April 28, 2000

Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. - Barry Matthews connected for two of Gonzaga's (24-17, 14-7 WCC) five home runs Friday afternoon at August / A.R.T. Stadium in Spokane, as the Bulldogs cruised to a 13-4 West Coast Conference victory over Santa Clara (16-33, 6-16 WCC). The two teams will complete the three game series with a double-header on Saturday afternoon starting at 11:00 a.m.

Adam Stokey delivered the first big blow for the Zags in the bottom of the first inning as Stokey connected for a three run shot to put Gonzaga in control early. For Stokey it was his seventh bomb of the season and 31st of his career, moving him into third place on the Bulldogs career list.

Santa Clara closed the gap to 3-2 with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Eliot Wheeler drove home Travis Hinton with the first Broncos run. Hinton had led off the fourth inning with a double down the right field line. Jack Headley then singled home Todd Hughes in the fifth inning. Santa Clara would get an additional run off Gonzaga starter Steve Bennett (8-3) in the top of the sixth, but it was too little, too late. Bennett worked six innings with six strike outs, moving him past the 100 strike out plateau for the season and making him only the fifth Gonzaga pitcher to record at least 100 K's in a season.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Gonzaga took control of the game with three runs courtesy of the long ball. Brent Church opened the inning with his second home run of the season. Following a Jason Bay single to right field, Barry Matthews connected for the first of his two blasts, a two-run shot lined over the right field wall. That big inning chased Santa Clara hurler Matt Travis (3-8) from the ball game.

Gonzaga then got healthy against the Bronco bullpen scoring six runs in the seventh inning. Barry Matthews led off the inning with his second homer of the game. Jared Hertz then drove home Brian Munhall with a single through the right side. Brent Church added a sacrifice fly to score the Zags third run of the inning. Jason Bay then delivered his tenth home run of the season with a three-run shot over the left field fence.

Gonzaga was led on the afternoon by Jason Bay and Danny Evans, each collecting three hits, while Barry Matthews joined Bay and Adam Stokey with three RBI's. Todd Hughes tallied two hits for Santa Clara, while Jim Wallace hit a pinch-hit home run in the ninth for the Broncos final run.