Friday, May 22
Scottsdale, Ariz.
2:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
33-24
10
vs
7
Pacific
24-29-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 1 |
| Saint Mary's CA | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | X | 10 | 12 | 1 |
BSB | Thriller in Scottsdale; Gaels Hang on to Advance to Championship Saturday in Search of Second Straight WCC Title
5/22/2026 8:15:00 PM | Baseball
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The Saint Mary's baseball team felt the pressure and the adversity Friday afternoon at Scottsdale Stadium but found a way with a seventh inning rally to beat Pacific 10-7 and advance to Championship Saturday for the second consecutive year.
The Gaels jumped out to an early 4-0 lead but surrendered that lead as the Tigers plated four in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead. Both teams would trade leads again as Pacific took a 6-5 lead after the top of the seventh but the Gaels would erupt for another big inning, plating five runs in the bottom half of the seventh to swing the momentum and go back in front 10-6. Pacific never quit though and found a way to load the bases and score one run in the bottom of the ninth to cut the deficit to three. Head coach Eric Valenzuela made two pitching changes in the final frame to get the job done as senior transfer Jake Hilton recorded a strikeout and a ground ball out to strand the bases loaded and seal the 10-7 win for the Gaels, sending them to the championship for the second consecutive year.
RBI hits in the five-run seventh inning came from Makoa Sniffen and Ian Josephson. Sniffen recorded two hits in the ballgame to reach 90 hits on the season, breaking the single-season program record. Josephson then broke the inning open with a three-RBI double to the right field wall for his lone hit of the afternoon. Redshirt freshman David Roberts would get credit for his first career win while Jake Hilton came in for the final two outs to earn his first save as a Gael after transferring from Pomona Pitzer in the fall.
Saint Mary's will have a chance to become just the second team in tournament history to go back-to-back and punch its ticket to its second straight NCAA Regional on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Saint Mary's has been at its best when getting out to hot starts and they did that again on Friday, jumping out to a 4-0 lead over the first three innings. Tanner Griffith led the game off with a triple for the second consecutive game and came home to score on a wild pitch for the game's first run. The Gaels struck for two in the second and one more in the third off a solo blast from Ian Armstrong for his WCC leading 14th of the season. On the mound, sophomore southpaw Talin Gardini made just his fifth start of the season and gave the Gaels everything they needed, pitching into the fifth before allowing a four-spot to the Tigers.
Pacific took a 6-5 lead with an RBI double in the seventh to put the Gaels on their heels. The momentum would be short-lived though as Saint Mary's responded with a five-spot in the home half of the seventh to retake a 10-6 lead. Pacific brought in its closer with nine saves on the year but the Gaels put together quality at bats and jumped on mistake pitches to start the rally. Sniffen singled to right field to break the program single-season hits record and tie the game at six before the Tigers closer walked in the go-ahead run with Jacob Johnson at the plate. True freshman Ian Josephson then came to the plate and charged a ball out to the right field wall that went off the outfielders glove, clearing the bases for a three-run triple to give Saint Mary's a 10-6 lead.
The Gaels have never shown quit dating back to their 2025 WCC Championship run, overcoming a 14-inning walk-off loss to San Diego in the title game. That same fight was on display this afternoon as they retook the lead at 10-6 heading into the final six outs of the ballgame.
Roberts would complete the eighth and come on to start the ninth. Roberts did well to throw strikes and pound the strike zone but Pacific loaded the bases with one out to apply some more pressure to Saint Mary's. Valenzuela made two changes in the final frame but found the last two outs from graduate transfer Jake Hilton who recorded a strikeout and then a fielder's choice ground out to end the ballgame and send Saint Mary's to the championship game on Saturday.
A complete and total team effort featured ten runs off twelve hits, five different pitchers used and eight of the nine starters recording a hit to pull off the 10-7 victory for Saint Mary's. The Gaels will have a chance to become just the second back-to-back conference tournament winners since Pepperdine won the tournament in 2014 and 2015.
GAME NOTES
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's improved to 3-0 in the WCC Tournament and advanced to Championship Saturday, awaiting the winner of Pacific and San Francisco in the elimination game Friday evening. The championship game is slated for Saturday at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
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 jumped out to an early 4-0 lead but surrendered that lead as the Tigers plated four in the fifth to take a 5-4 lead. Both teams would trade leads again as Pacific took a 6-5 lead after the top of the seventh but the Gaels would erupt for another big inning, plating five runs in the bottom half of the seventh to swing the momentum and go back in front 10-6. Pacific never quit though and found a way to load the bases and score one run in the bottom of the ninth to cut the deficit to three. Head coach Eric Valenzuela made two pitching changes in the final frame to get the job done as senior transfer Jake Hilton recorded a strikeout and a ground ball out to strand the bases loaded and seal the 10-7 win for the Gaels, sending them to the championship for the second consecutive year.
RBI hits in the five-run seventh inning came from Makoa Sniffen and Ian Josephson. Sniffen recorded two hits in the ballgame to reach 90 hits on the season, breaking the single-season program record. Josephson then broke the inning open with a three-RBI double to the right field wall for his lone hit of the afternoon. Redshirt freshman David Roberts would get credit for his first career win while Jake Hilton came in for the final two outs to earn his first save as a Gael after transferring from Pomona Pitzer in the fall.
Saint Mary's will have a chance to become just the second team in tournament history to go back-to-back and punch its ticket to its second straight NCAA Regional on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Saint Mary's has been at its best when getting out to hot starts and they did that again on Friday, jumping out to a 4-0 lead over the first three innings. Tanner Griffith led the game off with a triple for the second consecutive game and came home to score on a wild pitch for the game's first run. The Gaels struck for two in the second and one more in the third off a solo blast from Ian Armstrong for his WCC leading 14th of the season. On the mound, sophomore southpaw Talin Gardini made just his fifth start of the season and gave the Gaels everything they needed, pitching into the fifth before allowing a four-spot to the Tigers.
Pacific took a 6-5 lead with an RBI double in the seventh to put the Gaels on their heels. The momentum would be short-lived though as Saint Mary's responded with a five-spot in the home half of the seventh to retake a 10-6 lead. Pacific brought in its closer with nine saves on the year but the Gaels put together quality at bats and jumped on mistake pitches to start the rally. Sniffen singled to right field to break the program single-season hits record and tie the game at six before the Tigers closer walked in the go-ahead run with Jacob Johnson at the plate. True freshman Ian Josephson then came to the plate and charged a ball out to the right field wall that went off the outfielders glove, clearing the bases for a three-run triple to give Saint Mary's a 10-6 lead.
The Gaels have never shown quit dating back to their 2025 WCC Championship run, overcoming a 14-inning walk-off loss to San Diego in the title game. That same fight was on display this afternoon as they retook the lead at 10-6 heading into the final six outs of the ballgame.
Roberts would complete the eighth and come on to start the ninth. Roberts did well to throw strikes and pound the strike zone but Pacific loaded the bases with one out to apply some more pressure to Saint Mary's. Valenzuela made two changes in the final frame but found the last two outs from graduate transfer Jake Hilton who recorded a strikeout and then a fielder's choice ground out to end the ballgame and send Saint Mary's to the championship game on Saturday.
A complete and total team effort featured ten runs off twelve hits, five different pitchers used and eight of the nine starters recording a hit to pull off the 10-7 victory for Saint Mary's. The Gaels will have a chance to become just the second back-to-back conference tournament winners since Pepperdine won the tournament in 2014 and 2015.
GAME NOTES
- Diego Castellanos extended his hit streak to 33 games, just three games shy of the WCC record
- Makoa Sniffen put his name in the record books with his 90th hit of the season, breaking the single-season program record
- Griffith, Castellanos and Sniffen combined for six hits out of the top three spots in the order
- Ian Josephson's three-run double in the seventh inning went down as his eleventh of the season
- Ian Armstrong smashed his league leading 14th home run with a solo shot in the third
- David Roberts came in for 1.2 innings to earn his first career win as a Gael
- Jake Hilton came in for the final two outs to earn his first save as a Gael
- The Gaels bullpen gave up just two runs over the final 4.2 innings en route to the 10-7 win
- Saint Mary's improved to a perfect 18-0 this season when scoring double-digit runs
- The Gaels also improved to 29-12 this season when recording 10+ hits, their 41st game with double-digit hits this season
- Saint Mary's will play for a chance at its third WCC Tournament Championship and second consecutive tournament title on Saturday
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's improved to 3-0 in the WCC Tournament and advanced to Championship Saturday, awaiting the winner of Pacific and San Francisco in the elimination game Friday evening. The championship game is slated for Saturday at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
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: Roberts, David (1-1)
L: Smith, Liam (2-7)
S: Hilton, Jake (1)
Batting:
2B: Evans, Rylan 1 ; Schnabel, Braeden 1 ; Tandy, Jake 1 ; MacArthur, Grant 1
HR: Schnabel, Braeden 1
RBI: Davis, Diego 1 ; Schnabel, Braeden 2 ; Orr, Robert 1 ; MacArthur, Grant 2 ; French, Blaine 1
SH: Orr, Robert 1
SF: Orr, Robert 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Evans, Rylan 1 ; Davis, Diego 1 ; Schnabel, Braeden 1 ; Tandy, Jake 2 ; O'Sullivan, Brendan 2
HBP: Shank, JT 1 ; MacArthur, Grant 1
Batting:
2B: Sniffen, Makoa 1 ; Josephson, Ian 1
3B: Griffith, Tanner 1
HR: Armstrong, Ian 1
RBI: Sniffen, Makoa 2 ; Kashimoto, Cody 1 ; Armstrong, Ian 1 ; Josephson, Ian 3 ; Johnson, Jacob 1
SH: Josephson, Ian 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sniffen, Makoa 1 ; Griffith, Tanner 2 ; Mettam, Jared 1 ; Kashimoto, Cody 1 ; Castellanos, Diego 1 ; Armstrong, Ian 2 ; Johnson, Jacob 2
SB: Mettam, Jared 1 ; Kashimoto, Cody 1
PO: Mettam, Jared 1
Players Mentioned
C
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballLHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballLHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballLHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballBSB | Saint Mary's vs. Pacific WCC Tournament Highlights, 5-22-26
Friday, May 22
BSB | 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
