Batting around: Diego Castellanos had a pair of hits in the big eighth inning. His hit streak has now reached 31 games. / Photo courtesy WCC Sports
Gaels Hang 9-Spot in the Eighth to Complete Comeback and Defeat Waves 9–2 in West Coast Conference Baseball Tournament
Saint Mary’s staged a thrilling comeback on Wednesday night for a big victory over Pepperdine in the opening game of the tourney.
The Saint Mary’s Baseball team pulled off a thrilling comeback victory Wednesday night at Scottsdale Stadium, defeating four-seed Pepperdine 9–2 to advance to the double-elimination portion of the West Coast Conference Tournament. The Gaels’ offense was held in check over the first seven innings, recording just three hits and trailing 2–0 off two unearned runs. But the Gaels erupted for nine runs off nine hits in the top of the eighth, batting around to flip the game on its head and take a 9–2 lead.
On the way to the win, the Gaels in total tallied 12 hits. Sophomore right hander Lukas Sarantos pitched the final three innings to get credit for his third win of the season, recording three strikeouts and not allowing a run. Now Saint Mary’s await a date with the Gonzaga Bulldogs Thursday afternoon.
Everybody Bats
Senior ace John Damozonio returned to the mound for the Gaels after missing his last two starts of the regular season due to rest. On Wednesday’s outing, he looked as sharp as ever. The San José native completed six frames, allowing two unearned runs off a season-low two hits. Despite the stellar outing on the mound, Pepperdine was able to scratch that pair of runs across because of two SMC errors, giving the Waves a 2–0 lead going into the final three innings.
Saint Mary’s continued to stay in the game though, executing a pair of huge inning-ending double plays to end threats and keep within striking distance. The Gaels infield went around the horn in the bottom of the fifth in what ended a bases-loaded jam that started with zero outs. They turned two again in the bottom of the seventh, this time with senior middle infield duo Jared Mettam and Cody Kashimoto, to eliminate back-to-back singles and keep it a two-run ballgame.
Saint Mary’s had gotten traffic on the bases throughout the night but failed to score. Getting into the late innings of the ballgame, they felt due—and they needed to make a move to keep the season alive. That move came in the top of the eighth inning.
After a Waves pitching change, the Gaels rattled off four consecutive hits to start the frame, including a two-RBI triple from Jacob Johnson, to take a 3–2 lead. Two batters later, Jared Mettam doubled to the right center to give SMC a 4–2 lead and continue the rally. Pepperdine recorded out number two the very next at bat—but the Gaels continued their tear: four more hits and five more runs. Saint Mary’s went on to bat around the order while Diego Castellanos, Makoa Sniffen, and Ian Armstrong all recorded two hits in the frame. A walk and a wild pitch plated the ninth run of the inning before Ian Josephson flew out to left to finally stop the bleeding for the Waves.
On the mound, Lukas Sarantos took over for John Damozonio to start the seventh inning and went on to finish the game, completing three scoreless innings, allowing four hits and recording three strikeouts.
The Win by the Numbers
The Gaels kicked off postseason play tallying 12 hits; that’s the 39th game this season the team has had 10 or more hits. Diego Castellanos extended his hit streak to 31 games, going two-for-four with two runs scored and a pair of RBIs. He also rifled his 19th double of the season, and that hit streak now puts him five games away from the WCC record of 36 games.
Makoa Sniffen recorded his team-leading 26th multi-hit game of the season, going two-for-five with a game high three RBIs. Sniffen now sits just three hits back of the single-season program record of 89 hits, set in 2025.
Saint Mary’s pitching combined to record ten strikeouts. John Damozonio completed six innings in his 13th start of the season, not allowing an earned run and recording seven strikeouts. Lukas Sarantos completed the final three frames scoreless to get credit for his third win of the season, matching his career high of three wins as a true freshman in 2025.
As a team, the Gaels continued an important postseason streak: Four years in a row, they have won the elimination game of the first day of the WCC Tournament.
Next Up: Gonzaga on Thursday Afternoon
Saint Mary’s returns to Scottsdale Stadium for the early game on Thursday afternoon, taking on the WCC regular season champions and top seed Gonzaga at 2 p.m. Get tickets at wccsports.com and stream the game live on ESPN+.
