Sunday, April 26
San Diego, CA
1:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
25-18, 10-8
6
at
16
San Diego
16-25, 8-10
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Mary's | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 1 |
| San Diego | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 16 | 17 | 1 |
#46 Jacob Johnson: 3-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, HR (10)
BSB | Gaels Drop Series Finale to Toreros; Leave San Diego with WCC Series Victory
4/26/2026 6:48:00 PM | Baseball
SAN DIEGO – The Saint Mary's baseball team dropped its West Coast Conference series finale to San Diego on Sunday, 16-6, but will leave Southern California with a crucial conference series win after taking two games against the 2025 regular season champs.
The Gaels' bats got hot early once again, plating four runs in the top of third and then a solo home run from Jacob Johnson in the fourth to go up 5-0. Graduate transfer Jake Hilton was clean through four innings but San Diego erupted for eight runs in the bottom of the fifth to swing momentum and take its first lead of the entire weekend. The Toreros piled on with six more in the seventh and then had a game-ending RBI single in the eighth to win via run-rule, 16-6.
Saint Mary's got to double-digit hits once again this season partially thanks to a three-hit ballgame from Jacob Johnson. One of Johnson's three hits on the day was a booming solo home run in the fourth to go down as his WCC-leading 10th homer of the season. First baseman Makoa Sniffen had another two hits and senior shortstop Jared Mettam went 2-for-4 with a run scored to help anchor what was a productive bottom third of the batting order this weekend.
Saint Mary's (25-18, 10-8) secured its first conference series win over San Diego since taking two of three at Fowler Park back in 2024.
HOW IT HAPPENED
San Diego (16-25, 8-10) kept Saint Mary's off the scoreboard for the first two innings of the ballgame for the first time this weekend but the success on the mound did not last long as the Gaels scored four runs in the third and one in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead. With runners on, Tanner Griffith put down a well-executed safety squeeze to score Jared Mettam from third and score the Gaels' first run of the game. After scoring two more runs off an RBI infield single from Diego Castellanos and a wild pitch to the backstop, sophomore catcher Ian Armstrong would double to the right center gap to score Sniffen and complete the four-run frame.
Grad transfer Jake Hilton made his ninth start of the season on the mound for the Gaels and worked around a pair of two-runner situations in the first and third innings to keep the Toreros off the scoreboard through four. Jacob Johnson added to the Gaels lead with a towering 437-foot bomb to dead center, clearing the batter's eye at Fowler Park for his tenth home run of the season as Saint Mary's led 5-0 through the first four innings.
The game would flip on its head though in the bottom of the fifth inning as San Diego plated eight runs off five hits including five free passes. Three walks and a pair of hit batters would aid the big inning for the Toreros as they took control of the game in the blink of an eye. Saint Mary's got one back in the seventh thanks to three hits in the inning and an RBI single from freshman Ian Josephson but USD answered with six more runs in the bottom half of the frame to take a commanding 14-6 lead. The Toreros would end the game in run-rule fashion with two runs in the eighth to salvage the series finale 16-6.
GAME NOTES
• For the 32nd time this season the Gaels reached double-digit hits
• Saint Mary's finished the weekend with 30 runs scored off 42 hits
• Sniffen recorded his team leading 21st multi-hit game of the season and his eighth three-hit game of the year
• Castellanos went 1-for-4 to keep his now 20-game hit streak alive
• Johnson connected on his WCC-leading 10th home run of the season
• The Gaels were 5-for-10 with runners in scoring position and 6-for-15 with runners on in Sunday's game
• Saint Mary's won its first WCC series against San Diego since 2024
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's will return to night baseball this week as they play host to the California Golden Bears on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Tickets can be bought online at smcgaels.com/tickets and you 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
The Gaels' bats got hot early once again, plating four runs in the top of third and then a solo home run from Jacob Johnson in the fourth to go up 5-0. Graduate transfer Jake Hilton was clean through four innings but San Diego erupted for eight runs in the bottom of the fifth to swing momentum and take its first lead of the entire weekend. The Toreros piled on with six more in the seventh and then had a game-ending RBI single in the eighth to win via run-rule, 16-6.
Saint Mary's got to double-digit hits once again this season partially thanks to a three-hit ballgame from Jacob Johnson. One of Johnson's three hits on the day was a booming solo home run in the fourth to go down as his WCC-leading 10th homer of the season. First baseman Makoa Sniffen had another two hits and senior shortstop Jared Mettam went 2-for-4 with a run scored to help anchor what was a productive bottom third of the batting order this weekend.
Saint Mary's (25-18, 10-8) secured its first conference series win over San Diego since taking two of three at Fowler Park back in 2024.
HOW IT HAPPENED
San Diego (16-25, 8-10) kept Saint Mary's off the scoreboard for the first two innings of the ballgame for the first time this weekend but the success on the mound did not last long as the Gaels scored four runs in the third and one in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead. With runners on, Tanner Griffith put down a well-executed safety squeeze to score Jared Mettam from third and score the Gaels' first run of the game. After scoring two more runs off an RBI infield single from Diego Castellanos and a wild pitch to the backstop, sophomore catcher Ian Armstrong would double to the right center gap to score Sniffen and complete the four-run frame.
Grad transfer Jake Hilton made his ninth start of the season on the mound for the Gaels and worked around a pair of two-runner situations in the first and third innings to keep the Toreros off the scoreboard through four. Jacob Johnson added to the Gaels lead with a towering 437-foot bomb to dead center, clearing the batter's eye at Fowler Park for his tenth home run of the season as Saint Mary's led 5-0 through the first four innings.
The game would flip on its head though in the bottom of the fifth inning as San Diego plated eight runs off five hits including five free passes. Three walks and a pair of hit batters would aid the big inning for the Toreros as they took control of the game in the blink of an eye. Saint Mary's got one back in the seventh thanks to three hits in the inning and an RBI single from freshman Ian Josephson but USD answered with six more runs in the bottom half of the frame to take a commanding 14-6 lead. The Toreros would end the game in run-rule fashion with two runs in the eighth to salvage the series finale 16-6.
GAME NOTES
• For the 32nd time this season the Gaels reached double-digit hits
• Saint Mary's finished the weekend with 30 runs scored off 42 hits
• Sniffen recorded his team leading 21st multi-hit game of the season and his eighth three-hit game of the year
• Castellanos went 1-for-4 to keep his now 20-game hit streak alive
• Johnson connected on his WCC-leading 10th home run of the season
• The Gaels were 5-for-10 with runners in scoring position and 6-for-15 with runners on in Sunday's game
• Saint Mary's won its first WCC series against San Diego since 2024
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's will return to night baseball this week as they play host to the California Golden Bears on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Tickets can be bought online at smcgaels.com/tickets and you 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
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Drake Frize (3-5)
L: Gardini, Talin (0-3)
Batting:
2B: Sniffen, Makoa 1 ; Armstrong, Ian 1
HR: Johnson, Jacob 1
RBI: Griffith, Tanner 1 ; Castellanos, Diego 1 ; Armstrong, Ian 1 ; Josephson, Ian 1 ; Johnson, Jacob 1
SH: Griffith, Tanner 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Castellanos, Diego 1 ; Sniffen, Makoa 2 ; Johnson, Jacob 1 ; Mettam, Jared 1 ; Kashimoto, Cody 1
CS: Griffith, Tanner 1 ; Kashimoto, Cody 1
HBP: Griffith, Tanner 1 ; Sniffen, Makoa 1
Batting:
2B: CJ Moran 1
HR: Andrew Gauna 1 ; Diego Gonzalez 1
RBI: CJ Moran 2 ; Gage Mestas 2 ; Andrew Gauna 2 ; Diego Gonzalez 4 ; Jayden Lobliner 1 ; Jayton Greer 2 ; Connor Meidroth 2
Base Running:
RUNS: CJ Moran 2 ; Gage Mestas 2 ; Andrew Gauna 3 ; Diego Gonzalez 3 ; Jayden Lobliner 1 ; Cade Martinez 1 ; Jayton Greer 1 ; Connor Meidroth 3
SB: Andrew Gauna 1
HBP: Andrew Gauna 2 ; Connor Meidroth 1
PO: CJ Moran 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballLHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballBSB | 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
BSB | Saint Mary's at San Diego Highlights, 4-24-26
Friday, April 24
BSB | Saint Mary's at Nevada Highlights, 4-21-26
Tuesday, April 21
