One for the books: Makoa Sniffen had a pair of hits, giving him 90 for the season—the most of any Gael Baseball player ever. / Photo courtesy WCC Sports
Thriller in Scottsdale: Gaels Beat the Tigers to Advance to Championship in West Coast Conference Baseball Tournament
Saint Mary’s comes through with a seventh inning rally to defeat Pacific 10–7. Now the Gaels have in their sights a second straight WCC Title. They play Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Saint Mary’s Baseball team felt the pressure and the adversity Friday afternoon at Scottsdale Stadium when they took on Pacific in the West Coast Conference Tournament. But with a seventh inning rally, the Gaels found a way to beat the Tigers 10–7 and advance to Championship Saturday for the second consecutive year. Now SMC has their sights set on back-to-back titles—something only one other WCC team has won. And winning the title would mean Saint Mary’s would punch a ticket to its second straight NCAA Regional.
Friday delivered up a thrilling afternoon of baseball and then some. The Gaels jumped out to an early 4–0 lead but surrendered that lead in the fifth as the Tigers plated four runs to take a 5–4 lead. The teams traded leads again, with Pacific out in front 6–5 after the top of the seventh. That’s when the Gaels erupted for another big inning.
Saint Mary’s plated five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to take the lead 10–6 and retake momentum. RBI hits in the seventh came from Makoa Sniffen and Ian Josephson. Sniffen recorded two hits in the ballgame to reach 90 hits on the season, breaking the single-season program record. It was Josephson who broke the inning open with a three-RBI double to the right field wall for his lone hit of the afternoon.
Pacific never quit, though. With a rally in the bottom of the ninth, the Tigers managed to load the bases and score one run—cutting the deficit to three with only one out and the winning run at the plate. Gaels Head Coach Eric Valenzuela made two pitching changes in the final frame to get the job done. To seal the win for the Gaels, Jake Hilton recorded a strikeout and a ground ball out to strand the bases loaded for Pacific. The senior transfer from Pomona Pitzer earned his first save as a Gael, while the win went to redshirt freshman David Roberts—his first career W.
A Hot Start and a Seventh Inning Rally
Saint Mary’s has been at its best when getting out to hot starts, and they did that again on Friday, jumping out to a 4–0 lead over the first three innings. Tanner Griffith led the game off with a triple—just as he did the day before when the Gaels clobbered Gonzaga—and came home to score on a wild pitch for the game’s first run. The Gaels struck for two runs in the second and one more in the third off a solo blast from Ian Armstrong for his WCC-leading 14th home run of the season. On the mound, sophomore southpaw Talin Gardini made just his fifth start of the season and gave the Gaels everything they needed, pitching into the fifth before allowing a four-spot to the Tigers.
Pacific took a 6–5 lead with an RBI double in the seventh to put the Gaels on their heels. Thankfully that momentum proved to be short-lived.
Pacific brought in closer Carson Ravay, with nine saves on the year, but the Gaels put together quality at bats and jumped on mistake pitches to start the rally in the seventh. Makoa Sniffen singled to right field to break the program single-season hits record and tie the game at six before the Tigers’ closer walked in the go-ahead run with Jacob Johnson at the plate. True freshman Ian Josephson then came to the plate and charged a ball out to the right field wall that went off the outfielder’s glove, clearing the bases for a three-run triple to give Saint Mary’s a 10–6 lead.
Gaels fans will testify to how this team has lived the mantra never show quit. In the 2025 WCC Championship run, Saint Mary’s lost a 14-inning title game to San Diego—only to turn around in the second title game that same evening to best the Toreros 9–8 and claim the trophy. That same fight was on display Friday afternoon in Scottsdale as the Gaels retook the lead at 10–6 heading into the final six outs of the ballgame.
Gaels pitcher David Roberts completed the eighth and came on to start the ninth. He threw strikes and pounded the strike zone, but Pacific loaded the bases with one out to apply some serious pressure. Eric Valenzuela made two pitching changes and found the last two outs from Jake Hilton.
Breaking Gael Records, with WCC Records in Sight
To pull off the 10–7 victory, Saint Mary’s delivered a total team effort: ten runs off 12 hits; five different pitchers; and eight of the nine starters recording a hit. Diego Castellanos was one; he extended his hit streak to 33 games, just three games shy of the WCC record. Makoa Sniffen was another; he put his name in the Saint Mary’s record books with his 90th hit of the season, breaking the single-season program record.
Ian Armstrong smashed his league-leading 14th home run with a solo shot in the third. Ian Josephson’s three-run double in the seventh inning is his 11th of the season. As for those 10 runs: Saint Mary’s record is now a perfect 18–0 this season when the Gaels score in double-digits.
On the pitching side, David Roberts came in for 1.2 innings to earn his first career win as a Gael. Jake Hilton came in for the final two outs to earn his first save as a Gael. And as dicey as things looked in the ninth, in fact the Gaels bullpen gave up just two runs over the final 4.2 innings en route to the 10–7 win.
Next Up: Championship Game on Saturday
Saint Mary’s will play for a chance at its third WCC Tournament Championship and second consecutive tournament title on Saturday. Back-to-back WCC titles would put them in rare company; it’s only happened once before, with Pepperdine in 2014 and 2015.
The Gaels will learn who they’re facing in the championship Friday evening: It will be the winner of the elimination game between Pacific and San Francisco. The championship game is slated for Saturday at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
