Box Score
DAVIS, Calif.—The Gonzaga University baseball team ran into a tough-pitching UC Davis team Friday, falling 6-2 to the Aggies at the Dobbins Baseball Complex in Davis, Calif.
The hosts struck first, scoring two runs in the bottom of the opening frame. Kevin Barker led off the inning with a single and came around to score on a fielder's choice by Tanner BIly. Bily touched the plate later on in the frame when Austin March reached on a GU fielding error. UC Davis also scored a run in the second inning, but Gonzaga starter Brandon Bailey got out of a jam with runners on second and third by getting Bily to ground out to Mitchell Gunsolus at third base.
The Zags tried to respond in the top of the third inning when they got two runners on base. Cory LeBrun led off the frame by reaching base on an error by the Aggies' Spencer Henderson. Two batters and two outs later, Gunsolus reached base on a walk, his first on the year. In the next at-bat, Dustin Breshears put up a battle, seeing seven pitches from UC Davis starter Spencer Koopmans during the plate appearance before striking out.
UC Davis tacked on runs in the fifth and seventh innings, increasing its lead to 6-0.
Gonzaga avoided the shutout with a pair of runs in the ninth inning. Breshears led the inning off with a double down the right field line, and Jimmy Sinatro brought home the shortstop with a single two batters later. Caleb Wood and Justin Jacobs added singles to move Sinatro to third base, and the designated hitter scored on a groundout from LeBrun to put the score at 6-2, where it ended a batter later.
Bulldog Bites
- A handful of Zags extended their hit streaks Friday. With his first hit of the night, a double in the ninth, he's now tallied a hit in each of the five games this season. Wood also extended a streak, tallying a hit in his fourth straight game with a single in the second.
- Sinatro made his season debut Friday, batting cleanup as the designated hitter. The junior went 2x4 in his first game of the year, both bringing in a run and scoring one.
- Bailey threw 6.0 innings, hitting that mark for the second time this season and the 13th of his 17th start of his career. He's also fanned a batter in each of those 17 starts.
- Coming on in relief, Wells pitched 2.0 innings of shutout ball. He is one of five GU relievers to not allow a run so far this season.
- Two more Zags - Sinatro and Wood - picked up multiple base hits, giving the team 13 multiple base-hit games in five played. Eight different players have games with at least two base hits, headlined by both Breshears and Gunsolus with three apiece.
Mac Talk - thoughts from Gonzaga head coach Mark Machtolf
On Koopmans and the Gonzaga bats:
"Koopmans did a good job of keeping us off balance, and we did a good job of staying with it and eventually our bats started to come alive late."
On Bailey's performance on the mound:
"Bailey pitched ok. He made a couple of mistakes there, but we never really got going."
Up Next
The Zags (2-3) and Aggies (4-0-1) will play two games on Saturday, Feb. 21, the first of which will begin at 11:00 a.m., again at Dobbins Baseball Complex.
