Bulldogs Tournament Life On The Line Friday Against BYU
5/24/2013 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
2013 WCC Championship
STOCKTON, CA
GAME 54 | May 24 | vs BYU | Banner Island Ballpark | 12:00 p.m
RADIO: 1510 KGA TV: WCC Digital Network
GONZAGA WILL PLAY AT 7:30 P.M. SATURDAY IF THEY WIN THE MORNING CONTEST
GAME 55 | May 24 | vs USF/USD | Banner Island Ballpark | 7:30 p.m
RADIO: 1510 KGA TV: WCC Digital Network
All times Pacific Time Zone and subject to change
Live stats available on GoZags.com and on the GoZags App
Visit GoZags.com for live audio/video availability
Gonzaga Bulldogs (32-20-1, 18-6 West Coast)
STARTING PITCHER
#13 LHP Tyler Olson (9-3, 2.09 ERA)
Head Coach - Mark Machtolf (Stanford 1987, 10th Year - 23rd at Gonzaga)
Gonzaga Record - 298-232 Career Record - Same
BYU Cougars (31-20, 15-9 West Coast)
STARTING PITCHER
TBA
Head Coach - Mike Littlewood (BYU 1993)
HAVE TO WIN OUT: The life of the Gonzaga University baseball team in the 2013 West Coast Conference Championships will be on the line Friday. After dropping the opening game to University of San Francisco, the Zags will have to battle in the losers bracket to make the championship Saturday. The task begins with BYU who dropped to University of San Diego in the nightcap of the Thursday opening round doubleheader. If Gonzaga wins the first game Friday, the club will play again in the evening against the loser of San Francisco and San Diego. If Gonzaga wins the night game, they will advance to the championship. The winner of the WCC Championship earns an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
ZAGS AND COUGARS ROUND 2: Gonzaga University took the season series two games to one against BYU in Spokane. GU took game one 6-4 and game two 5-1. Saturday's starter Tyler Olson was the starter in game two and had a stellar day. The lefty went the distance and allowed seven hits, one run in nine innings. He struck out five cougars en route to his eighth victory of the year. BYU won the series finale 9-6 but GU outscored the Cougars 17 to 14.
ZAGS DROP TO USF: The Gonzaga University baseball team had its opportunities but ended up dropping to the University of San Francisco to open the 2013 West Coast Conference Championships. The Dons took an early 4-0 lead before GU tied the game on a three-run homer from Cory LeBrun. USF battled back to take lead and never looked back. The top-seeded Zags now must win three consecutive games to earn the automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
MACHTOLF NEARING 300: Gonzaga University head baseball coach Mark Machtolf is very close to his 300th career victory. Sitting at 298, Machtolf needs just two more wins to reach the milestone. To stay alive in the 2013 West Coast Conference Championships, Machtolf must lead GU to two wins Friday. If the Zags accomplish that task, Machtolf will also reach win No. 300. Machtolf reached win 298 May 11 and since then the Zags are 0-6.
ALL-WCC TEAM ANNOUNCED!: Gonzaga baseball claimed three of the five major West Coast Conference awards in the leagues annual awards. Marco Gonzales was named Co-Player of the Year, Tyler Olson the Pitcher of the Year and Mark Machtolf as Coach of the Year. GU was also well represented on the All-WCC team. Along with Gonzales and Olson, Cory LeBrun was named to the team. All-WCC Honorable Mention was also given to Alex Bonczyk, Arturo Reyes and Caleb Wood. Additionally, Wood was named to the All-WCC Freshman team.
HOW CAN WE WATCH?: Each contest Friday in the West Coast Conference Baseball Tournament can be watched free online on the WCC Digital Network, powered by Campus Insiders. The championship game Saturday can be seen on ESPNU and on the Watch ESPN mobile app. The Gonzaga returns to the diamond Friday at noon to face the loser of the University of San Diego and BYU game.
YOU CAN LISTEN TOO!: Each of the Gonzaga baseball team's games over the WCC Championships can also be heard on KGA 1510 AM with Steve Hertz and Tom Hudson on the call.
WCC REGULAR-SEASON CHAMPS: The quest to stand atop the West Coast Conference was fulfilled last Saturday as Gonzaga University baseball clinched the WCC regular-season title with a 6-1 victory over Santa Clara University at Stephen Schott Stadium. The landmark moment marks the second WCC regular-season title in program history with the last coming in 2009.
HOW THE WEST WAS WON: While other West Coast Conference schools continue league play this weekend, the Gonzaga University already wrapped up its championship regular season. The Bulldogs went 18-6 in WCC action and lost only one series. The Zags swept the University of Portland, Saint Mary's College and most recently Santa Clara University.
In WCC games, Cory LeBrun and Marco Gonzales were an offensive machine. LeBrun hit .337 with 16 RBI while Gonzales hit .325 with 9 RBI. Caleb Wood had a team-best 18 RBI and Alex Bonczyk stole 6 bases in league play.
Leading GU on the mound was Tyler Olson and Gonzales. Olson has been lights-out with a 7-1 record and 2.35 ERA in 57 innings. Gonzales went 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 56 innings.
As a team GU hit .264 in WCC games and had a 3.10 ERA.
