MORAGA, Calif. --- The Saint Mary's Gaels jumped out to an early lead before holding on for a 4-2 win over the Portland Pilots to open a three-game West Coast Conference series on Friday afternoon at Louis Guisto Field.
 
During one stretch, Portland pitchers Eli Morse and Christian Peters combined to retire 14 straight Gael batters, but the early deficit proved too much to overcome for the Pilots.
 
Saint Mary's (17-12, 4-3 WCC) scored three runs in the top of the first inning to take control of the game. All three runs came on a homer off the bat of Kevin Milam, who sent a ball over the left field fence with runners on the corners.
 
The Pilots (19-12, 2-8 WCC) did get a run back in the top of the second inning when Blake Porter hit a single up the middle, scoring Daniel Lopez from second base to make it a 3-1 game.
 
Saint Mary's added to their lead with an unearned run in the bottom of the third, but from there Morse, Portland's starter, settled down to silence the Gaels' bats. Morse didn't allow a base runner to reach for three straight innings before Peters took over to begin the top of the seventh.
 
Peters then retired six of the seven batters he faced, striking out four in 2.0 innings of work.
 
Portland's Henry Cheney cut the deficit to just two runs when he followed a Porter double with an RBI single to right-center field in the top of the seventh inning. The Pilots then got the lead-off hitter in the ninth on base when Hunter Montgomery singled to center, but he would be left stranded as the Gaels' closer Michael Hobbs retired the next three hitters to notch his fourth save of the year.
 
Morse (2-4) is charged with the loss after yielding three earned runs in 6.0 innings, and SMC starter Ken Waldichuk (3-3) earns the win. Waldichuk struck out 12 in 7.0 innings, and he surrendered the two Portland runs on six hits and a walk.
 
The Pilots and Gaels next play the second game of this three-game series on Saturday, with first pitch set for 1 p.m.