Gonzaga (12-15) vs Washington State (12-14)
Patterson Baseball Compex & Washington Trust Field| Spokane, Wash. | Broadcast regionally on SWX
Tuesday, March 31; 6:05 p.m. - RHP Tyler Frost vs. RHP Nick Leonard
Links to live stats and audio may be found on the baseball schedule page of GoZags.com
Game Notes: Gonzaga
STORY LINES
• After a weekend in Los Angeles, Gonzaga returns to eastern Washington for eight games in the area. The Zags host WSU and San Diego for a four-game home stint before making a return trip to Pullman Tuesday, April 7. They will then host Saint Mary's in Spokane, their penultimate home series of the season.
• Gonzaga is an even 9-9 in non-conference play this season, picking up wins over Utah Valley, UC Davis, Purdue, Tulane, and Arkansas. The Zags have only played one non-WCC opponent since March 13, however, that a 7-4 loss to Washington before rain washed away the second game of that intra-state series. Against schools from the Pac 12, GU is 0-2, also losing at Arizona State to end February. In addition to Washington State, the Zags will also face UCLA and Oregon in away series during the month of May.
• Former Pac 10 North divisional opponents, the Cougars and Bulldogs have played each other 200 times with WSU leading the series 122-78. The Bulldogs have held the upper hand as of late, however, winning both games last year and seven of the last nine games between the two schools. Last year featured a single home game for both programs while the 2013 series, which was split at 1-1, was played exclusively at Patterson Baseball Complex.
ABOUT GONZAGA
• Gonzaga is 12-15 on the year, most recently taking one game of a three-game series at West Coast Conference leader Loyola Marymount. GU beat the Lions 8-2 on March 28, and their two losses came by a total of three runs. The Zags fell in their first extra innings game of the season 6-5 on March 27 and lost 4-2 on March 29 to end the series.
• Three qualifying Gonzaga starters are currently hitting above .300, headlined by senior Mitchell Gunsolus' .351. Taylor Jones, who's started at first base in the last six games, is currently hitting .359, but he has not yet accumulated enough at-bats to meet the minimum 1.5 per team game. Justin Jacobs leads the team with 22 RBIs, but five other Zags have drove in double-digit runs and eight players total have eight RBIs or more. Gunsolus also leads the squad with a .532 slugging percentage and he and Sam Brown are tied with a .442 on base percentage.
• As a staff, the Gonzaga pitchers have posted a 3.33 ERA. Andrew Sopko leads the crop of regular starters with a 2.57 ERA while two relievers - David Bigelow and Hunter Wells - have ERAs under 2.00. Bigelow, the team's closer, has allowed two runs in 16.2 innings for a 1.08 ERA. Eli Morgan leads the bullpen with 20.2 innings pitched while he and Hunter Wells are tops among relievers with 19 strikeouts, although Wells' last two outings have been starts. Bigelow also leads the team with 11 appearances.
ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
• The Cougars are 12-14 on the year and have lost their last eight ballgames, including a three-game series against UCLA in Pullman. The two teams have not shared any common opponents yet this season, but WSU has played WCC foe San Diego and will play Portland in addition the four other PAC 12 schools Gonzaga has played or will play.
• INF Ian Sagdal leads Washington State's batters with a .281 average and .371 slugging percentage while being only one of three Cougs to start all 26 games. Sagdal is also the team's leader with 14 runs, 25 hits, seven extra-base hits, and he's tied with OF Cameron Frost with 15 RBIs. 1B Tyler McDowell has the highest on-base percentage at .392. In all, Cougar hitters have amassed 104 runs, four home runs, and are hitting 207 in 2015.
• Washington State's closer, Ian Hamilton, leads the team with a 2.20 ERA, allowing four earned runs in 16.1 innings while picking up saves in half of his 12 appearances. Both LHP Matt Bower and RHP Sam Triece have made 14 appearances on the year, and Bower leads the team with a 4-1record despite not having started a game this season. He's posted a 4.97 ERA in 25.1 innings of work, and he leads the entire squad with 35 strikeouts.
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
Outfielder Sam Brown had a standout weekend last week at LMU, receiving WCC Player of the Week honors after hitting .667 (8x12) with two doubles, two runs scored, and four RBIs against the Lions. All four of his RBIs came in game one of the series (March 27) as the redshirt sophomore tallied two 2-RBI base knocks, equaling a career high in RBIs he set earlier this year at UC Davis. Also, he collected three hits on both March 27 and 29, and on March 28 he scored two runs, both also equaling career highs. In all, his slash line for the series was .667/.732/.833. The offensive outburst came after moving into the leadoff spot in the GU lineup.
MITCHELL GUN-SLUG-US
The season is over 40% finished, and third baseman Mitchell Gunsolus' numbers are still eye-popping. The senior has a slash line of .351/.442/.532, leading the team and sixth in the WCC in batting average and on base percentage while coming in at seventh in slugging. A full breakdown of Gunsolus' WCC rankings may be found on the bottom of page three. Additionally, he's shown great improvement on his numbers from last season. He's on pace to set career highs in batting average, hits, runs scored, doubles, RBIs, and stolen bases, and he's currently tied for fourth in GU history with 13 triples. Gunsolus' career triple numbers put him among the top 10 active national leaders in the category.
TAKING THE LEAD
With Brown's outburst this weekend and Mitchell Gunsolus' production all season long, the Zags have seen tremendous production from the top spot in the lineup. Brown and Gunsolus, the two Zags to see at bats as a leadoff hitter, have combined for a .405 average while hitting No. 1, and they and Jeff Bohling (who pinch-hit one game for Gunsolus early in the season at leadoff) have combined for a .496 on base percentage from the top spot. In all, 17% of the team's runs (23x135), hits (45x262), and walks (17x98) have come from the batter hitting leadoff.
THE ART OF PENMANSHIP
With a 2.65 ERA, the Gonzaga bullpen has been strong all season. They've held opposing teams to just a .199 batting average and 25 earned runs (33 total) in 85.0 innings of work. Three Zags - Sean-Luke Brija, Hunter Wells, and Brandon Bailey - have not given up an earned run as a relief pitcher (although have in starts), and five other relievers have allowed four earned runs or fewer on the year. David Bigelow has taken the closer's role and saved four games this season while Wyatt Mills and Calvin LeBrun both have three-inning saves on the season. Over the last four weeks (16 games) Gonzaga's relievers been even better, combining for a 2.32 ERA and .186 batting average against. Since the beginning of the Phoenix Muni Classic Feb. 26, GU relievers have allowed 16 earned runs (21 total) in 62.0 innings of work.
STARTING LINE
Tyler Frost will take the mound against WSU, seeing his first appearance as a pitcher since March 16 when he went 3.0 innings and allowed three runs against San Francisco. The freshman has started in three of his five appearances, his best coming March 11 at Arkansas when he held the Razorbacks to three runs in 7.0 innings for his first collegiate win. The Phoenix native has accumulated a 5.62 ERA as a starter, allowing 10 earned runs in 16.0 innings and holding opposing hitters to a .262 batting average. In the field, Frost is also a regular as he's played 22 games in the outfield for Gonzaga and provided a spark in the lower half of the lineup.
BREAKING THEM DOWN
The Zags have pounded the ball late in games, particularly as of late. Gonzaga plated four or more runs in the eighth inning twice against BYU, including five to take the lead March 20 for a 7-6 win. Overall, 58 of their 135 runs (43.0%) have come in the seventh, eighth, or ninth innings, compared to 33 for GU opponents. As a team, the Zags are hitting .301 during the final three innings, and they're reaching base at a .389 clip in the final third of the game as well. Individually, Sam Brown and Justin Jacobs have some of the highest numbers on the team during these frames. Jacobs is hitting .452 and getting on base at a .514 clip during the frames while Brown's batting .433 but reaching base 54.1% of the time. The Zags are particularly adept at scoring in the ninth inning as they've outscored opponents 22-7 during the final frame this season. Both figures are regulation bests for the Bulldogs.
TAKING THE BULL BY THE HORNS
Much of the Bulldogs late-game success hitting the ball has come thanks to their ability to hit opposing bullpens. Gonzaga has hit .291 against non-starting pitchers this season, billing them for 65 runs in 95.0 innings, a 5.02 ERA. Over half of GU's walks (50 of 98) have come off relief pitchers, and opposing relievers have suffered four losses at the hands of Gonzaga hitters. In fact, the Zags have batted around in an inning three times this season (twice on March 11 at Arkansas, once March 20 versus BYU), and all three times came against relief pitching.
IN LIKE A LION
The month of March must agree with senior Cory LeBrun. The infielder has reached base in all 15 games this month and is currently riding an 11-game hit streak, hitting safely in each game since March 11. In this second month of the season, LeBrun leads the team with a .353 average (18x51) and .421 on base percentage. He's also brought in six RBIs on five doubles while drawing four walks and two hit by pitches in those 15 games.
WCC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
With Brown winning the award this week, three Bulldogs have earned West Coast Conference Player of the Week honors this year. Sophomore RHP Brandon Bailey got the award after throwing 8.0 innings of shutout ball, fanning a career high 10 batters and holding batters to three hits March 6 at Tulane. Freshman OF/RHP Tyler Frost earned PotW honors March 2 after hitting .564 and slugging .813 at the Phoenix Muni Classic. His 9-for-16 weekend at the plate included four runs, three RBIs, a double, and his first career home run.
