Say it loud: The Gaels are West Coast Conference champs—and headed for the NCAA Regional. / Photo courtesy WCC Sports
Gaels Do It Again! Back-to-Back West Coast Conference Baseball Champs
After dropping an afternoon game to USF, the Gaels came charging back in the winner-take-all championship game Saturday evening. With the 7–6 win, Saint Mary’s has punched a ticket to the NCAA Regional.
In a drama-filled and oddly familiar situation, the Saint Mary’s Gaels won the if-necessary game on Saturday to claim their second consecutive West Coast Conference Baseball Tournament Championship. At Scottsdale Stadium, with afternoon temps in the mid-90s, the Gaels went down to the wire in game one, falling 9–8 as San Francisco won yet another elimination game to force a winner-take-all second game. In that evening rematch, Saint Mary’s got the job done with fundamentals, amazing defense, and heroic pitching performances to win 7–6.
It may have taken 18 innings of baseball on Championship Saturday, but the Saint Mary’s Gaels are 2026 WCC Tournament Champions. This means that Head Coach Eric Valenzuela and his squad have officially punched their ticket to the NCAA Regionals once again. It makes two seasons in a row the Gaels are dancing—and the third time in program history. And it means the Gaels have become just the second team in tournament history to win back-to-back championships.
Sophomore catcher Ian Armstrong was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, finishing his five-game week with 11 hits, three doubles, a pair of home runs, and seven RBIs. In the championship game, fellow sophomore Lukas Sarantos put together a herculean effort on the mound in just his sixth start of the season, completing six innings and allowing just one run off six hits. Pitchers Diego Emerling, Sam Kretsch, and David Roberts helped piece together the final three frames, with Roberts limiting the damage and completing the ninth, earning his third save of the season. Tanner Griffith, Ian Armstrong, and Nick Allred each had three hits for the Gaels, with Griffith and Allred combining to score four of the team’s seven runs in the ballgame.
Game 1: San Francisco 9, Saint Mary’s 8
Saint Mary’s jumped out to a 3–0 lead in game one of Championship Saturday, but the Dons responded with a three-spot in the third to tie the game. Graduate transfer Jake Hilton got the start for the Gaels on the mound and struck out five of the first six batters he faced to get off to a great start. But he allowed three runs off three hits in the third to even the game at three. In classic Saint Mary’s fashion, the Gaels responded with a two-run shot from Ian Armstrong for his conference-leading 15th homer of the season, retaking a 5–3 lead.
The inning that decided the game was a six-hit and six-run fourth for USF, which gave them a 9–5 lead. The Gaels were held scoreless over the next four innings, but junior transfer Cam Staton held the Dons in check, too. Staton came in as the third pitcher of the game for the Gaels and pitched 5.1 innings of one-hit, scoreless baseball to keep the Gaels in the fight.
Saint Mary’s made their push in the bottom of the eighth with three runs off three hits. The Gaels got RBI knocks from Ian Josephson, Nick Allred, and Diego Castellanos to cut the deficit to one. Jared Mettam doubled with one out to start the rally, and Josephson doubled him home. Allred singled up the middle for the second run of the frame, and then Castellanos grounded out to second to plate Allred.
It was close, but not quite enough. And in the bottom of the ninth, the Gaels went down in order. For San Francisco, defeat in the game would have meant the end of the tournament; instead, with their backs to the wall, the Dons pulled out a win for the third time in the tournament to force a winner-take-all game in the evening.
Game 2: Saint Mary’s 7, San Francisco 6
Saint Mary’s led wire-to-wire in the winner-take-all game—but they earned the victory in dramatic fashion. It took fundamentals, terrific defense, clutch plays, and team baseball to win. The Gaels got out to a 2–1 lead, scoring in the first and the third. Tanner Griffith led the game off with a double to right center and then found his way home with a bunt and ground out. Another leadoff double came courtesy Diego Castellanos—who found his way home off a sacrifice fly from Ian Armstrong to put the Gaels up 2–1.
Sophomore right hander Lukas Sarantos got the start in game two for his second appearance of the tournament. He put together a formidable outing, completing six innings and allowing just one run off six hits. That one run came in the second inning, and Sarantos kept the Dons scoreless over the next five.
Starting with the sixth, it looked like the Gaels were on track to break the game open. Tanner Griffith recorded his team leading 21st double of the season that inning, scoring Nick Allred to give the Gaels a 3–1 lead. Jared Mettam added to the lead with a safety squeeze in the seventh, and an RBI ground out by Cody Kashimoto pushed Saint Mary’s lead to 5–1.
San Francisco was bound to make a move, and they did so in the bottom of the eighth, scoring three runs off four hits to make it a one-run ballgame. Sam Kretsch came out of the bullpen for the Gaels and made his second appearance, replacing Diego Emerling, who got through a clean seventh inning before running into trouble in the eighth. Kretsch gave up three consecutive singles, but right fielder Diego Castellanos made arguably the biggest play of the season for the Gaels: He threw a rocket from the outfield that beat Dons runner Jaydon Garrison at the plate to prevent the game-tying run and maintain a 5–4 lead. Kretsch then struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Saint Mary’s added two runs in the top of the ninth—only for San Francisco to hit a two-run homer in the bottom half to cut the deficit back to one. David Roberts made his second consecutive appearance in the tournament to start the ninth. While that homer spelled danger for him and the Gaels, Roberts bounced back to retire the next three batters and seal the conference tournament title. Roberts got credit for his third save of the season, and Sarantos earned his fourth win of the year.
Back to that oddly familiar situation mentioned above: You could say that this time around history rhymed.
As we noted in yesterday’s recap, in the WCC Championship game in 2025, Saint Mary’s battled San Diego in a marathon extra-innings game and lost in the 14th. That forced a winner-take-all second game. For that one, the Gaels stormed back to win the championship—and earn a spot in the NCAA Regional.
This time around there weren’t extra innings. But there was drama aplenty. And great baseball.
Next Up: NCAA Division I Baseball Selection Show on Monday
The 2026 NCAA DI Baseball Selection show airs Monday, May 25 at 9 a.m. Pacific on ESPN2. The Gaels will find out where they are headed for their third NCAA Regional appearance in program history. Additional information on a watch party will be made available at smcgaels.com.
Victory Is Ours: Championship Photo Gallery
Photos courtesy WCC Sports
