STOCKTON, Calif. – Returning to conference play for the first time since Apr. 3, the Pacific baseball team (10-23, 1-9) recorded their first WCC victory of the 2021 season on Friday afternoon with a 9-4 win over Saint Mary's (18-17, 7-9).
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• With neither team getting much going through the first two innings, Pacific began the scoring in the top of the third when they exploded for five runs on five hits. In the inning, sophomore Thomas Gavello launched his first home run of the day before seniors Charles Middleton and Alex LeForestier hit back-to-back RBI doubles. Following an RBI single into left field from junior Ben Nemivant to close the top half, the Tigers led 5-0 heading into the bottom of the third.
• Shortly thereafter, the Gaels responded with two runs on three hits in their turn at the plate, but Pacific remained on top, 5-2, through three innings complete.
• Keeping pace, Saint Mary's tacked on two more runs in the home half of the fourth on three more hits, cutting their deficit to one, 5-4.
• Coming on in relief of starter Hayden Pearce, junior Zach Patterson proved to be key in the victory for the Tigers as the right hander twirled three scoreless innings for Pacific in the sixth, seventh and eighth, striking out three and walking just one batter while also not allowing a hit.
• Applying pressure late, Pacific enjoyed another successful inning in the ninth when the Tigers added four runs on four hits. Using a total team effort, senior Wyatt Hoffman plated freshman Chase Graves on a fielders' choice before Gavello delivered with his second two-run home run to push the UOP lead to four. Tallying one last insurance run, LeForestier knocked in junior James Arakawa with his second RBI double of the contest just two batters later for the Tigers' final run of the afternoon.
• Answering the bell in the bottom of the inning, redshirt fifth year student Nick Swanson slammed the door on the Gaels as Pacific hung on to take the series opener from Saint Mary's, 9-4. 

 
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Overall, Friday's victory marked the first WCC win for second year head coach Chris Rodriguez (2020 season was canceled prior to conference play due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
• For Gavello, the second year Tiger continues to remain hot with the bat in his hands as he has now homered in three straight games while also extending his hitting streak to five games. Since Apr. 14 at No. 20 Stanford, the Danville native has raised his batting average 21 points (.283 to .305) as he has totaled nine RBI, eight runs and seven hits (four home runs) across his last four contests.
• Hitting his stride alongside Gavello, Middleton pushed his hitting streak to nine games with his RBI double to right center in the top of the third.
• On the mound, Pearce picked up his second win of the season and first since Mar. 5 at CSU Bakersfield, finishing with a final line of 5.0 innings pitched, 4 ER, 7 H, 2 BB and 7 K's. Out of the bullpen, Patterson logged his third consecutive scoreless appearance on Friday while Swanson extended his scoreless outing streak to five games.

 
UP NEXT:
Due to potential inclement weather in the area, Sunday's scheduled contest was recently moved to Saturday as the two teams will now play a doubleheader tomorrow, Apr. 24. First pitch for game two is set for 11:00 am while the series finale is set to begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of the morning contest. For Pacific, junior Grant Stevens is expected to begin the day on the mound while senior Henrik Reinertsen is slated to make the start in game three. Live streaming and live statistics links are available via pacifictigers.com.
 
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