Gonzaga Baseball Continues WCC Play at BYU

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Baseball Continues WCC Play at BYU

Gonzaga takes a 2-1 WCC record to Provo


March 21, 2018

Gonzaga (11-8, 2-1) vs. BYU (10-9, 0-3)
Provo, Utah | Larry H. Miller Field at Miller Park
Thursday-Saturday, March 22-24

PROBABLES
Mar. 22 @ 5 p.m. PT | Justin Blatner (0-0, 2.79) vs. Jordan Wood (1-1, 3.38)
Mar. 23 @ 5 p.m. PT | Daniel Bies (3-1, 2.25) vs. Hayden Rogers (2-2, 5.16)
Mar. 24 @ Noon PT | Mac Lardner (2-1, 2.59) vs. Blake Inouye (1-2, 7.71)

LIVE COVERAGE
Game 1: Live Video | Live Stats
Game 2: Live Video | Live Stats
Game 3: Live Video | Live Stats

WEEKLY RECAP

- Gonzaga took the bookends of a three-game WCC-opening set with Pepperdine at home last week, shutting out the Waves 1-0 in Game 1 and 7-0 in Game 3.
- The series was also the home opener for Gonzaga after playing their first 16 games away from Spokane.
- Daniel Bies earned WCC Pitcher of the Week honors for his eight innings of shutout ball in Game 1, where he added 13 strikeouts and allowed just three hits.
- The Zags then got another great start on Sunday by Mac Lardner, who went 7.0 shutout innings, striking out seven and giving up just four hits.
- Gunnar Schubert continued his tear, going 5-for-11 in the series with two walks, a run and two RBI.

Daniel Bies NAMED RAWLINGS WCC PITCHER OF THE WEEK

- The right-hander shut down Pepperdine on Friday night, getting the 1-0 win with an eight-inning, 13 strikeout performance. His 13 Ks blew away his previous career-high of eight, which was set earlier this season. Against Pepperdine, he gave up just three hits and walked just two.
- Bies now has seven or more strikeouts in four of his five starts on the season, and has gone at least six innings in every start.

DEFENSE:

- Gonzaga's defense has been stout all season, but after an error-free weekend against Pepperdine, the Zags' now .985 fielding percentage moved them to No. 5 in the nation and No. 1 in the WCC.

OFFENSE:

- GU's .277 team batting average on the season is third in the WCC and in the top 100 in the nation heading into the series at BYU.
- Gonzaga pinch-hitters are also getting the job done, hitting .450 on the season, going 9-for-20.
- Four Zags with enough qualifying at-bats are hitting over .300 this season, led by Gunnar Schurbert at .375 and Branson Trube at .352.
- Schubert leads the team in hits with 27 on the year, and has the fewest strikeouts (7) of any regular starters with enough qualifying at-bats.
- Schubert has reached base in all 19 games this season, along with a current 13-game hitting streak. He's only had two games out of GU's 19 without a hit, but reached via a walk or hit-by pitch in each.
- 1B Jake Vieth leads the team with a .453 on-base percentage and is the most-patient Zag, leading the team with 17 walks, eight more than any teammate.
- Trube has posted a team high 14 runs scored, 15 RBI and three home runs. Trube has been even better this season with runners on base, going 15-for-35 (.429).
- Of Trube's 15 RBI, eight have come with two outs, a team high.
- Trube and Schubert are also tied for the team lead with nine multi-hit games this year, followed by seven for Vieth and six each for Ernie Yake and Jace VanDeBrake.
- Redshirt freshman Yake broke out in a huge way to start the season, going 4-for-6 in his collegiate debut against Cal Poly on Feb. 16. That's one of Gonzaga's two four-hit games on the season, and one of six games in which Yake has multiple hits. He went 7-for-18 last weekend vs. Rice with four RBI.
- Nick Nyquist has stepped up at plate for the Zags over the past few games, hitting .345 (10-for-29) with eight RBI, eight runs scored, two doubles, five walks and a .447 on-base percentage. In three games against Pepperdine, he had four RBI and three runs scored.

PITCHING:

- RHP Daniel Bies broke a career-high for strikeouts for the second straight game and collected his first-career complete game in a 4-1 win over Milwaukee.
- Bies has only gotten better since his CG against Milwaukee, pushing his career-high for strikeouts to 13 in a 1-0 win over Pepperdine.
- Mac Lardner posted two of the best starts in his career in his last two times on the mound, throwing a total of 14.0 innings pitched, allowing just one run on 11 hits with eight strikeouts and just three walks. - Justin Blatner posted one of the best starts of his career against Oregon with his 6.0 inning effort in which he allowed just one run on two hits while striking out five and walking just two.
- Calvin LeBrun pitched 5.0 solid innings of relief in the four-game Rice series, striking out eight with zero walks, giving up just two runs and holding the Owls to a .211 batting average in his time on the mound.
- In the three-game sweep in Sacramento against Milwaukee and Sac State, the GU staff combined for a 2.00 ERA and struck out 29 batters against just three walks. They held opponents to just a .211 average on the weekend.
- Freshman RHP Alek Jacob struck out a career-high 11 over 7.0 innings against Sac State in the second half of a doubleheader following Bies' complete-game performance.
- GU pitchers have held opponents to just a .235 batting average with two outs, including a .156 mark (5-for-32) from Lardner.
- The Gonzaga bullpen has collected five victories and six saves on the season. Casey Legumina has five of those saves, which ranks him first in the WCC and 18th in the nation.
- The GU staff has a 3.62 ERA on the year and has combined for 158 strikeouts in 164.0 innings against just 62 walks.

Gonzaga Article Link

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Baseball Drops Series Opener at BYU, 6-4

Pinorini collected two doubles on offense for GU


March 22, 2018

PROVO, Utah -- Gonzaga baseball battled BYU down the stretch, but fell 6-4 in the first of a three-game series in Provo, Utah.

Gonzaga (11-9, 2-2) outhit the Cougars (11-9, 1-3) 8-7, but a late two-run homer by BYU was the difference. GU's Justin Blatner and Alek Jacob went 4.0 innings each and held BYU without a big inning, but the offense was shutout in the final three innings.

"It was a back and forth battle, and we did a good job answering back in the sixth," head coach Mark Machtolf said. "We squandered a golden opportunity to jump up big early in the first, but their starter was able to settle in and get comfortable. That ended up being the difference in tonight's game."

Shortstop Gunnar Schubert collected one hit and two RBI in the game to push his on-base streak to all 20 games and his hit streak to 14 games. Austin Pinorini was back behind the plate and led the Zags with two doubles, a run scored and an RBI.

Schubert's two RBI came on a single in the first and a groundout in the third, giving the Zags a 2-1 lead. BYU came back to take a 4-2 lead, but Pinorini and Ernie Yake hit back-to-back RBI doubles to tie the score at 4-4.

The Cougars answered back in the bottom of the seventh with the difference-making two-run homer before keeping the GU offense without a run for the final frames.

The Zags and Cougars will play Game 2 of the three-game series on Friday at 5 p.m. PT/6 p.m. MT in Provo, Utah.

Gonzaga Article Link

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Baseball Falls 6-2 at BYU

Branson Trube collected two hits for GU


March 23, 2018

PROVO, Utah — Gonzaga baseball left 12 runners on base in a 6-2 loss at BYU on Friday evening in Provo, Utah.
The Zags (11-10, 2-3) had numerous opportunities on offense putting baserunners on via six hits, five walks and three hit batters, but managed just two runs. GU left two on base to end the first, fourth, sixth, seventh and ninth innings.

On the mound, Daniel Bies battled through six innings, giving up six runs (four earned), on seven hits with nine strikeouts and three walks. Taylor Davis and Calvin LeBrun each pitched a scoreless inning for Gonzaga.

“It was a tough night all around,” head coach Mark Machtolf said. “I thought [Daniel] Bies did a good job of battling after facing some adversity early in the game. We have to do a better job of battling offensively. We have a great opportunity to come out and dig out a win on getaway day tomorrow. Every championship team has to find a way to not swept on the road.”

Branson Trube had two hits for the Zags, and Nick Brooks had two RBI to pace the offense. Gunnar Schubert’s first inning single moved his on-base streak to all 21 games and his hit streak to 15 games.

The Cougars got to Bies early with two runs in the second and then did most of their damage with a four-run sixth.

GU answered with a pair of runs in the sixth inning when Brooks stepped in to pinch hit and knocked home a pair of runs with a two-out single to pull GU within four at 6-2.

The Zags and Cougars will play the final game of the series on Saturday at 12 p.m. PT/1 p.m. MT in Provo, Utah.

Gonzaga Article Link

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Gonzaga Baseball Takes Series Finale at BYU, 4-3

McClary collected two hits and scored twice in first start of season


March 24, 2018

Box Score

PROVO, Utah — Gonzaga baseball pitched well and pushed across three runs in the eighth on the way to a 4-3 win at BYU on Saturday to salvage a win in the series.

After BYU (12-10, 2-4 WCC) took the first two games of the series, GU starter Mac Lardner put the Zags (12-10, 3-3 WCC) in position to win going 6.0 innings and giving up just one unearned run on two hits with six strikeouts and four walks. Casey Legumina came on in the seventh and pitched the final 3.0 innings to get the win. He allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits with four strikeouts and zero walks.

“We did a great job of digging out a win today,” head coach Mark Machtolf said. “Mac Lardner was phenomenal for the third week in a row. We did enough offensively to get the lead and we got two big-time defensive plays from Jake Vieth and Daniel Fredrickson to secure the win.”

On offense, Brendan McClary got his first start of the season and delivered in a huge way, leading off both of GU’s run-scoring innings with singles. He came around to score both times on what were his first two hits of the year in only four total plate appearances. Gunnar Schubert also reached twice on a hit-by-pitch and RBI infield single to push his on-base streak to all 22 games and his hit streak to 16 games.

After BYU grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third, Lardner kept GU in the game until his offense was able to breakthrough in the sixth inning. McClary collected his first hit of the season with a single in the sixth. Ernie Yake followed with a double to push McClary to third where he came home on a groundout by team RBI leader Branson Trube to tie the score, 1-1.

In the eighth, it was McClary and Yake again getting things started. McClary ripped a leadoff single, and then Yake reached on an error by the BYU second baseman that put runners on second and third with nobody out. Schubert knocked home a run on an RBI infield single, Austin Pinorini pushed across another with a bases loaded walk and Daniel Fredrickson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for a 4-1 GU lead.

The Cougars added two more in the bottom of the eighth off of GU closer Casey Legumina, who entered to begin the seventh. Legumina then induced a 3-6-3 double play to get out of the jam and keep the lead heading to the ninth, where he put the Cougars down in order to get the win.

The Zags continue West Coast Conference play on Thursday when they begin a three-game set at Saint Mary’s at 3 p.m. in Moraga, Calif. Check the baseball schedule page at GoZags.com for available links to live coverage.

Gonzaga Article Link