Let’s get this started: Tanner Griffith hit a leadoff triple in the first and scored on the next at bat. / Photo courtesy WCC Sports
Gaels Clobber Zags 13–4 to Advance to Winners Bracket of West Coast Conference Baseball Tournament
Saint Mary’s strikes first, then explodes in the fourth with five runs. They carry momentum into the winners bracket with their next game on Friday afternoon.
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 in Scottsdale, Arizona, defeating top seed Gonzaga 13–4 to advance to the winners bracket.
Saint Mary’s defeated Pepperdine on Wednesday to earn a place in the double-elimination portion of the tournament. That earned them the match-up against Gonzaga, 2026 regular season champions, after being swept by the Zags at home earlier in the season. In Scottsdale, Saint Mary’s 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—the third highest run total allowed by Gonzaga this season.
On the mound, sophomore righthander Sam Kretsch got the ball for just his sixth start of the season. But Kretsch had taken over the Saturday starter role for the Gaels for the final month of the season, and he 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—putting 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 advances to the winners side of the bracket and will face Pacific on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. The Gaels are now 14–9 all-time in the WCC Tournament and 2–0 in Scottsdale in 2026.
Blowing It Open in the Fourth
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 forcing Gonzaga starter Justin Feld work out of trouble.
The Zags were able to produce some two-out magic of their own in the third, recording back-to-back RBI hits to take a 2–1 lead. But the lead proved to be short-lived: Saint Mary’s got to Feld in the fourth with a five-run frame. A leadoff double from Ian Josephson and a sacrifice bunt put the freshman third baseman on third with one out. After a hit batter and runners on the corners, senior Cody Kashimoto laid 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 Diego Castellanos to score another run and surrender the lead. But the damage would worsen. 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 brought the five-run inning to an end—giving the Gaels 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—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.
The Hitmakers
Tanner Griffith was hitless in the tournament opener against Pepperdine on Wednesday, but he changed that with a three-hit ballgame against Gonzaga. Senior shortstop Jared Mettam also went three-for-four with two runs scored and is now tied for the team lead with five hits in Scottsdale. Sophomore utility bat Brady Petit made a return to the lineup in the designated hitter spot and had a solid game, going two-for-three with a run scored and an RBI, playing a pivotal role in continuing rallies throughout the game.
Diego Castellanos pushed his hit streak to 32 games, going two-for-four with three RBIs. And Makoa Sniffen recorded two more hits and now sits at 88 hits, just one shy of tying the program single-season record of 89.
Seven players had multi-hit games, while eight of the starting nine had at least one hit in the dominant nine-run victory. Total hits for the Gaels this game: an impressive 18—just one short of their season high.
Taking stock two games into the WCC Tournament: Saint Mary’s has put up 22 runs off 30 hits while allowing only four earned runs with four pitchers used.
Next Up: Gaels Play Friday at 2 p.m.
Saint Mary’s returns to Scottsdale Stadium for the early game on Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m., taking on two-seed Pacific—which defeated three-seed USF in the night cap on Thursday. Get tickets at wccsports.com and stream the game live on ESPN+.
Story updated May 22, 2026, at 6:30 a.m. Pacific.
