Thursday, May 21
Scottsdale, Ariz.
2:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
32-24
13
vs
4
Gonzaga
35-18
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Mary's CA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 18 | 1 |
| Gonzaga | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
#14 Sam Kretsch: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K, WIN (5-2)
BSB | Gaels Down Zags in Dominant Fashion 13-4; Advance to Winners Bracket of WCC Tournament
5/21/2026 7:30:00 PM | Baseball
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The Saint Mary's baseball team recorded a statement victory Thursday afternoon to start the double-elimination portion of the 2026 West Coast Conference Tournament, defeating top seed Gonzaga 13-4 to advance to the winners bracket.
The Gaels went up against the 2026 regular season champions after being swept by the Zags at home earlier in the season and came ready to play, scoring six runs over the first five innings. The Gaels struck first in the opening frame as the visiting team thanks to an RBI single from Diego Castellanos. They then went on to hang a five-spot in the fourth to take a commanding lead and never look back. The Gaels offense did a bit of everything, slashing, bunting, safety squeezes and more to score 13 runs on the afternoon, the third highest run total allowed of the season for Gonzaga.
On the mound, sophomore right hander Sam Kretsch got the ball for just his sixth start of the season but Kretsch has taken over the Saturday starter role for the Gaels over the final month of the season and has been terrific. The Junipero Serra product went six innings, allowing just two runs off four hits while striking out a game high six batters to put himself in line for his fifth win of the season. Cam Staton picked up where Kretsch left off, striking out five batters of his own to finish the game and earn his third save of the year.
With the dominant win, Saint Mary's will advance to the winners side of the bracket and await the winner of tonight's game between Pacific and San Francisco. The Gaels are now 14-9 all-time in the WCC Tournament and 2-0 here in Scottsdale in 2026.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gaels offense is at its best when they get going early and they were able to do that on Thursday, scoring first in the opening frame after a leadoff triple to the center field wall from Tanner Griffith. Griffith would trot home the next at bat thanks to an RBI single from Diego Castellanos, giving the Gaels a 1-0 lead and pushing his hit streak to 32 games. The Gaels continued to threaten over the first three innings, tallying five hits and continuing to make Gonzaga starter Justin Feld work out of trouble.
The Zags were able to produce some two-out magic in the third, recording back-to-back RBI hits to take a 2-1 lead but the lead would be short-lived as Saint Mary's got to Feld in the fourth with a five-run frame. A leadoff double from Ian Josephson and a sacrifice bunt would put the freshman third baseman on third with one out. After a hit batter and runners on the corners, senior Cody Kashimoto would lay down a beautiful safety squeeze to plate Josephson who slid head first to the backside of the plate, beating the toss from the Zags pitcher to tie the game at two. Feld walked the next batter and plunked Castellanos to score another run and surrender the lead but the damage would worsen as Makoa Sniffen doubled down the left field line to score two runs and give Saint Mary's a 5-2 lead. An RBI ground out the next at bat would complete the five-run inning as the Gaels left the frame with a 6-2 lead and all the momentum.
Sam Kretsch continued to deal on the mound, striking out the side in the bottom of the fourth and sitting down the next nine Gonzaga hitters to get through six innings. The Gaels scored five more runs over the final three innings and put a bow on things with a booming solo home run from Nick Allred for his first of the tournament and third of the season. Allred replaced Jacob Johnson in left field in the bottom of the eighth and then demolished a baseball in his first at bat over the berm in left field to give Saint Mary's a 13-2 lead. Cam Staton allowed a pair of runs in the ninth but struck out the final batter of the game to earn his third save of the season and send the Gaels into the winners bracket of the tournament.
Tanner Griffith was hitless in the tournament opener against Pepperdine but changed that with a three-hit ballgame against Gonzaga. Senior shortstop Jared Mettam also went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and is tied for the team lead with five hits in Scottsdale. Sophomore utility bat Brady Petit made a return to the lineup in the DH spot and had a solid game, going 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI, playing a pivotal role in continuing rallies throughout the game. Seven players had multi-hit games while eight of the starting nine had at least a hit in the dominant nine run victory.
Through two games in the WCC Tournament, Saint Mary's has put up 22 runs off 30 hits while also allowing only four earned runs with four pitchers used.
GAME NOTES
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's will await the winner of the night cap on Thursday between two-seed Pacific and three-seed San Francisco. They will play the winner at 2 p.m. on Friday at Scottsdale Stadium.
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 went up against the 2026 regular season champions after being swept by the Zags at home earlier in the season and came ready to play, scoring six runs over the first five innings. The Gaels struck first in the opening frame as the visiting team thanks to an RBI single from Diego Castellanos. They then went on to hang a five-spot in the fourth to take a commanding lead and never look back. The Gaels offense did a bit of everything, slashing, bunting, safety squeezes and more to score 13 runs on the afternoon, the third highest run total allowed of the season for Gonzaga.
On the mound, sophomore right hander Sam Kretsch got the ball for just his sixth start of the season but Kretsch has taken over the Saturday starter role for the Gaels over the final month of the season and has been terrific. The Junipero Serra product went six innings, allowing just two runs off four hits while striking out a game high six batters to put himself in line for his fifth win of the season. Cam Staton picked up where Kretsch left off, striking out five batters of his own to finish the game and earn his third save of the year.
With the dominant win, Saint Mary's will advance to the winners side of the bracket and await the winner of tonight's game between Pacific and San Francisco. The Gaels are now 14-9 all-time in the WCC Tournament and 2-0 here in Scottsdale in 2026.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gaels offense is at its best when they get going early and they were able to do that on Thursday, scoring first in the opening frame after a leadoff triple to the center field wall from Tanner Griffith. Griffith would trot home the next at bat thanks to an RBI single from Diego Castellanos, giving the Gaels a 1-0 lead and pushing his hit streak to 32 games. The Gaels continued to threaten over the first three innings, tallying five hits and continuing to make Gonzaga starter Justin Feld work out of trouble.
The Zags were able to produce some two-out magic in the third, recording back-to-back RBI hits to take a 2-1 lead but the lead would be short-lived as Saint Mary's got to Feld in the fourth with a five-run frame. A leadoff double from Ian Josephson and a sacrifice bunt would put the freshman third baseman on third with one out. After a hit batter and runners on the corners, senior Cody Kashimoto would lay down a beautiful safety squeeze to plate Josephson who slid head first to the backside of the plate, beating the toss from the Zags pitcher to tie the game at two. Feld walked the next batter and plunked Castellanos to score another run and surrender the lead but the damage would worsen as Makoa Sniffen doubled down the left field line to score two runs and give Saint Mary's a 5-2 lead. An RBI ground out the next at bat would complete the five-run inning as the Gaels left the frame with a 6-2 lead and all the momentum.
Sam Kretsch continued to deal on the mound, striking out the side in the bottom of the fourth and sitting down the next nine Gonzaga hitters to get through six innings. The Gaels scored five more runs over the final three innings and put a bow on things with a booming solo home run from Nick Allred for his first of the tournament and third of the season. Allred replaced Jacob Johnson in left field in the bottom of the eighth and then demolished a baseball in his first at bat over the berm in left field to give Saint Mary's a 13-2 lead. Cam Staton allowed a pair of runs in the ninth but struck out the final batter of the game to earn his third save of the season and send the Gaels into the winners bracket of the tournament.
Tanner Griffith was hitless in the tournament opener against Pepperdine but changed that with a three-hit ballgame against Gonzaga. Senior shortstop Jared Mettam also went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and is tied for the team lead with five hits in Scottsdale. Sophomore utility bat Brady Petit made a return to the lineup in the DH spot and had a solid game, going 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI, playing a pivotal role in continuing rallies throughout the game. Seven players had multi-hit games while eight of the starting nine had at least a hit in the dominant nine run victory.
Through two games in the WCC Tournament, Saint Mary's has put up 22 runs off 30 hits while also allowing only four earned runs with four pitchers used.
GAME NOTES
- The Gaels tallied 18 hits for their 40th game of the season with double-digit hits
- 13 runs also went down as the 17th game this season the Gaels have tallied 10+ runs
- Saint Mary's is a perfect 17-0 this year when scoring 10+ runs
- After being hitless against Pepperdine on Wednesday, Tanner Griffith went 3-for-5 for his 25th multi-hit game of the season
- The top four spots in the batting order for the Gaels recorded 9 hits and were responsible for seven RBI
- The Gaels recorded a game high 18 hits, just one shy of their season high
- Makoa Sniffen recorded two more hits and now sits at 88 hits, just one shy of tying the program single-season record of 89
- Diego Castellanos pushed his hit streak to 32 games, going 2-for-4 with three RBI
- In just his sixth start of the season, Sam Kretsch went six innings with a game high six strikeouts to earn his fifth win of the season
- Kretsch ranks second on the team with five wins and is tied for the team lead with three saves on the season
- Cam Staton completed the final three innings to earn his team leading third save of the season
- Saint Mary's pitching finished the game with eleven strikeouts
- The Gaels are 16-4 when recording 10+ strikeouts on the mound this season
- The Gaels improved to 14-9 all-time in the WCC Tournament
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's will await the winner of the night cap on Thursday between two-seed Pacific and three-seed San Francisco. They will play the winner at 2 p.m. on Friday at Scottsdale Stadium.
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: Kretsch, Sam (5-2)
L: Feld, Justin (8-2)
S: Staton, Cam (3)
Batting:
2B: Sniffen, Makoa 1 ; Griffith, Tanner 1 ; Kashimoto, Cody 1 ; Josephson, Ian 1
3B: Griffith, Tanner 1 ; Mettam, Jared 1
HR: Allred, Nick 1
RBI: Sniffen, Makoa 2 ; Petit, Brady 1 ; Griffith, Tanner 1 ; Kashimoto, Cody 3 ; Castellanos, Diego 3 ; Armstrong, Ian 1 ; Allred, Nick 2
SH: Petit, Brady 1 ; Mettam, Jared 1 ; Kashimoto, Cody 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Linteo, Colin 1 ; Sniffen, Makoa 1 ; Petit, Brady 1 ; Griffith, Tanner 2 ; Mettam, Jared 2 ; Kashimoto, Cody 2 ; Castellanos, Diego 1 ; Allred, Nick 1 ; Josephson, Ian 2
SB: Linteo, Colin 1
HBP: Petit, Brady 1 ; Kashimoto, Cody 1 ; Castellanos, Diego 1
Batting:
2B: Meffert, Noah 1
RBI: Shupe, Hudson 1 ; Bell, Mikey 1 ; Young, Ryder 1 ; Meffert, Noah 1
SF: Shinkle, Bo 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Young, Ryder 1 ; Shinkle, Bo 1 ; Meffert, Noah 1 ; Sanchez, Ricky 1
HBP: Wrubleski, Jacob 1
Players Mentioned
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballRHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballLHP
/ BaseballBSB | Saint Mary's vs. Gonzaga WCC Tournament Game 2 Highlights, 5-21-26
Thursday, May 21
BSB | Saint Mary's vs. Pepperdine WCC Tournament Game 1 Highlights, 5-20-26
Wednesday, May 20
BSB | Saint Mary's vs. San Francisco Highlights, 5-16-26
Saturday, May 16
BSB | Saint Mary's vs. San Francisco Highlights, 5-15-26
Friday, May 15
