Saturday, May 9
Los Angeles, Calif.
3:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
28-22, 13-10
8
at
6
LMU
12-40, 3-20
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Mary's (CA) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 16 | 1 |
| LMU (CA) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 1 |
BSB | Staton Earns Win in Four Innings of Relief as Gaels Clinch Series over Lions
5/9/2026 7:40:00 PM | Baseball
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Saint Mary's baseball team held off a late surge from LMU to down the Lions 8-6 and clinch the series win two games to one. The Gaels rattled off a game high 16 hits including the second home run of the series from Ian Armstrong.
Sam Kretsch went five innings with a career high nine strikeouts. The Lions tied the game in the sixth to give him the no decision but Cam Staton would complete the game with four innings of work to earn his third win of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gaels got going early once again, continuing to showcase the best offense in the West Coast Conference. Sophomore catcher Ian Armstrong doubled off the green monster in left to score Diego Castellanos for the first run of the game. Two batters later Jared Mettam jumped on the first pitch he saw and singled back up the middle to score a pair. Another roped double off the left field wall from Nick Allred would score the fourth run of the inning and put the Gaels in front 4-0.
LMU connected on a 3-run homer in the second to cut the deficit to one but Tanner Griffith got one back with a solo shot in the top of the fourth for his fifth of the season. Sam Kretsch settled in nicely on the mound after the homer, recording four scoreless frames and a career high nine strikeouts over his five innings of work as the Gaels led 5-3 going into the sixth.
The Lions cut the deficit to one for the second time in the afternoon with two runs in the sixth off of SMC reliever Cam Staton but once again, the Gaels offense answered with a two-spot in the seventh and one in the ninth including another homer from Armstrong, his second of the series and 12th of the season. Staton settled in and went on to earn the four-inning save allowing three runs off five hits along with four strikeouts. The junior transfer has found a nice role in the backend of the bullpen, earning his third win of the season with his four innings of work.
The Gaels had a game high 16 hits including a stellar afternoon from Armstrong who had four hits including his 12th homer of the season in the ninth. Four other players had multi-hit performances including a two-hit ballgame from Nick Allred who got the start in left for his 17th of the season.
Saint Mary's remains in the thick of the madness in the WCC standings as the Gaels are now 13-10 and just a game out of second place.
GAME NOTES
LOOKING AHEAD
The series finale with the Lions will take place on Sunday at 1 p.m. Stream the game live on ESPN+.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Sam Kretsch went five innings with a career high nine strikeouts. The Lions tied the game in the sixth to give him the no decision but Cam Staton would complete the game with four innings of work to earn his third win of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gaels got going early once again, continuing to showcase the best offense in the West Coast Conference. Sophomore catcher Ian Armstrong doubled off the green monster in left to score Diego Castellanos for the first run of the game. Two batters later Jared Mettam jumped on the first pitch he saw and singled back up the middle to score a pair. Another roped double off the left field wall from Nick Allred would score the fourth run of the inning and put the Gaels in front 4-0.
LMU connected on a 3-run homer in the second to cut the deficit to one but Tanner Griffith got one back with a solo shot in the top of the fourth for his fifth of the season. Sam Kretsch settled in nicely on the mound after the homer, recording four scoreless frames and a career high nine strikeouts over his five innings of work as the Gaels led 5-3 going into the sixth.
The Lions cut the deficit to one for the second time in the afternoon with two runs in the sixth off of SMC reliever Cam Staton but once again, the Gaels offense answered with a two-spot in the seventh and one in the ninth including another homer from Armstrong, his second of the series and 12th of the season. Staton settled in and went on to earn the four-inning save allowing three runs off five hits along with four strikeouts. The junior transfer has found a nice role in the backend of the bullpen, earning his third win of the season with his four innings of work.
The Gaels had a game high 16 hits including a stellar afternoon from Armstrong who had four hits including his 12th homer of the season in the ninth. Four other players had multi-hit performances including a two-hit ballgame from Nick Allred who got the start in left for his 17th of the season.
Saint Mary's remains in the thick of the madness in the WCC standings as the Gaels are now 13-10 and just a game out of second place.
GAME NOTES
- Castellanos went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles to extend his hit streak to 25 games
- Jared Mettam's 2-RBI single in the first went down as his 200th career hit
- Armstrong now leads the Gaels with 12 home runs on the season and has two in the series against LMU
- The Gaels have reached double-digit hits in 36 games this season
- Kretsch finished his five inning start with a career high nine strikeouts
- Staton recorded win number three on the season with four innings of work
LOOKING AHEAD
The series finale with the Lions will take place on Sunday at 1 p.m. Stream the game live on ESPN+.
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: Staton, Cam (3-3)
L: Zach DenDekker (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Griffith, Tanner 1 ; Castellanos, Diego 2 ; Armstrong, Ian 1 ; Josephson, Ian 2 ; Johnson, Jacob 1 ; Allred, Nick 1 ; Kashimoto, Cody 1
HR: Griffith, Tanner 1 ; Armstrong, Ian 1
RBI: Griffith, Tanner 1 ; Armstrong, Ian 2 ; Josephson, Ian 2 ; Mettam, Jared 2 ; Allred, Nick 1
SH: Griffith, Tanner 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Griffith, Tanner 1 ; Castellanos, Diego 1 ; Sniffen, Makoa 1 ; Armstrong, Ian 3 ; Josephson, Ian 1 ; Johnson, Jacob 1
SB: Sniffen, Makoa 1
CS: Castellanos, Diego 1
HBP: Sniffen, Makoa 1 ; Johnson, Jacob 1
Batting:
HR: Zach Wadas 1 ; Cooper Whitton 1
RBI: Zach Wadas 1 ; Cooper Whitton 3 ; Jake Lyall 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Zach Wadas 1 ; Zion Williams 1 ; Matt Moreno 2 ; Cooper Whitton 2
SB: Andrew Mhoon 1 ; DJ Ghiorso 1 ; Jaxson Wall 1 ; Cooper Whitton 1 ; Jake Lyall 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
3
H
4
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
OF
/ BaseballC
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballRHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballLHP
/ BaseballBSB | Saint Mary's vs. LMU Highlights, 5-8-26
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Tuesday, May 05
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Sunday, May 03
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