Feb. 22, 2009

Box Score

PHOENIX, Ariz. - The Gonzaga University baseball team finished off an impressive season-opening weekend with a 13-9 win over #10 University of Missouri in the Bulldogs final game at the Grand Canyon Classic Sunday afternoon. The Zags (3-1) won their final three games of the weekend including two meetings against the preseason 10th ranked Tigers (1-3).

Gonzaga pounded out 20 hits and had six players record multiple hits led by senior first baseman Ryan Wiegand and junior left fielder Mark Castellitto who each recorded four hits and scored three times. Castellitto added his first home run of the season and finished the game with four RBI. Senior second baseman Evan Wells and freshman shortstop Ernesto Ortiz each produced three-hit efforts and Ortiz also drove in three and scored twice from his nine-hole spot in the lineup.

After Missouri took a 1-0 lead in the first the Bulldogs answered with four runs in the second and two more in the third. Ortiz was in the middle of the Gonzaga scoring in the second as the Phoenix native lined a two-out three-run double to right center to give the Zags their first lead of the afternoon. Ortiz then came around to score one batter later on an RBI single by Wells to make it 4-1. The Gonzaga scoring in the third came from Castellitto who built the GU lead to 6-1 with his two-run blast.

The Tigers strung a couple hits together and were able to bring four runs across off of Bulldog junior starter Steven Ames in the bottom of third to cut the Gonzaga lead to 6-5. But the Zags' offense answered with three runs in the fourth highlighted by a two-out two-run double by junior catcher Tyson Van Winkle to make it a 9-5 ball game.

Ames pitched well after the rough third inning, retiring seven of the eight batters he faced after allowing a third inning homer. After allowing back-to-back one out hits in the sixth, Ames ended a Tiger threat by inducing Michael Liberto to hit into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.

Castellitto continued his hot streak in the later innings, adding RBI singles in the sixth and eighth and Wiegand also drove home a run in the ninth to cap the scoring for the Bulldogs.

Sophomore reliever Reedy Berg struck out two as he worked the final three innings to preserve the win for Ames who finished with four strikeouts in his first start of the season for the Bulldogs.

Next up for the Zags is a matchup with in-state rival Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. at 5:30 Tuesday.