Wednesday, May 20
Scottsdale, Ariz.
7:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
31-24
9
vs
2
Pepperdine
21-33
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Mary's CA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 12 | 2 |
| Pepperdine | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
#38 Ian Armstrong: 3-5, 1 R, 1 2B (15) vs. Pepperdine
BSB | Gaels Hang 9-Spot in the Eighth to Complete Comeback and Defeat Waves 9-2
5/20/2026 11:39:00 PM | Baseball
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The Saint Mary's baseball team pulled off a thrilling comeback victory Wednesday night at Scottsdale Stadium, defeating four-seed Pepperdine 9-2 to advance to the double-elimination portion of the WCC Tournament. The Gaels offense was held in check over the first seven innings, recording just three hits in the ballgame and trailing 2-0 off two unearned runs. The Gaels would erupt though for nine runs off nine hits in the top of the eighth, batting around to flip the game on its head and take a 9-2 lead.
Sophomore right hander Lukas Sarantos pitched the final three innings to get credit for his third win of the season, recording three strikeouts and not allowing a run. In the blink of an eye, the Gaels tallied a game high twelve hits and nine runs to win and advance, awaiting a date with the Bulldogs Thursday afternoon. Saint Mary's is now 4-0 in the elimination portion of the first day of the WCC Tournament over its last four postseason appearances dating back to 2023.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Senior ace John Damozonio returned to the mound for the Gaels after missing his last two starts of the regular season due to rest and looked as sharp as ever. The San Jose native completed six frames, allowing two unearned runs off a season low two hits. Despite the stellar outing, Pepperdine was able to scratch a pair of runs across off two SMC errors to hold a 2-0 lead going into the final three innings.
Saint Mary's continued to stay in the game though, getting a pair of huge inning-ending double plays to end threats and keep themselves within striking distance. The Gaels went around the horn in the bottom of the fifth in what ended a bases loaded jam that started with zero outs. They turned two again in the bottom of the seventh this time with senior middle infield duo Jared Mettam and Cody Kashimoto, to eliminate back-to-back singles and keep it a two-run ballgame.
Saint Mary's had gotten traffic on the bases throughout the night but felt due, getting into the late innings of the ballgame and needing to make a move to keep its season alive. That move would come in the top of the eighth inning as the Gaels struck for nine runs off nine hits to flip the game on its head and take a 9-2 lead. After a Waves pitching change, the Gaels rattled off four consecutive hits to start the frame including a two-RBI triple from Jacob Johnson to take a 3-2 lead. Jared Mettam would double to the right center gap two batters later to take a 4-2 lead and continue the rally. Pepperdine recorded out number two the very next at bat and were just down two runs, but the Gaels continued their tear with four more hits and five more runs. They went on to bat-around in the inning as Castellanos, Sniffen and Armstrong all recorded two hits in the frame. A walk and a wild pitch would plate the ninth run of the inning before Ian Josephson flew out to left to finally stop the bleeding for the Waves.
Sarantos took over for Damozonio to start the seventh inning and would go on to finish the game, completing three scoreless innings allowing four hits and recording three strikeouts. Sarantos got credit for his third win of the season as Saint Mary's took down Pepperdine 9-2 to advance to the double-elimination portion of the WCC Tournament. The Gaels will now take on top seed and league champions Gonzaga Thursday afternoon as their quest for a second straight conference tournament title continues.
GAME NOTES
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's will return to Scottsdale Stadium for the early game on Thursday afternoon, taking on the WCC regular season champions and top seed Gonzaga at 2 p.m. Stream the game live on ESPN+ and tickets can be bought online at wccsports.com.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Sophomore right hander Lukas Sarantos pitched the final three innings to get credit for his third win of the season, recording three strikeouts and not allowing a run. In the blink of an eye, the Gaels tallied a game high twelve hits and nine runs to win and advance, awaiting a date with the Bulldogs Thursday afternoon. Saint Mary's is now 4-0 in the elimination portion of the first day of the WCC Tournament over its last four postseason appearances dating back to 2023.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Senior ace John Damozonio returned to the mound for the Gaels after missing his last two starts of the regular season due to rest and looked as sharp as ever. The San Jose native completed six frames, allowing two unearned runs off a season low two hits. Despite the stellar outing, Pepperdine was able to scratch a pair of runs across off two SMC errors to hold a 2-0 lead going into the final three innings.
Saint Mary's continued to stay in the game though, getting a pair of huge inning-ending double plays to end threats and keep themselves within striking distance. The Gaels went around the horn in the bottom of the fifth in what ended a bases loaded jam that started with zero outs. They turned two again in the bottom of the seventh this time with senior middle infield duo Jared Mettam and Cody Kashimoto, to eliminate back-to-back singles and keep it a two-run ballgame.
Saint Mary's had gotten traffic on the bases throughout the night but felt due, getting into the late innings of the ballgame and needing to make a move to keep its season alive. That move would come in the top of the eighth inning as the Gaels struck for nine runs off nine hits to flip the game on its head and take a 9-2 lead. After a Waves pitching change, the Gaels rattled off four consecutive hits to start the frame including a two-RBI triple from Jacob Johnson to take a 3-2 lead. Jared Mettam would double to the right center gap two batters later to take a 4-2 lead and continue the rally. Pepperdine recorded out number two the very next at bat and were just down two runs, but the Gaels continued their tear with four more hits and five more runs. They went on to bat-around in the inning as Castellanos, Sniffen and Armstrong all recorded two hits in the frame. A walk and a wild pitch would plate the ninth run of the inning before Ian Josephson flew out to left to finally stop the bleeding for the Waves.
Sarantos took over for Damozonio to start the seventh inning and would go on to finish the game, completing three scoreless innings allowing four hits and recording three strikeouts. Sarantos got credit for his third win of the season as Saint Mary's took down Pepperdine 9-2 to advance to the double-elimination portion of the WCC Tournament. The Gaels will now take on top seed and league champions Gonzaga Thursday afternoon as their quest for a second straight conference tournament title continues.
GAME NOTES
- The Gaels offense tallied twelve hits for their 39th game this season with 10+ hits
- Diego Castellanos extended his hit streak to 31 games, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a pair of RBI
- Castellanos is now five games away from the WCC record of 36 games
- Castellanos also rifled his 19th double of the season
- Makoa Sniffen recorded his team leading 26th multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-5 with a game high three RBI
- Sniffen now sits just three hits back of the single-season program record of 89 hits, set in 2025
- John Damozonio completed six innings in his 13th start of the season, not allowing an earned run and recording a game high seven strikeouts
- Lukas Sarantos completed the final three frames scoreless to get credit for his third win of the season, matching his career high of three wins as a true freshman in 2025
- Saint Mary's pitching combined to record ten strikeouts; the Gaels are 15-4 this season when recording 10+ strikeouts on the mound
- The Gaels improved to 13-9 all-time in the WCC Tournament
- Saint Mary's is 4-0 in the elimination game of the first day of the WCC Tournament dating back to 2023
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's will return to Scottsdale Stadium for the early game on Thursday afternoon, taking on the WCC regular season champions and top seed Gonzaga at 2 p.m. Stream the game live on ESPN+ and tickets can be bought online at wccsports.com.
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: Sarantos, Lukas (3-2)
L: Wechsberg, Lucien (3-3)
Batting:
2B: Mettam, Jared 1 ; Castellanos, Diego 1 ; Armstrong, Ian 2
3B: Johnson, Jacob 1
RBI: Sniffen, Makoa 3 ; Mettam, Jared 1 ; Castellanos, Diego 2 ; Johnson, Jacob 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Sniffen, Makoa 2 ; Griffith, Tanner 1 ; Mettam, Jared 1 ; Kashimoto, Cody 1 ; Castellanos, Diego 2 ; Armstrong, Ian 1 ; Johnson, Jacob 1
SB: Kashimoto, Cody 1
CS: Allred, Nick 1
Batting:
3B: Aude, Max 1
RBI: Aude, Max 1 ; Dell'Amico, James 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dunn, Trey 1 ; Dell'Amico, James 1
HBP: Cardinale, Joe 1 ; Cook, Danny 1
Players Mentioned
OF
/ BaseballRHP
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/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
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/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballBSB | Saint Mary's vs. Pepperdine WCC Tournament Game 1 Highlights, 5-20-26
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