Tuesday, May 12
Stanford, CA
4:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
at
Stanford
Photo by: Alex Ahedo
BSB | Gaels Embark on Final Week of 2026 Regular Season; WCC Finale with San Francisco
5/11/2026 2:59:00 PM | Baseball
MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's baseball team will start its four-game week at Sunken Diamond to take on Stanford in their first matchup since 2022 before returning to Moraga for its West Coast Conference series finale with San Francisco in a fight for the second seed in the WCC Tournament.
The Gaels have some nice momentum going into the week after sweeping LMU at Page Stadium last weekend to improve to 14-10 in conference play. Saint Mary's sits just a game out of second place behind Pacific and Pepperdine as four teams jockey for the second seed and a first round bye in the conference tournament.
Tuesday's game against the Cardinal can be streamed live on ACCNX with the weekend conference series against the Dons returning to ESPN+.
GAME COVERAGE AND INFORMATION
BSB | Saint Mary's at Stanford | Klein Field at Sunken Diamond
Stanford, Calif. | May 12 | 4 p.m.
Live Stats | ACCNX | Tickets
BSB | Saint Mary's vs. San Francisco | Louis Guisto Field at Br. Ronald Gallagher Stadium
Moraga, Calif. | May 14-16 | 6/6/1 p.m.
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets
GAELS OUTLOOK
Sarantos Deals in Career Outing to Earn Second Win of Season…
Lukas Sarantos stepped up with the biggest performance of his career, hurling a career high 11 strikeouts over seven innings of work to earn the game one victory Friday night over LMU. Sarantos got credit for his second win of the season as the Gaels went on to sweep the Lions and remain in the hunt for the second seed in the WCC Tournament. He finished his outing allowing four runs off eight hits with a game high 11 strikeouts in the 17-4 run-rule victory.
Sarantos emerged as the team's Friday starter midway through the 2025 season and started his career 3-0, helping jump start a momentous run for the Gaels that led to the 2025 WCC Tournament title. This season, Sarantos has acted as a backend arm with plus velocity but was called upon to start Friday night with John Damozonio taking the week off. Sarantos is now 2-1 on the season and is tied for the team lead with 18 appearances.
Castellanos Extends Hit Streak to 26 Games…
Diego Castellanos has been putting together a career season as the junior right fielder has been one of the most consistent bats in all of the WCC. Castellanos extended his hit streak to a season high 26 games this past weekend, finishing his three-game series with seven hits and a team high five doubles.
The Morgan Hill native started the series off with a bang, going 4-for-4 with three doubles in the Gaels' 17-4 run-rule victory. The four-hit night went down as his third four-hit game of the season. Castellanos doubled two more times in Saturday's 8-6 win and then added one more hit with a two-RBI single in Sunday's 6-3 victory to help complete the crucial series sweep over the Lions. Castellanos leads the WCC with 50 runs scored and ranks second with 77 hits, 17 doubles and a .385 batting average.
Armstrong Homers Twice in Series Sweep over LMU…
Ian Armstrong has been surging at the plate over the last month of the season, recording hits in 17 of his last 18 games. The sophomore catcher finished his weekend in Los Angeles with six hits including a pair of loud home runs, tying him for the conference lead with 12 on the season. Armstrong has more than doubled his home run total from a season ago and is also hitting .356 over his 46 games played, standing as one of the best two-way catchers in the WCC.
Armstrong's 11th home run came in the fourth inning of game one Friday night as the Gaels ran away with the 17-4 run-rule victory. He homered the very next day to tie the conference lead with a solo shot in the ninth inning to help solidify a 8-6 victory and clinch the series win. Armstrong can hit to all fields and also has sneaky power, leading the Gaels with a .655 slugging percentage.
Josephson Named WCC Freshman of the Week for Second Time This Season…
For the second time this season Saint Mary's freshman Ian Josephson has been named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week after the Gaels swept LMU in Los Angeles this past weekend.
Josephson has been a pleasant surprise for the Gaels during his true freshman campaign as he has anchored the everyday third baseman role and is now hitting .379 on the season over his 35 games played. This past weekend, Josephson hit .429 from the plate as the Gaels swept the Lions to improve to 14-10 in conference play. Josephson had multi-hit games in all three contests including a pair of doubles in game two and his second home run of the season on Friday in what was a booming solo shot to aid the Gaels 17-4 game one victory.
He finished the series with a 2-for-4 day and two runs scored as the Gaels held off the Lions for the 6-3 series finale win on Sunday. Josephson started at third base all three games and did not commit an error as the Junipero Serra product is now hitting .379 on the season with nine doubles and a pair of homers. Josephson becomes the first Gael to win WCC Freshman of the Week multiple times in a single-season since Ian Armstrong won the award twice during the 2025 campaign.
Series History…
Saint Mary's and Stanford will face off for the first time since 2022. The Gaels snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Cardinal that year with a 8-1 road victory at Sunken Diamond. Stanford is 16-6-1 over Saint Mary's dating back to 1999 and the two programs even have a tie between each other, a 7-7 draw at Louis Guisto Field back in 2008. Gaels head coach Eric Valenzuela is 0-3 all-time against Stanford and will look for his first win over the Cardinal Tuesday night.
San Francisco took the conference opening series over Saint Mary's in 2025, winning two of three at home. The Gaels would get the last laugh though as they defeated the Dons in the first round of the WCC Tournament, 9-4. The last time USF came to Moraga they got swept and were outscored 20-5 in the conference series including a 4-0 shutout in game two led by starting pitcher Connor Linchey. Saint Mary's is 7-0 at home over San Francisco dating back to 2021.
ABOUT THE CARDINAL (25-23, 12-15 ACC)
Stanford will host Saint Mary's for the first time since 2022 Tuesday night in its final midweek contest of the regular season. The Cardinal will remain in the Bay Area for the final week of ACC action and take on Cal starting on Thursday, May 14. Stanford sits in 10th place in the conference standings and are winners of two of their last three games including a recent series win over NC State at Sunken Diamond last weekend. Against the WCC this season, the Cardinal are a combined 2-1 with wins over Santa Clara and San Francisco.
Stanford is a top half offensive team in the ACC, ranking ninth in batting average at .287, second in doubles with 105 and sixth in homers with 81. Contributing for 32 of those 81 homers are power hitters Teddy Tokheim and Rintaro Sisaki who each have 16 on the season. Sisaki took the college baseball world by storm as a true freshman in 2025, garnering several preseason awards and was often ranked as one of the top freshmen in the country. After hitting just .269 with seven homers, Sisaki now ranks fourth in the ACC with a career high 16 home runs in 2026. On the mound, the Cardinal own a 6.10 ERA and are led by four-year veteran Trevor Moore who leads the team with a 7-2 record.
ABOUT THE DONS (22-27, 13-11 WCC)
San Francisco will head to Moraga to end their conference season with a three-game series starting this Thursday. The Dons have lost four straight after starting the week alone in second place in the WCC standings. They currently sit at 13-11 alone in fifth place but are just two games back of second. The Dons get a lot of their success on the mound, ranking in the top four in the WCC in runs allowed, earned runs and hits allowed. They hit .241 as a team from the plate and have just one .300+ hitter on the roster.
The Dons started the 2026 conference season on a high note, going 7-2 over their first nine games including a pair of series sweeps over Santa Clara and Seattle U. Since, they have dropped three of their last five series including home defeats to Pacific and most recently Gonzaga. San Francisco will look for its first win in Moraga since 2018.
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 have some nice momentum going into the week after sweeping LMU at Page Stadium last weekend to improve to 14-10 in conference play. Saint Mary's sits just a game out of second place behind Pacific and Pepperdine as four teams jockey for the second seed and a first round bye in the conference tournament.
Tuesday's game against the Cardinal can be streamed live on ACCNX with the weekend conference series against the Dons returning to ESPN+.
GAME COVERAGE AND INFORMATION
BSB | Saint Mary's at Stanford | Klein Field at Sunken Diamond
Stanford, Calif. | May 12 | 4 p.m.
Live Stats | ACCNX | Tickets
BSB | Saint Mary's vs. San Francisco | Louis Guisto Field at Br. Ronald Gallagher Stadium
Moraga, Calif. | May 14-16 | 6/6/1 p.m.
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets
GAELS OUTLOOK
Sarantos Deals in Career Outing to Earn Second Win of Season…
Lukas Sarantos stepped up with the biggest performance of his career, hurling a career high 11 strikeouts over seven innings of work to earn the game one victory Friday night over LMU. Sarantos got credit for his second win of the season as the Gaels went on to sweep the Lions and remain in the hunt for the second seed in the WCC Tournament. He finished his outing allowing four runs off eight hits with a game high 11 strikeouts in the 17-4 run-rule victory.
Sarantos emerged as the team's Friday starter midway through the 2025 season and started his career 3-0, helping jump start a momentous run for the Gaels that led to the 2025 WCC Tournament title. This season, Sarantos has acted as a backend arm with plus velocity but was called upon to start Friday night with John Damozonio taking the week off. Sarantos is now 2-1 on the season and is tied for the team lead with 18 appearances.
Castellanos Extends Hit Streak to 26 Games…
Diego Castellanos has been putting together a career season as the junior right fielder has been one of the most consistent bats in all of the WCC. Castellanos extended his hit streak to a season high 26 games this past weekend, finishing his three-game series with seven hits and a team high five doubles.
The Morgan Hill native started the series off with a bang, going 4-for-4 with three doubles in the Gaels' 17-4 run-rule victory. The four-hit night went down as his third four-hit game of the season. Castellanos doubled two more times in Saturday's 8-6 win and then added one more hit with a two-RBI single in Sunday's 6-3 victory to help complete the crucial series sweep over the Lions. Castellanos leads the WCC with 50 runs scored and ranks second with 77 hits, 17 doubles and a .385 batting average.
Armstrong Homers Twice in Series Sweep over LMU…
Ian Armstrong has been surging at the plate over the last month of the season, recording hits in 17 of his last 18 games. The sophomore catcher finished his weekend in Los Angeles with six hits including a pair of loud home runs, tying him for the conference lead with 12 on the season. Armstrong has more than doubled his home run total from a season ago and is also hitting .356 over his 46 games played, standing as one of the best two-way catchers in the WCC.
Armstrong's 11th home run came in the fourth inning of game one Friday night as the Gaels ran away with the 17-4 run-rule victory. He homered the very next day to tie the conference lead with a solo shot in the ninth inning to help solidify a 8-6 victory and clinch the series win. Armstrong can hit to all fields and also has sneaky power, leading the Gaels with a .655 slugging percentage.
Josephson Named WCC Freshman of the Week for Second Time This Season…
For the second time this season Saint Mary's freshman Ian Josephson has been named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week after the Gaels swept LMU in Los Angeles this past weekend.
Josephson has been a pleasant surprise for the Gaels during his true freshman campaign as he has anchored the everyday third baseman role and is now hitting .379 on the season over his 35 games played. This past weekend, Josephson hit .429 from the plate as the Gaels swept the Lions to improve to 14-10 in conference play. Josephson had multi-hit games in all three contests including a pair of doubles in game two and his second home run of the season on Friday in what was a booming solo shot to aid the Gaels 17-4 game one victory.
He finished the series with a 2-for-4 day and two runs scored as the Gaels held off the Lions for the 6-3 series finale win on Sunday. Josephson started at third base all three games and did not commit an error as the Junipero Serra product is now hitting .379 on the season with nine doubles and a pair of homers. Josephson becomes the first Gael to win WCC Freshman of the Week multiple times in a single-season since Ian Armstrong won the award twice during the 2025 campaign.
Series History…
Saint Mary's and Stanford will face off for the first time since 2022. The Gaels snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Cardinal that year with a 8-1 road victory at Sunken Diamond. Stanford is 16-6-1 over Saint Mary's dating back to 1999 and the two programs even have a tie between each other, a 7-7 draw at Louis Guisto Field back in 2008. Gaels head coach Eric Valenzuela is 0-3 all-time against Stanford and will look for his first win over the Cardinal Tuesday night.
San Francisco took the conference opening series over Saint Mary's in 2025, winning two of three at home. The Gaels would get the last laugh though as they defeated the Dons in the first round of the WCC Tournament, 9-4. The last time USF came to Moraga they got swept and were outscored 20-5 in the conference series including a 4-0 shutout in game two led by starting pitcher Connor Linchey. Saint Mary's is 7-0 at home over San Francisco dating back to 2021.
ABOUT THE CARDINAL (25-23, 12-15 ACC)
Stanford will host Saint Mary's for the first time since 2022 Tuesday night in its final midweek contest of the regular season. The Cardinal will remain in the Bay Area for the final week of ACC action and take on Cal starting on Thursday, May 14. Stanford sits in 10th place in the conference standings and are winners of two of their last three games including a recent series win over NC State at Sunken Diamond last weekend. Against the WCC this season, the Cardinal are a combined 2-1 with wins over Santa Clara and San Francisco.
Stanford is a top half offensive team in the ACC, ranking ninth in batting average at .287, second in doubles with 105 and sixth in homers with 81. Contributing for 32 of those 81 homers are power hitters Teddy Tokheim and Rintaro Sisaki who each have 16 on the season. Sisaki took the college baseball world by storm as a true freshman in 2025, garnering several preseason awards and was often ranked as one of the top freshmen in the country. After hitting just .269 with seven homers, Sisaki now ranks fourth in the ACC with a career high 16 home runs in 2026. On the mound, the Cardinal own a 6.10 ERA and are led by four-year veteran Trevor Moore who leads the team with a 7-2 record.
ABOUT THE DONS (22-27, 13-11 WCC)
San Francisco will head to Moraga to end their conference season with a three-game series starting this Thursday. The Dons have lost four straight after starting the week alone in second place in the WCC standings. They currently sit at 13-11 alone in fifth place but are just two games back of second. The Dons get a lot of their success on the mound, ranking in the top four in the WCC in runs allowed, earned runs and hits allowed. They hit .241 as a team from the plate and have just one .300+ hitter on the roster.
The Dons started the 2026 conference season on a high note, going 7-2 over their first nine games including a pair of series sweeps over Santa Clara and Seattle U. Since, they have dropped three of their last five series including home defeats to Pacific and most recently Gonzaga. San Francisco will look for its first win in Moraga since 2018.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Players Mentioned
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