth. The Lopes would retire the Gaels in order in the ninth inning though to hang on for the 6-3 victory.
Jacob Johnson and Makoa Sniffen led the way with five combined hits on the day while junior right hander Luis Martin Romero picked up his first win as a Gael in game one over the Owls.
GAME 1: Saint Mary's 11, Rice 8
Saint Mary's had outhit its opponents 29-19 through the first two games in Phoenix but found themselves winless with a pair of one-run defeats. Their luck would turn though in the morning game of Sunday's doubleheader as the Gaels recorded a season high 19 hits and erased a six-run deficit to defeat Rice 11-8.
The comeback would start with a six-run sixth inning which included RBI doubles from Makoa Sniffen, Ian Armstrong, Tanner Griffith and a two-run bomb from Dario Freschi for his first collegiate home run. Armstrong's double made it a 6-3 game and then Freschi took a 3-2 pitch three-quarters of the way up the right field netting for a no-doubt shot, to make it a one-run game. Griffith's double into the right field corner three at-bats later would eventually tie the game at six.
Rice went on to plate runs in the seventh and eighth to retake an 8-6 lead but once again the Gaels erupted for a five-run eighth inning to snatch the lead back for good. The Saint Mary's offense chased two pitchers and scored five runs off four hits in the inning to take an 11-8 lead. Three of the four hits were extra-base hits with RBI doubles from Johnson and Castellanos while Sniffen hit his team leading second triple of the season that put them in front 9-8.
Junior right hander Luis Martin Romero made his second appearance of the weekend and would get credit for his first win as a Gael, recording the final two outs of the top of the eighth inning. Of the 19 hits, three Gaels had three-hit games to lead the way including true freshman Ian Josephson who made his first career start on Sunday. The San Mateo native went 3-for-5 from the plate with a run scored and played a solid shortstop to give the Gaels a great spark.
19 hits went down as a new season high for Saint Mary's and its most in a single-game since defeating Gonzaga 14-6 in the WCC Tournament last season.
GAME 2: GCU 6, Saint Mary's 3
Sophomore Lukas Sarantos got his first start of the season for Saint Mary's in the second game of the day against Grand Canyon. Sarantos was cruising early and throwing swing and miss stuff, recording five strikeouts through his first three innings of work. The Lopes would get some traffic though in the fourth and fifth inning and combine to score five runs to take a 6-1 lead. Sarantos surrendered two in the fourth and then started the fifth but couldn't get out of it, making way for Sam Kretsch. Sarantos ended his day with four full innings, five hits, four earned and a season high five strikeouts.
The Gaels had work to do and got some life in the top of the eighth scoring two runs off three hits to cut the deficit to three. A leadoff single from Tanner Griffith and a double to the left field corner from Jacob Johnson would put runners in scoring position with one out. Makoa Sniffen would cash in the two runs with a double off the center field wall, his fifth of the season, to make it a 6-3 game.
Joseph Moreno would make his fifth appearance of the season and pitch two clean frames to send the Gaels back to the plate down two but they would go down in order to end the game and give the Lopes the 6-3 win.
The Gaels reached the double-digit hit mark again thanks to multi-hit performances from Griffith, Johnson and Sniffen. Sniffen's two RBI brought his season total to 25 while Johnson continues to pace the Gaels in hitting with 36 hits and a .439 batting average.
GAME NOTES
- The Gaels recorded a new season high 19 hits against Rice
- Josephson got his first collegiate start against Rice and went 3-for-5 with a run scored
- Josephson became the first Gael freshman to record three hits in a game this season
- Luis Martin Romero earned his first win as a Gael and now owns a 2.45 ERA
- Saint Mary's tied its single-game season high with five doubles in both games today against Rice and Grand Canyon, combining for ten on the day
- Dario Freschi crushed his first collegiate home run against Rice
- Sniffen recorded his second career triple for the go-ahead RBI to give the Gaels a 9-8 lead against Rice
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's will take the week to rest up before opening West Coast Conference play at home against Pepperdine starting on Friday. Stream the series 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
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Martin Romero, Luis (1-0)
L: Ethan Atchley (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Colin Robson 1 ; JC Davis 1 ; Garet Boehm 1
RBI: JC Davis 1 ; Paul Smith 1 ; Garet Boehm 2 ; Kutter-Gage Webb 2 ; Mason Ashlock 1
SH: Hiram Bocachica, Jr 1 ; Colin Robson 1 ; Kutter-Gage Webb 1
SF: Garet Boehm 1 ; Kutter-Gage Webb 1 ; Mason Ashlock 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hiram Bocachica, Jr 1 ; Colin Robson 1 ; JC Davis 2 ; Paul Smith 1 ; Garet Boehm 1 ; Lorenzo Rios 1 ; Cole Green 1
SB: Hiram Bocachica, Jr 1 ; Cole Green 1
HBP: Colin Robson 1 ; Paul Smith 1 ; Lorenzo Rios 1
Batting:
2B: Griffith, Tanner 1 ; Johnson, Jacob 1 ; Sniffen, Makoa 1 ; Castellanos, Diego 1 ; Armstrong, Ian 1
3B: Sniffen, Makoa 1
HR: Freschi, Dario 1
RBI: Griffith, Tanner 1 ; Johnson, Jacob 2 ; Sniffen, Makoa 2 ; Castellanos, Diego 2 ; Armstrong, Ian 1 ; Freschi, Dario 2
SH: Petit, Brady 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Griffith, Tanner 1 ; Petit, Brady 1 ; Johnson, Jacob 2 ; Sniffen, Makoa 2 ; Castellanos, Diego 1 ; Armstrong, Ian 1 ; Freschi, Dario 1 ; Josephson, Ian 1 ; Kashimoto, Cody 1
CS: Armstrong, Ian 1
HBP: Johnson, Jacob 1
PO: Nicholson, Micah 1 ; Josephson, Ian 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
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/ BaseballBSB | Saint Mary's vs. Grand Canyon Game 2 Highlights, 3-15-26
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BSB | Saint Mary's vs. San Diego State Game 3 Highlights, 3-8-26
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BSB | Saint Mary's vs. UC Davis Highlights, 3-3-26
Tuesday, March 03
