May 15, 2009
Box Score
SPOKANE, Wash. - The Gonzaga University bullpen fired 2.2 scoreless innings of relief to preserve a 4-3 win over Loyola Marymount University in the series opener Friday night. The victory clinches the Zags a spot in next weekend's West Coast Conference Championship Series and gives them a one game lead in the WCC with just two games remaining.
Ernesto Ortiz led the way going 2-for-3 with a home run and Tyson Van Winkle also added a two-run homer for the Zags. Bulldog Relievers Reedy Berg and Cody Martin combined to allow just one hit in the final 2.2 innings to preserve the win. The Bulldogs improved to 31-16 overall and 13-6 in the WCC while LMU had its record fall to 29-26 overall and 12-7 in conference.
Van Winkle gave the Zags an early 2-0 lead with a long two-run home run over the left field fence with one out in the first inning. Drew Heid had reached base after getting hit by the pitch with before Van Winkle stepped to plate and hammered a 1-1 pitch for his fifth homer of the season.
The Zags added two more runs in the fifth inning as Mark Castellitto started the inning with an infield single that went off the glove of LMU starting pitcher Lee Roberts. Jason Chatwood then put down a sacrifice bunt that a charging LMU third baseman Kyle Spraker fielded but then slipped and then got back to his feet and still tried to make the throw to first. Chatwood had already beat the play and the throw went wide of the bag, allowing Castellitto to scamper over to third and put runners on first and third with nobody out. Chris Sturdivant's double play ground out then brought Castellitto home to make it 3-0. Ortiz then came to plate and jumped on the first pitch he saw for a solo blast over the left field fence to make it 4-0.
Gonzaga starting pitcher Matt Fields ran into some trouble in the sixth inning, allowing a pair of hits and walk as a Jonathan Johnson's RBI single brought home the Lions first run of the ball game. After the Zags went down in order in their half of the sixth, LMU cut the lead to one after opening the seventh inning with a base hit and later had Speaker chase Fields out of the game with two-run home run to left center field to make it a 4-3.
Bulldog reliever Reedy Berg then came on and got the LMU three and four-hole hitters Ryan Wheeler and Angelo Songco to both ground out and keep it a one-run ball game.
After the left handed throwing Berg got to the two big left handed LMU power hitters out in the seventh, the Zags called in their closer in Martin in the eighth. He struck out the first two batters he faced before allowing a single. LMU got a break during the next at-bat as Martin dropped the ball during his wind up to allow the Lion baserunner to move up to second. Martin regrouped and struck out Shon Roe to end the inning. In the ninth he continued to fill up the strike zone, striking out the first two hitters before getting Spraker to ground out to Wells at second to seal up the ball game.
Fields improved his record to 7-1 and 5-0 in the WCC after leaving with a 4-3 lead after working through 6.1 innings. Martin went on to strike out five of the seven hitters he faced to pick up his team-leading fifth save.
Gonzaga and LMU will meet up for the second game of the series 1 p.m. Saturday with the Zags needing to win one of the two remaining WCC games to claim the WCC Regular Season title.
