April 27, 2002

Box Score

SAN DIEGO - Gonzaga (23-20, 11-9 WCC) dropped its third straight game after a season-high five game winning streak, as the Bulldogs fell 7-3 to San Diego (32-16, 14-9 WCC) in West Coast Conference action Saturday afternoon at Cunningham Stadium. The two teams will conclude the weekend series at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

The Toreros continued their hot weekend hitting with four early runs against Bulldogs starter Errol Simonitsch (3-4). Joe Lima and Joey Prast accounted for RBI singles during the two-run first while Jason Marian drove home a run in the third with a sacrifice fly that scored Lima. San Diego had added a run in the second inning on a double play ball with bases loaded and no outs.

Gonzaga rallied for its only runs of the game in the fifth inning. Grant Zurmely and Nate Gold hit back-to-back run producing doubles. Zurmely's double scored John Gebbers while Gold's double plated Eric Rodland and Zurmely. Gonzaga thought it had tied the score at 4-4 in the sixth when Brian Munhall came around to score from second as Kemp Quackenbush broke up a double play and the ball sailed wide of first base. The umpire ruled runner interference on Quackenbush giving San Diego a double play and sending Munhall back to third. San Diego starter Ricky Barrett (7-1) was able to work out of the inning and pitch into the ninth.

San Diego extended its lead to 6-3 in the bottom of the sixth as David Bagley hit a bases loaded single that scored Mike McCoy and Eric Verdugo. The Toreros would tack on an unearned run in the seventh on a McCoy RBI single.

Gonzaga made a final charge in the ninth as Garth Blumberg and Rodland singled to open the inning. Closer Matt Coy would get a double play ball and infield ground out to end the Gonzaga threat and pick up his second save of the season.

Rodland led Gonzaga with a 3-for-5 afternoon while Gold went 2-for-4. McCoy, Prast and Verdugo all finished with two hits for San Diego.