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St. Mary’s releases 2015 Schedule

by Brian Foley
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MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary’s baseball coach Eric Valenzuela announced Friday a 2015 schedule that will offer his team an opportunity to test itself against numerous quality opponents from the first weekend of the season all the way through the final game of the year.

“We think we’ve put together a schedule that is going to challenge us this season,” Valenzuela said. “We take a few early season trips that will let us see where we’re at right away and we host some quality programs like Northridge and Northwestern before getting into what should be another very competitive West Coast Conference season. With a young squad like we have, it’ll be important to continue improving game by game and I think this schedule gives us a chance to do that.”

The Gaels kick off their 2015 campaign in the Pacific Northwest this season when they travel to Seattle for four games against the Redhawks. The season opener is set for Feb. 13 at 5 p.m. The home opener takes place one week later when Saint Mary’s begins a four-game series with Eastern Michigan on Feb. 20 at 2 p.m.

Non-conference play continues the following week with a visit from CSUN (Cal State Northridge) and the Gaels head back on the road to play four games against a Utah Valley team that finished in the top half of the Western Athletic Conference last year. Other non-conference highlights include a two-game visit by Northwestern, a season-ending jaunt to San Diego State and mid-week matchups with San Jose State, UC Davis and Nevada.

WCC play begins on March 13 at 3 p.m. when Pacific comes to Moraga for the first of three games. Portland, Loyola Marymount, San Diego and Santa Clara will also visit Louis Guisto Field this season while the Gaels will take trips to San Francisco, Gonzaga, Pepperdine and BYU. The final conference game of the season is May 9 at BYU and the regular season comes to a close on May 16 against the Aztecs.

When the Gaels finally do hit the diamond to begin the season, they’ll have quite a bit of new blood to welcome into the fold. 14 freshmen join the squad this year, and each will have a chance to contribute on a team that also welcomes back several key returners.

First baseman Collin Ferguson is back for his senior season, and he figures to again assume a spot in the middle of the batting order alongside junior third baseman Anthony Villa. Sophomore right-hander Cameron Neff is back to anchor the pitching staff, and he’ll look to take another step forward after a freshman campaign in which he threw five complete games and two shutouts.

Before Saint Mary’s hits the diamond, it will welcome friends, family and fans to the new season with the annual First Pitch Dinner on Jan. 24. For the second straight year, the event will be held at Black Stallion Winery in Napa. Actor/comedian Tom Wilson will serve as emcee again this year, and the night will include a reception, silent auction, dinner and live auction. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

2015 St. Mary’s Schedule

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