Tuesday, April 28
Moraga, CA
6:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
25-19
5
vs
6
Cal
23-20
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cal | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 0 |
| Saint Mary's | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
#20 David Roberts: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 SO vs. Cal
Photo by: Alejandro Cornejo Palacios | @flics.by.nano
BSB | Gaels Lose 6-5 to Golden Bears in Midweek Bullpen Affair
4/28/2026 11:08:00 PM | Baseball
MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's baseball team dropped its midweek game to the Cal Golden Bears 6-5 Tuesday night. The Gaels will turn the page after some nice relief appearances and nearly a late comeback and get ready to host Seattle U, resuming West Coast Conference play Friday night.
Saint Mary's (25-19, 10-8) went down as many as four runs through the first four innings but recorded three home runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut the deficit to just one. Makoa Sniffen and Ian Armstrong went back-to-back before senior shortstop Jared Mettam smashed his third homer of the season to make it a 5-4 ballgame with Cal (23-20, 7-14) leading by just a run. The Golden Bears pushed their lead to two with a crucial insurance run in the sixth inning before Saint Mary's loaded the bases and scratched one across in the eighth. They brought the winning run to the plate in the form of Armstrong but Cal reliever Cade Colombara recorded his second strikeout over his 1.1 innings to seal the 6-5 victory.
The Saint Mary's pitching staff allowed just one run over the final five frames including clean outings from Cooper Berger, David Roberts, Noah Waldeck and Max Johnson. At the plate, the Gaels tallied just six hits for their third lowest single-game total of the season. Five of their six hits went down as extra-base hits including a pair of doubles from Brady Petit and Brayden Gutierrez. Sniffen's homer in the fourth tied him for the conference lead with ten along with teammate Jacob Johnson.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tuesday's midweek game between Saint Mary's and Cal featured a pair of openers with the Gaels giving the start to sophomore southpaw Talin Gardini. Gardini gave up a three-spot in the first inning but he with the combination of Luis Martin Romero would get out of trouble in the second for a clean frame as the Gaels found themselves down 3-1 after two innings of play.
Cal took a 5-1 lead into the fourth but the Gaels erupted for three home runs in the home half off the bats of Makoa Sniffen, Ian Armstrong and Jared Mettam. Sniffen and Armstrong would get the party started with back-to-back long balls, the tenth of the season for Sniffen and ninth for Armstrong. Two batters later, Mettam smashed a line drive homer to left for his third of the season to cut the deficit to one.
Over the final five frames, Saint Mary's pitching allowed just one run as the bullpen kept the Gales within striking distance with Cal up 6-4 heading into the eighth. The Gaels had their best scoring opportunity of the night with a bases loaded situation in the bottom of the eighth. Freshman catcher Brayden Gutierrez worked a hard fought eight-pitch walk to score Armstrong from third and cut the deficit to one. Senior second baseman Cody Kashimoto came to the plate but struck out to end the threat with the Gaels down 6-5.
Redshirt freshman Max Johnson was one of several successful relief outings for Saint Mary's as he came on in the ninth and struck out the side in dominant fashion, needing just 15 pitches to retire Cal in order and get the Gaels back to the plate. Saint Mary's got a two-out baserunner in the form of Sniffen who wore a pitch off the jersey to reach base as the game-tying run. Armstrong would come to the dish but strikeout swinging to end the game as Cal hung on for the 6-5 midweek victory.
GAME NOTES
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's will gear up for a crucial WCC series, welcoming Seattle U to Moraga for the first time since 2016. Game one will take place Friday night at 6:00 p.m. and you can stream 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
Saint Mary's (25-19, 10-8) went down as many as four runs through the first four innings but recorded three home runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut the deficit to just one. Makoa Sniffen and Ian Armstrong went back-to-back before senior shortstop Jared Mettam smashed his third homer of the season to make it a 5-4 ballgame with Cal (23-20, 7-14) leading by just a run. The Golden Bears pushed their lead to two with a crucial insurance run in the sixth inning before Saint Mary's loaded the bases and scratched one across in the eighth. They brought the winning run to the plate in the form of Armstrong but Cal reliever Cade Colombara recorded his second strikeout over his 1.1 innings to seal the 6-5 victory.
The Saint Mary's pitching staff allowed just one run over the final five frames including clean outings from Cooper Berger, David Roberts, Noah Waldeck and Max Johnson. At the plate, the Gaels tallied just six hits for their third lowest single-game total of the season. Five of their six hits went down as extra-base hits including a pair of doubles from Brady Petit and Brayden Gutierrez. Sniffen's homer in the fourth tied him for the conference lead with ten along with teammate Jacob Johnson.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tuesday's midweek game between Saint Mary's and Cal featured a pair of openers with the Gaels giving the start to sophomore southpaw Talin Gardini. Gardini gave up a three-spot in the first inning but he with the combination of Luis Martin Romero would get out of trouble in the second for a clean frame as the Gaels found themselves down 3-1 after two innings of play.
Cal took a 5-1 lead into the fourth but the Gaels erupted for three home runs in the home half off the bats of Makoa Sniffen, Ian Armstrong and Jared Mettam. Sniffen and Armstrong would get the party started with back-to-back long balls, the tenth of the season for Sniffen and ninth for Armstrong. Two batters later, Mettam smashed a line drive homer to left for his third of the season to cut the deficit to one.
Over the final five frames, Saint Mary's pitching allowed just one run as the bullpen kept the Gales within striking distance with Cal up 6-4 heading into the eighth. The Gaels had their best scoring opportunity of the night with a bases loaded situation in the bottom of the eighth. Freshman catcher Brayden Gutierrez worked a hard fought eight-pitch walk to score Armstrong from third and cut the deficit to one. Senior second baseman Cody Kashimoto came to the plate but struck out to end the threat with the Gaels down 6-5.
Redshirt freshman Max Johnson was one of several successful relief outings for Saint Mary's as he came on in the ninth and struck out the side in dominant fashion, needing just 15 pitches to retire Cal in order and get the Gaels back to the plate. Saint Mary's got a two-out baserunner in the form of Sniffen who wore a pitch off the jersey to reach base as the game-tying run. Armstrong would come to the dish but strikeout swinging to end the game as Cal hung on for the 6-5 midweek victory.
GAME NOTES
- Six hits went down as the third lowest single-game total this season for the Gaels
- Five of their six hits were extra-base hits, including three homers and two doubles
- Saint Mary's hit three home runs for the sixth time this season
- Sniffen is now tied for the conference lead along with teammate Jacob Johnson with ten home runs
- Freshman catcher Brayden Gutierrez made his fourth start of the season behind the dish and went 1-for-2 with a double and a pair of walks
- Saint Mary's pitching struck out ten batters for the 12th game this season with double-digit strikeouts
- Max Johnson has not allowed a run over his last three appearances and has struck out five of his last six recorded outs dating back to his appearance against San Diego last weekend
- Four pitchers recorded clean frames for the Gaels including Cooper Berger, David Roberts, Noah Waldeck and Max Johnson
- True freshman Cooper Berger made just his third appearance of the season and lowered his ERA to 2.45 with a clean fifth inning on Tuesday
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's will gear up for a crucial WCC series, welcoming Seattle U to Moraga for the first time since 2016. Game one will take place Friday night at 6:00 p.m. and you can stream 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: Jordy Lopez (2-0)
L: Gardini, Talin (0-4)
S: Cade Colombara (2)
Batting:
2B: Hideki Prather 1 ; Jett Kenady 1 ; Cade Campbell 1
HR: Carl Schmidt 1
RBI: Hideki Prather 1 ; Jett Kenady 1 ; Daniel Murillo 1 ; Lawson Olmstead 1 ; Carl Schmidt 2
SF: Jett Kenady 1 ; Lawson Olmstead 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hideki Prather 1 ; Jett Kenady 1 ; Daniel Murillo 1 ; Carl Schmidt 1 ; Gannon Snyder 1 ; Kalen Applefield 1
SB: Hideki Prather 1 ; Gannon Snyder 1
CS: Daniel Murillo 1
HBP: Ethan Kodama 1 ; Kalen Applefield 1
PO: Carl Schmidt 1
Batting:
2B: Petit, Brady 1 ; Gutierrez, Brayden 1
HR: Sniffen, Makoa 1 ; Armstrong, Ian 1 ; Mettam, Jared 1
RBI: Sniffen, Makoa 1 ; Armstrong, Ian 1 ; Mettam, Jared 1 ; Gutierrez, Brayden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Petit, Brady 1 ; Sniffen, Makoa 1 ; Armstrong, Ian 2 ; Mettam, Jared 1
HBP: Sniffen, Makoa 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ BaseballRHP
/ BaseballLHP
/ BaseballC
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballRHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballRHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballLHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballRHP
/ BaseballBSB | Saint Mary's vs. Cal Highlights, 4-28-26
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BSB | Saint Mary's at San Diego Highlights, 4-25-26
Saturday, April 25
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