April 11, 2009

Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University used a complete-game effort from Steven Ames to earn a 4-2 series-clinching win over #21 University of San Diego Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs improve to 23-10 overall and 6-3 in the WCC with their third consecutive WCC series win. San Diego's record drops to 23-13 and 7-2 in the WCC.

A two-out two-run double off the bat of Ernesto Ortiz in the fourth inning broke a 2-2 tie and provided Ames with a lead that he would not relinquish.

The Bulldogs answered USD's first-inning run with a run of their own in the bottom half as Evan Wells slapped a single through the right side to lead off the inning for the Zags. He then stole second and moved up to third on Drew Heid's ground out to first base. The Bulldogs second leading RBI man Tyson Van Winkle then singled back up the middle to score Wells, evening the score at 1-1.

The Toreros put a run on the board in the second inning to take a 2-1 lead but Gonzaga came right back with a run in the third inning. Wells continued to set the table for the Bulldog offense, lining a one-out base-hit to centerfield before moving into scoring position by stealing second for the second time in the ball game. Van Winkle again came through with a two-out RBI line drive single to right center, scoring Wells to make it a 2-2 game.

Gonzaga used another timely hit to obtain the lead in the fourth inning as Mark Castellitto started the rally by reaching base with one out after being hit by the pitch. A batter later, Jason Chatwood earned a two-out walk to put runners on first and second for Ortiz, the nine-hole hitter. Ortiz came through for the Zags, lining a two-strike pitch into the left field corner to score both Castellitto and Chatwood to give Gonzaga the 4-2 lead.

Ames took it from there, dominating the WCC's first-place team throughout the afternoon. He held the WCC's top hitting team to single runs in the first and second inning before retiring 14 USD hitters in a row and surrendering just three hits in the final 7.1 innings. He sat the Toreros down in order in the third through sixth innings, striking out six in that span and later retired them in order in the eighth.

USD's lone chance to get back into the ball game came in the seventh inning as Jon Hotta reached on a one-out infield single and Tony Strazzara followed with an opposite field double into the right field corner to put runners on second and third for the Toreros. Ames buckled down and struck out Mike Lugo and Bryan Haar on two perfectly located breaking pitches to escape the threat and keep the 4-2 lead.

With his pitch count on the raise in the eighth inning, Ames continued to attack the strike zone, retiring the USD 1-2-3 hitters on eight pitches in the eighth inning. The quick inning gave Ames the opportunity to go back out in the ninth for a chance to pick up the complete-game victory. He again needed just eight pitches to make it through the ninth, allowing just a one-out single before getting Strazzara to ground out to Ortiz for the game's final out.

Ames improved his record to a WCC best 6-0 after allowing just one earned run on six hits with a career-high 10 strikeouts in the Zags' first complete-game effort of the season. Wells finished with two hits, two runs scored and two stolen bases and Van Winkle also recorded two hits and drove in two runs.

Next up for the Bulldogs is a mid-week match up with Washington State University at the Patterson Baseball Complex and Washington Trust Field 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.