Box Score
SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Gonzaga's and Santa Clara's baseball squads entered the eighth inning separated by just one run, but seven GU runs in the top of the eighth and five more in the top of the ninth turned a close game into the Zags' biggest win of the season Friday night as they beat the Broncos 14-1 at Stephen Schott Stadium.
Gonzaga entered its half of the eighth inning with a tight 2-1 lead, but the Bulldog bats quickly gave the pitching staff some breathing room. Mitchell Gunsolus and Sam Brown both reached base to lead the frame, and they moved over to scoring position with a sacrifice bunt from Taylor Jones. Justin Jacobs brought Gunsolus in with a single through the right side, and pinch hitter Caleb Wood brought home Brown with a bunt single. The Zags then loaded the bases when Tyler Frost reached base via an error. With the bases juiced, Jeff Bohling broke the game open with a triple down the right field line, his second of the year. The three-bagger cleared the bases, giving Bohling his eighth, ninth, and 10th RBIs of the season. Both Joey Harris and Brown tallied additional RBI singles in the frame, putting the score at 9-1.
The Zags batted around again in the ninth inning, sending 10 men to the plate. Gonzaga scored five runs on just one hit, benefitting from a Santa Clara error, two walks and three hit batsmen. The Bulldogs won by a score of 14-1, their biggest margin of victory this season and biggest since a 17-1 win at BYU May 26, 2012. Ten different batters tallied RBIs for the Zags, and 10 different runners scored as well.
GU starter Andrew Sopko kept the Zags ahead in the middle innings with another quality start. The junior right hander went 7.0 innings, allowing just one run on six hits while striking out seven Broncos. He got Santa Clara to strand seven runners total - including two each in the first and the seventh innings - and retired seven in a row from the end of the third inning through the fifth.
The Broncos opened the game's scoring record in the bottom of the second. TC Florentine singled to left field with one out and moved into scoring position on a balk from Sopko. Braden Frankfort then doubled down the left field line, plating Florentine for the lone Bronco run. Gonzaga answered right back in the top of the third, getting two runs to take the lead. Harris gave the Zags their first base runner of the game with a one-out single to right field. A couple of batters later, Gunsolus drove Santa Clara starter Reece Karalus' first pitch over the right field wall for a two-run home run, giving the Zags a permanent lead.
Bulldog Bites
- Tonight's margin of victory was the largest of the last three seasons for GU, but it's also the third time the Zags have won a game by 10 or more runs this season. They last won three games by 10+ runs in 2012 when they tallied four double-digit victories, two of which came in the last two games of the season at BYU.
- The Zags have now batted around in six different innings this year, doing so twice in two different games. They also sent 10+ men to the dish two times March 11 at Arkansas, scoring five in the seventh and seven in the ninth. In their six times batting around, the Bulldogs have scored five runs three times and seven runs the other three.
- Sopko has now turned in five strong performances in a row. He's tallied a 1.34 ERA (5 ER in 33.2 IP) in his last five starts, and the right hander has gone at least 5.0 innings and allowed three or fewer runs in each outing. The junior won all five of those games, fanning 32 batters in the process.
- Gunsolus leads the team with four home runs on the year, the most by a Zag since he hit six homers during the 2013 season. As a team, the Zags have 14 homers on the year; they had eight last year and 14 in 2013. Additionally, the third baseman's four-hit night equaled both a season and career high. He's done the feat three times previously (once this season), the last coming in game two of a Feb. 26 doubleheader versus Purdue.
- Kyle Vanderkin, who entered the game as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning, made his Gonzaga debut. He was hit by a pitch and later came around to score but did not register an official at bat.
Mac Talk - Thoughts from GU head coach Mark Machtolf
"Bohling's triple was big, but we also had good at bats all throughout those two innings."
"Sopko seems to be getting stronger as we go on. Hopefully we keep it up, our defense has been good lately, and we seem to be playing well as a team."
Next Up
Gonzaga (20-19, 10-9 WCC) will continue the three-game stint against Santa Clara with game two of the series on April 25. The Zags will send RHP Hunter Wells to the mound while the Broncos counter with RHP Eric Lex. First pitch for that game is again scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at Stephen Schott Stadium.
