Friday, May 8
Los Angeles, Calif.
6:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
at
LMU
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
BSB | Gaels Head to LA for WCC Showdown with Lions in Pivotal Conference Matchup
5/6/2026 2:38:00 PM | Baseball
MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's baseball team finds itself in a three-way tie for fifth place in the latest West Coast Conference standings at 11-10 as the Gaels prepare to head down to Los Angeles for a three-game series with LMU starting on Friday May 8. Spots 2-7 are all separated by just two games with six games to play in the 2026 conference season.
The Gaels are one of the best road teams in the WCC with a 11-9 record and will put that to the test Friday night in a crucial three-game series with the Lions. The last time Saint Mary's went to Page Stadium was in 2024 when they took two games in a wet and rainy mid-April series. They have since won five of their last six meetings including a series win at home last season in 2025.
GAME COVERAGE AND INFORMATION
BSB | Saint Mary's at LMU | Page Stadium
Los Angeles, Calif. | May 8-10 | 6/3/1 p.m.
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets
GAELS OUTLOOK
Damozonio Racks up 10 K's in 11-1 Rout over Seattle U in Game 1…
Saint Mary's ace John Damozonio made his 12th start of the season against Seattle U and although he did not get credit for the win Friday night, he pitched six innings of one run baseball while striking out a game high ten batters. The Gaels offense erupted for an 8-run seventh inning and scored two more in the eighth to seal an 11-1 run-rule victory in the series opener over the Redhawks.
Damozonio has pitched at least six innings nine times this season and leads all WCC pitchers with seven wins. The San Jose native allowed one run off five hits in another dominant outing. His ten strikeouts was his second game this season with double-digit strikeouts and just one off his career high of eleven which he secured earlier this season in a home win over Pepperdine. He struck out multiple batters in four of his six innings as Saint Mary's scored ten runs over the final two innings to run-rule the Redhawks 11-1. Damozonio leads the conference with a 7-2 record and ranks second with 70.1 innings pitched and 74 strikeouts, all career highs for the fourth-year senior.
Sniffen Leads WCC in Hits, Runs Scored and RBI as One of Best Bats in the Conference…
Head coach Eric Valenzuela knew he had a hole to fill at first base this season with the departure of All-American Eddie Madrigal but the Gaels have not only found an answer, they've found potentially their next All-American as Makoa Sniffen is putting up Player of the Year type numbers, leading the WCC in hits, runs scored, RBI and currently sitting in second place with 11 home runs. The sophomore first baseman from Monte Sereno was mainly utilized as a pinch-hitter a season ago, but was able to compete and win the starting job to start the 2026 season and has never looked back.
Sniffen leads the Gaels with a .391 batting average and ranks sixth in all of Division I with 77 total hits this season. Sniffen has been a tremendous balance of power and placement, hitting for average while also driving runs in, tied for the conference lead with 50 RBI. Sniffen is fresh off a seven-hit week for the Gaels where he connected on a pair of home runs against Cal and Seattle U. Very quietly, Sniffen's 6-foot-1 frame has also stolen nine bags this season for top-10 in the WCC. He leads the team with 24 multi-hit games and eight three-hit games, representing one of the most balanced and dangerous hitters in the WCC.
Sniffen has been named WCC Player of the Week twice this season and was also named to Baseball America's Team of the Week back in February.
Staton Makes Two Scoreless Appearances in Seattle U Series…
Cam Staton was a prolific strikeout thrower at Sierra College for two seasons before coming to Saint Mary's and has found his role late in the season as a durable reliever for Valenzuela and the Gaels. Staton made two appearances this past weekend against Seattle U where he earned his second win of the season in two scoreless frames on Friday and then pitched 3.1 scoreless innings on Sunday.
The Placer High School product struck out five batters over his two appearances including a game high four in Sunday's series finale. Staton has been in and out of the Saturday starter role for the Gaels but has become a trusted reliever out of the pen, pairing up nicely with John Damozonio for a dynamic Friday duo late in the year. Staton owns a 4.11 ERA over his 14 appearances this season.
Logjam in the Middle; Final Two Weeks of WCC Play…
Saint Mary's enters the week at 11-10 in conference play and is in a three-way tie for fifth place along with Portland and Seattle U. Spots 2-through-7 are separated by just two games as the Gaels will look to make a push for second place and a first-round bye in the WCC Tournament. Gonzaga currently sits at 16-5 with a three game cushion over the Dons in first place. Saint Mary's will head to LMU for three games this weekend before finishing the regular season at home against San Francisco starting on Thursday, May 14.
Series History…
Saint Mary's is just 21-37 against LMU dating back to the 2007 season. Recently though, the Gaels are winners of five of their last six meetings including back-to-back series wins in 2024 and 2025. The two teams met in last year's WCC Tournament where Saint Mary's put up a whopping 18 runs off 14 hits to advance to the third round of the tournament. The Lions are looking for their first conference series win over the Gaels since taking two games in Moraga in 2023.
ABOUT THE LIONS (12-38, 3-18 WCC)
LMU enters the week on the outside looking in, sitting at 3-18 in West Coast Conference play with two weeks remaining. The Lions unfortunately will miss out on this year's conference tournament after making it to the tournament semifinals a season ago in 2025. The three conference wins for LMU have come in a series win over San Francisco and then a single win over Pepperdine back in April. The Lions will enter the final two weeks of the 2026 season on an eight game losing streak, hosting Saint Mary's this weekend before heading to San Diego to end the season.
LMU ranks last in the WCC with a .231 team batting average but are third in the conference with 46 home runs. Three players have at least five home runs including Travis Friend who ranks second with ten bombs on the season. The true freshman from La Mirada has played in 43 games this season as a part of the Lions outfield and has made his bat felt with a team high ten homers. Senior outfielder Zion Williams was named to the 2026 WCC Preseason Team and is currently hitting .223 with three homers. Leading the Lions in average is Jaxson Wall at .293. Wall transferred in from Division II Felician University in New Jersey where he was a Second Team All-American selection and has been the Lions best bat all season long, ranking second on the team with 46 hits and also flexing some power with six homers.
All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and tickets can be bought online at smcgaels.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
The Gaels are one of the best road teams in the WCC with a 11-9 record and will put that to the test Friday night in a crucial three-game series with the Lions. The last time Saint Mary's went to Page Stadium was in 2024 when they took two games in a wet and rainy mid-April series. They have since won five of their last six meetings including a series win at home last season in 2025.
GAME COVERAGE AND INFORMATION
BSB | Saint Mary's at LMU | Page Stadium
Los Angeles, Calif. | May 8-10 | 6/3/1 p.m.
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets
GAELS OUTLOOK
Damozonio Racks up 10 K's in 11-1 Rout over Seattle U in Game 1…
Saint Mary's ace John Damozonio made his 12th start of the season against Seattle U and although he did not get credit for the win Friday night, he pitched six innings of one run baseball while striking out a game high ten batters. The Gaels offense erupted for an 8-run seventh inning and scored two more in the eighth to seal an 11-1 run-rule victory in the series opener over the Redhawks.
Damozonio has pitched at least six innings nine times this season and leads all WCC pitchers with seven wins. The San Jose native allowed one run off five hits in another dominant outing. His ten strikeouts was his second game this season with double-digit strikeouts and just one off his career high of eleven which he secured earlier this season in a home win over Pepperdine. He struck out multiple batters in four of his six innings as Saint Mary's scored ten runs over the final two innings to run-rule the Redhawks 11-1. Damozonio leads the conference with a 7-2 record and ranks second with 70.1 innings pitched and 74 strikeouts, all career highs for the fourth-year senior.
Sniffen Leads WCC in Hits, Runs Scored and RBI as One of Best Bats in the Conference…
Head coach Eric Valenzuela knew he had a hole to fill at first base this season with the departure of All-American Eddie Madrigal but the Gaels have not only found an answer, they've found potentially their next All-American as Makoa Sniffen is putting up Player of the Year type numbers, leading the WCC in hits, runs scored, RBI and currently sitting in second place with 11 home runs. The sophomore first baseman from Monte Sereno was mainly utilized as a pinch-hitter a season ago, but was able to compete and win the starting job to start the 2026 season and has never looked back.
Sniffen leads the Gaels with a .391 batting average and ranks sixth in all of Division I with 77 total hits this season. Sniffen has been a tremendous balance of power and placement, hitting for average while also driving runs in, tied for the conference lead with 50 RBI. Sniffen is fresh off a seven-hit week for the Gaels where he connected on a pair of home runs against Cal and Seattle U. Very quietly, Sniffen's 6-foot-1 frame has also stolen nine bags this season for top-10 in the WCC. He leads the team with 24 multi-hit games and eight three-hit games, representing one of the most balanced and dangerous hitters in the WCC.
Sniffen has been named WCC Player of the Week twice this season and was also named to Baseball America's Team of the Week back in February.
Staton Makes Two Scoreless Appearances in Seattle U Series…
Cam Staton was a prolific strikeout thrower at Sierra College for two seasons before coming to Saint Mary's and has found his role late in the season as a durable reliever for Valenzuela and the Gaels. Staton made two appearances this past weekend against Seattle U where he earned his second win of the season in two scoreless frames on Friday and then pitched 3.1 scoreless innings on Sunday.
The Placer High School product struck out five batters over his two appearances including a game high four in Sunday's series finale. Staton has been in and out of the Saturday starter role for the Gaels but has become a trusted reliever out of the pen, pairing up nicely with John Damozonio for a dynamic Friday duo late in the year. Staton owns a 4.11 ERA over his 14 appearances this season.
Logjam in the Middle; Final Two Weeks of WCC Play…
Saint Mary's enters the week at 11-10 in conference play and is in a three-way tie for fifth place along with Portland and Seattle U. Spots 2-through-7 are separated by just two games as the Gaels will look to make a push for second place and a first-round bye in the WCC Tournament. Gonzaga currently sits at 16-5 with a three game cushion over the Dons in first place. Saint Mary's will head to LMU for three games this weekend before finishing the regular season at home against San Francisco starting on Thursday, May 14.
Series History…
Saint Mary's is just 21-37 against LMU dating back to the 2007 season. Recently though, the Gaels are winners of five of their last six meetings including back-to-back series wins in 2024 and 2025. The two teams met in last year's WCC Tournament where Saint Mary's put up a whopping 18 runs off 14 hits to advance to the third round of the tournament. The Lions are looking for their first conference series win over the Gaels since taking two games in Moraga in 2023.
ABOUT THE LIONS (12-38, 3-18 WCC)
LMU enters the week on the outside looking in, sitting at 3-18 in West Coast Conference play with two weeks remaining. The Lions unfortunately will miss out on this year's conference tournament after making it to the tournament semifinals a season ago in 2025. The three conference wins for LMU have come in a series win over San Francisco and then a single win over Pepperdine back in April. The Lions will enter the final two weeks of the 2026 season on an eight game losing streak, hosting Saint Mary's this weekend before heading to San Diego to end the season.
LMU ranks last in the WCC with a .231 team batting average but are third in the conference with 46 home runs. Three players have at least five home runs including Travis Friend who ranks second with ten bombs on the season. The true freshman from La Mirada has played in 43 games this season as a part of the Lions outfield and has made his bat felt with a team high ten homers. Senior outfielder Zion Williams was named to the 2026 WCC Preseason Team and is currently hitting .223 with three homers. Leading the Lions in average is Jaxson Wall at .293. Wall transferred in from Division II Felician University in New Jersey where he was a Second Team All-American selection and has been the Lions best bat all season long, ranking second on the team with 46 hits and also flexing some power with six homers.
All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and tickets can be bought online at smcgaels.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
BSB | Saint Mary's vs. Seattle U Highlights, 5-3-26
Sunday, May 03
BSB | Saint Mary's vs. Seattle U Highlights, 5-2-26
Saturday, May 02
BSB | Saint Mary's vs. Seattle U Highlights, 5-1-26
Friday, May 01
BSB | Saint Mary's vs. Cal Highlights, 4-28-26
Tuesday, April 28
