Zags Play Tuesday Doubleheader At Washington
5/14/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 14, 2001
SPOKANE, Wash. -
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GONZAGA (26-25) FINISHES REGULAR-SEASON WITH IN-STATE BATTLE WITH WASHINGTON (29-18) WCC PLAYOFFS AT PEPPERDINE TO FOLLOW
TUESDAY - May 15 (Husky Ballpark)
Gonzaga at Washington, 3 p.m. (DH)
ZAGS WIN COAST DIVISION TITLE: It didn't happen the way it was scripted but Gonzaga did survive the final weekend of the season and emerged with the school's first-ever division title since joining the West Coast Conference for baseball in 1996. Gonzaga was swept in the final series of the season by Loyola Marymount, but the Zags got some much needed help from San Francisco as the Dons won two of three from second place Santa Clara including a deciding 9-6 win on Sunday. In the Zags series Loyola Marymount jumped on Gonzaga pitching on Friday afternoon to bang out 23 hits in a 18-7 victory over Gonzaga. Nate Gold drove in four runs in the Zags losing effort while Eric Rodland went 3-for-5 at the plate. On Saturday, Gonzaga's pitching staff was again victimized for double-digit hits as the Lions went on for a 10-6 win. Jared Hertz drove home three Gonzaga runs during the contest while senior Scott Stencil had a solid outing from the bullpen tossing five innings of five hit baseball. With a division title within site on Sunday afternoon, Gonzaga fell behind Loyola Marymount and dropped the contest 6-4. Kevin Richardson drove home two runs while Hertz finished the game with three hits. Freshman closer Eric Everson had a good performance out of the bullpen tossing four innings of shutout baseball with five strike outs.
VERSUS THE HUSKIES: This will be the second meeting between Gonzaga and Washington this season. The Huskies won the previous meeting 11-6 against the Bulldogs two weeks ago in Spokane. The teams will play a doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon in order to accomadate the Zags travel schedule for the West Coast Conference Playoffs this weekend in Malibu. The Huskies will wrap up an important Pac-10 series against Asrizona State on Monday afternoon prior to hosting the Zags in the midweek affair. Both teams will use a number of pitchers out of the bullpen in order to save up for important weekend series. Washington is 29-18 overall and Tyler Davidson leads the team with a .360 average and 42 RBI's. Jay Garthwaite is the team's top run producer with 46 RBI's.
THE HERTZ ERA CONTINUES: Gonzaga head coach Steve Hertz enters his 22nd season as the head coach of the Bulldogs and 24th season as a Division I head coach. During his tenure with the Bulldogs Hertz has compiled a 579-574-5 record including two trips to the NCAA Regionals. The last two seasons Gonzaga has been in contention for the Coast Division title of the West Coast Conference finishing second in both campaigns. Overall, Hertz has compiled a 638-636-5 record winning his 600th career game on April 8, 2000 against Saint Mary's College.
BASEBALL ON THE AIR: Gonzaga's two games against the University of Washington will be broadcast on the internet at www.gozags.com. Bob Robertson provides all the play-by-play action as Gonzaga concludes its 2001 regular season. Start time for broadcasts is at 3 p.m. Tuesday's doubleheader will also be on Oldies 1050 AM in Spokane starting at 3 p.m.
TEAM ERA TAKES A BEATING: After lowering the team earned average under 4.80, Gonzaga's pitching staff struggled a little during its final weekend series against Loyola Marymount. The team still stands under 5.00 with a 4.95 earned run average. Freshman Errol Simonitsch leads the squad with a 2.97 ERA, while staff workhorse Barry Matthews is close behind at 3.03.
A QUARTER AND SOME DIMES: Gonzaga is on the verge of having eight every day starters compiling at least 25 RBI's on the season while three players have pounded out at least 10 home runs. Nate Gold leads the club with 45 RBI's and 13 home runs. Jared Hertz is second on the team with 43 RBI's while Kevin Richardson and Barry Matthews round out the double digit home run hitters with 11 and 10. Center fielder Kevin Cave stands at 24 RBI's and will give GU eight starters at 25 or more RBI's with one more.
BRAINS AND BASEBALL: For the second year in a row Gonzaga placed two players on the Verizon Academic All-District VIII team. Senior Jared Hertz was a repeat member with a 3.94 GPA in finance. Sophomore Eric Rodland makes his first appearance on the list with a 3.76 GPA in mechanical engineering. Last season Jared Hertz and current pro Steve Bennett made the list.
