MORAGA, Calif. – With the 2019 season’s first pitch just over two months away, head coach Eric Valenzuela has officially announced the schedule for Saint Mary’s baseball.
Coming off of their third-consecutive 30-plus win season for the first time in program history, SMC will face three Pac-12 schools in non-conference-play: Washington State, Oregon, and Cal.
The season opener on February 15 will feature a matchup with WSU as the Cougars come to Moraga for the first time since 2004. Last season, Washington State finished tenth in the Pac-12 with a 16-33-1 overall record while collecting eight conference wins (8-21-1). Following their four-game series at home, the Gaels will head to Eugene to take on Oregon for another 4-game set (February 22-24). The Ducks finished just above Washington State in the 2018 conference standings, tied for eighth with USC with a 12-18 Pac-12 mark (26-29 overall). Saint Mary’s and Oregon have not gone head-to-head since 2016 when SMC dropped a one-game, mid-week matchup in Eugene on May 23.
Two days later, SMC will head to San Jose State for a one-game series with the Spartans before heading to Cal for a 4-game set with the Bears. Cal had the best finish of the three Pac-12 opponents that Saint Mary’s will see this season, placing fifth in the conference (32-22 overall, 16-14 Pac-12). The Gaels last faced the Bears on April 11, 2017 in a mid-week matchup and SMC routed Cal by the score of 24-7. The following week, SMC will take on three teams, hosting Sacramento State (March 5) and Rider University (March 10), while also heading to Orem, Utah for a 4-game series at Utah Valley (March 8-10).
The West Coast Conference schedule begins on March 15 for Saint Mary’s as they host Pacific, but the Gaels immediately head back on the road to face three more non-conference opponents (Nevada, Cal Poly, and UC Santa Barbara) before returning to the bulk of their conference games.
SMC’s biggest homestand stretches from April 16-28 where the Gaels will play a total of seven-consecutive games at Louis Guisto Field. The stretch begins with a matchup on Tuesday against San Jose State before hosting Loyola Marymount Thursday through Saturday. The next series begins on Friday, April 26 when the San Diego Toreros come to town from the 26th-28th. The Gaels play one more series at home (Santa Clara) before ending their season on the road against the defending-WCC Champion (Peppedine).
