Friday, May 1
Moraga, CA
6:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
vs
Seattle U
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
BSB | Gaels Welcome Redhawks for First Time Since 2016 in Week 7 of WCC Play
4/30/2026 3:16:00 PM | Baseball
MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's baseball team will resume West Coast Conference action this week with a three-game series against first-year member Seattle U starting on Friday at 6 p.m. The Gaels will welcome the Redhawks to Moraga for the first time since 2016 in another pivotal WCC series with Saint Mary's alone in fourth place at 10-8, just a game out of second place and a first round bye in the WCC Tournament.
GAME COVERAGE AND INFORMATION
BSB | Saint Mary's vs. Seattle U | Louis Guisto Field at Br. Ronald Gallagher Stadium
Moraga, Calif. | May 1-3 | 6/4/12 p.m.
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets
GAELS OUTLOOK
Saint Mary's Takes Series Against 2025 Regular Season Champs in San Diego…
Saint Mary's went down to Southern California last weekend to take on the 2025 regular season champions San Diego and was able to take two games to climb to 10-8 in WCC play. The Gaels won their first conference series over the Toreros since 2024 after getting swept during the regular season in 2025. Their two wins came in dominant fashion including a 10-4 game one victory Friday night and then a 14-3 run-rule win on Saturday that included a game high 17 hits, their second highest total this season. The 11-run victory was also the Gaels' largest margin of victory over San Diego since a 20-0 slaughter back in 2019.
Makoa Sniffen led the team with nine hits on the weekend including five extra-base hits to be named the WCC Player of the Week for the second time this season. John Damozonio won his conference leading seventh game of the season in the series opener on Friday while sophomore Sam Kretsch made just his second start of the season in game two but completed six innings to win his fourth game of the season. The Gaels outscored the Toreros 24-7 in their two wins and finished the week 3-1 with a midweek victory over the Nevada Wolf Pack on Tuesday.
Gaels Homer Three Times in Same Inning vs. Cal; Fall 6-5 to Golden Bears…
Saint Mary's started week 12 of the 2026 college baseball season with a midweek game against Bay Area rival Cal Tuesday night. The Gaels nearly erased a four-run deficit including a three-homer fourth inning but narrowly fell 6-5 to the Golden Bears in their lone matchup of the season. The Gaels bullpen bounced back nicely with four clean frames late in the game from the likes of Cooper Berger, David Roberts, Noah Waldeck and Max Johnson. The quality outings kept the Gaels within striking distance as they plated a run in the eighth but failed to score the tying run in the ninth to fall 6-5.
Ian Armstrong led the team with two hits including a 412 foot bomb in the fourth inning for his ninth homer of the season. Saint Mary's had its most productive inning offensively in the fourth as they homered three times including back-to-back shots off the bats of Makoa Sniffen and Ian Armstrong. Senior shortstop Jared Mettam capped off the inning with a solo homer of his own for his third of the season to bring the Gaels within a run. Cal scored just one run over the final five innings of action as the Gaels pitching struck out a game high ten batters on the night.
Max Johnson Shines with Back-to-Back Successful Outings…
Of the several successful bullpen outings for Saint Mary's Tuesday night against Cal, redshirt freshman Max Johnson made his ninth appearance of the season and looked as dominant as ever, striking out the side in the top of the ninth on just 15 pitches. Johnson sat out the 2025 campaign but has really come on late this season for the Gaels, recording scoreless outings in each of his last three appearances.
Johnson finished off game two against San Diego the weekend prior and struck out a pair of Toreros to seal the 14-3 run-rule victory. Johnson has now struck out five of his last six recorded outs and has lowered his ERA to 5.25 over the course of his nine appearances. He continues to move up the ladder of quality arms for head coach Eric Valenzuela and will likely be used again this weekend against Seattle U as the Gaels come down the stretch of West Coast Conference play.
By the Numbers; Offense Edition…
Despite scoring five runs off six hits Tuesday night, Saint Mary's still leads the WCC in batting average (.333), on-base percentage (..411), slugging (.509), hits (515), runs (320), doubles (101), triples (11) and RBI (300). They rank amongst the best in the nation in hits and batting average, sitting in third place in both categories for one of the most balanced and consistent offenses in the country.
With a solo home run Tuesday night against Cal, Makoa Sniffen moved into a tie for the conference lead with ten home runs as the Gaels boast two of the top home run hitters in the WCC along with Jacob Johnson. Sniffen also tied the league lead with 44 RBI while Johnson is just one behind with 43. Ian Armstrong is also just one off the lead with nine homers of his own this season. Additional league leaders for the Gaels include leadoff hitter Tanner Griffith with a .471 on-base percentage, Sniffen with 71 total hits and Diego Castellanos and Sniffen with 43 runs scored.
Series History…
Saint Mary's and Seattle U will meet for the first time as West Coast Conference members with their last meeting coming back in 2024. The Redhawks were WCC members back in the 70's but the two programs had never competed as conference foes with Saint Mary's competing in the Northern California Baseball Association until 1984. The Gaels won three of their four games in that 2024 series and have won 9 of the past 11 meetings dating back to 2015. The Redhawks will come to Moraga for the first time since 2016 in search of their first ever series victory over Saint Mary's in program history.
ABOUT THE REDHAWKS (14-24, 9-9)
Seattle U had a tough non-conference to start its 2026 campaign but have been very competitive in their return to the WCC, sitting at 9-9 in conference play. The Redhawks have series wins over Pacific, Portland, LMU and San Diego. They most recently got swept by Pepperdine at home but are in a log jam in the middle of the standings along with Pacific and Portland at 9-9.
The Redhawks rank sixth in offense with a .258 team batting average and seventh in pitching with a team ERA of 6.07. They have had some standout pitching performances though that have led to some crucial wins this season including a complete game victory from Friday starter Travis Farrell who held Portland to one run off six hits in a 5-1 victory earlier this month. The complete game featured ten strikeouts on 130 pitches as the Redhawks went on to upset the Pilots at home with a series win.
At the plate, Payton Knowles stands as the lone .300 hitter for the Redhawks, hitting .338 with a team high 54 hits this season. Knowles transferred to Seattle from fellow WCC foe Gonzaga after spending two seasons with the Bulldogs. He was named to the WCC All-Freshman Team in 2024 and has put up career numbers this season with the Redhawks. Tyler Horner leads the team in the power department with five home runs but Seattle is not known for the long ball, ranking second to last in the WCC with 25 on the season.
Stream all the games live on ESPN+ and tickets for this weekend's games can be purchased online at smcgaels.com/tickets.
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 COVERAGE AND INFORMATION
BSB | Saint Mary's vs. Seattle U | Louis Guisto Field at Br. Ronald Gallagher Stadium
Moraga, Calif. | May 1-3 | 6/4/12 p.m.
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets
GAELS OUTLOOK
Saint Mary's Takes Series Against 2025 Regular Season Champs in San Diego…
Saint Mary's went down to Southern California last weekend to take on the 2025 regular season champions San Diego and was able to take two games to climb to 10-8 in WCC play. The Gaels won their first conference series over the Toreros since 2024 after getting swept during the regular season in 2025. Their two wins came in dominant fashion including a 10-4 game one victory Friday night and then a 14-3 run-rule win on Saturday that included a game high 17 hits, their second highest total this season. The 11-run victory was also the Gaels' largest margin of victory over San Diego since a 20-0 slaughter back in 2019.
Makoa Sniffen led the team with nine hits on the weekend including five extra-base hits to be named the WCC Player of the Week for the second time this season. John Damozonio won his conference leading seventh game of the season in the series opener on Friday while sophomore Sam Kretsch made just his second start of the season in game two but completed six innings to win his fourth game of the season. The Gaels outscored the Toreros 24-7 in their two wins and finished the week 3-1 with a midweek victory over the Nevada Wolf Pack on Tuesday.
Gaels Homer Three Times in Same Inning vs. Cal; Fall 6-5 to Golden Bears…
Saint Mary's started week 12 of the 2026 college baseball season with a midweek game against Bay Area rival Cal Tuesday night. The Gaels nearly erased a four-run deficit including a three-homer fourth inning but narrowly fell 6-5 to the Golden Bears in their lone matchup of the season. The Gaels bullpen bounced back nicely with four clean frames late in the game from the likes of Cooper Berger, David Roberts, Noah Waldeck and Max Johnson. The quality outings kept the Gaels within striking distance as they plated a run in the eighth but failed to score the tying run in the ninth to fall 6-5.
Ian Armstrong led the team with two hits including a 412 foot bomb in the fourth inning for his ninth homer of the season. Saint Mary's had its most productive inning offensively in the fourth as they homered three times including back-to-back shots off the bats of Makoa Sniffen and Ian Armstrong. Senior shortstop Jared Mettam capped off the inning with a solo homer of his own for his third of the season to bring the Gaels within a run. Cal scored just one run over the final five innings of action as the Gaels pitching struck out a game high ten batters on the night.
Max Johnson Shines with Back-to-Back Successful Outings…
Of the several successful bullpen outings for Saint Mary's Tuesday night against Cal, redshirt freshman Max Johnson made his ninth appearance of the season and looked as dominant as ever, striking out the side in the top of the ninth on just 15 pitches. Johnson sat out the 2025 campaign but has really come on late this season for the Gaels, recording scoreless outings in each of his last three appearances.
Johnson finished off game two against San Diego the weekend prior and struck out a pair of Toreros to seal the 14-3 run-rule victory. Johnson has now struck out five of his last six recorded outs and has lowered his ERA to 5.25 over the course of his nine appearances. He continues to move up the ladder of quality arms for head coach Eric Valenzuela and will likely be used again this weekend against Seattle U as the Gaels come down the stretch of West Coast Conference play.
By the Numbers; Offense Edition…
Despite scoring five runs off six hits Tuesday night, Saint Mary's still leads the WCC in batting average (.333), on-base percentage (..411), slugging (.509), hits (515), runs (320), doubles (101), triples (11) and RBI (300). They rank amongst the best in the nation in hits and batting average, sitting in third place in both categories for one of the most balanced and consistent offenses in the country.
With a solo home run Tuesday night against Cal, Makoa Sniffen moved into a tie for the conference lead with ten home runs as the Gaels boast two of the top home run hitters in the WCC along with Jacob Johnson. Sniffen also tied the league lead with 44 RBI while Johnson is just one behind with 43. Ian Armstrong is also just one off the lead with nine homers of his own this season. Additional league leaders for the Gaels include leadoff hitter Tanner Griffith with a .471 on-base percentage, Sniffen with 71 total hits and Diego Castellanos and Sniffen with 43 runs scored.
Series History…
Saint Mary's and Seattle U will meet for the first time as West Coast Conference members with their last meeting coming back in 2024. The Redhawks were WCC members back in the 70's but the two programs had never competed as conference foes with Saint Mary's competing in the Northern California Baseball Association until 1984. The Gaels won three of their four games in that 2024 series and have won 9 of the past 11 meetings dating back to 2015. The Redhawks will come to Moraga for the first time since 2016 in search of their first ever series victory over Saint Mary's in program history.
ABOUT THE REDHAWKS (14-24, 9-9)
Seattle U had a tough non-conference to start its 2026 campaign but have been very competitive in their return to the WCC, sitting at 9-9 in conference play. The Redhawks have series wins over Pacific, Portland, LMU and San Diego. They most recently got swept by Pepperdine at home but are in a log jam in the middle of the standings along with Pacific and Portland at 9-9.
The Redhawks rank sixth in offense with a .258 team batting average and seventh in pitching with a team ERA of 6.07. They have had some standout pitching performances though that have led to some crucial wins this season including a complete game victory from Friday starter Travis Farrell who held Portland to one run off six hits in a 5-1 victory earlier this month. The complete game featured ten strikeouts on 130 pitches as the Redhawks went on to upset the Pilots at home with a series win.
At the plate, Payton Knowles stands as the lone .300 hitter for the Redhawks, hitting .338 with a team high 54 hits this season. Knowles transferred to Seattle from fellow WCC foe Gonzaga after spending two seasons with the Bulldogs. He was named to the WCC All-Freshman Team in 2024 and has put up career numbers this season with the Redhawks. Tyler Horner leads the team in the power department with five home runs but Seattle is not known for the long ball, ranking second to last in the WCC with 25 on the season.
Stream all the games live on ESPN+ and tickets for this weekend's games can be purchased online at smcgaels.com/tickets.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
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/ BaseballBSB | Saint Mary's vs. Cal Highlights, 4-28-26
Tuesday, April 28
BSB | 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
