SAN ANTONIO — A trio of St. Mary's University Baseball players are spending their summer playing baseball around North America.
Both
Garrett Brooks (Spring Branch, Texas) and
Dillon Lopez (San Antonio) are playing for the Victoria Harbour Cats in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, while
Kaleb Gauna (Hondo, Texas) is pitching for the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks in the Alaska Collegiate Baseball League.
Lopez hit a game-winning two-run home run on July 8 to help lift the Harbour Cats to victory, and on July 12, the junior-to-be hit a walk-off single to help the team win 10-9 after they trailed 7-1 in the seventh inning. He tripled in the seventh and scored on a wild pitch to cut the deficit to 7-4, then singled in the bottom of the ninth to drive in the winning run.
Lopez is leading the team with a .385 batting average, splitting time at catcher. Five of his 15 hits are for extra bases, and 10 RBIs. He has an OPS of 1.109 and a slugging percentage of .641 in 47 plate appearances.
Brooks is hitting .321 with 10 walks in eight games in Canada. He has a 1.025 OPS and a .525 OB% in the handful of games. He has reached base in all eight contests after beginning with the team on July 1, and in the latest game on Sunday, doubled, homered and was hit by a pitch.
The Harbour Cats also have a pair of Lone Star foes on the club, as Shea Lake (West Texas A&M) and Garrett Villa (Angelo State) are both on the pitching staff. The team is 10-2 in the second half of the season, and in first place in the North Division.
The West Coast League is western North America's premier summer collegiate baseball league. With teams ranging throughout Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alberta, the WCL offers top collegiate players the chance to compete at a high level, develop their skills, and showcase their talents in front of thousands of fans, MLB scouts, and national media.
Gauna is playing in Chugiak, Alaska, for the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks. He leads the team with 26 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings pitched, walking 13 in five starts. Gauna is 1-3 in his five starts with a 2.07 WHIP.
The River Chinooks are in third place in the Alaska Baseball League standings, and Gauna is the only player from the Lone Star Conference on the roster, though there are five other players who attended high school in Texas playing alongside him.
