Gonzaga (15-16) vs Washington State (14-16)
Bailey-Brayton Field | Pullman, Wash.

Tuesday, April 7; 6:00 p.m. - RHP Tyler Frost vs. LHP Scotty Sunitsch

Links to live stats and audio may be found on the baseball schedule page of GoZags.com

Game Notes: Gonzaga | Washington State

STORY LINES

• The Zags continue an eight-game stint in eastern Washington Easter weekend, playing the lone away game of the stretch in Pullman, Wash. The Bulldogs will then host Saint Mary's in Spokane, their penultimate home series of the season over the weekend.
• Gonzaga picked up three big wins last weekend, beating the Cougars in Spokane March 31 before taking its first WCC series of the season against then-No. 25/27 San Diego two games to one. The Bulldogs' defense shone against the Toreros, not committing an error in the last two games of the series and throwing out all five attempted base-stealers.
• This year, Gonzaga is 10-9 in non-conference play, picking up wins over Utah Valley, UC Davis, Purdue, Tulane, Arkansas, and Washington State. Against teams from the Pac 12, GU is 1-2 with loses at Arizona State and at home against Washington. 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 201 times since 1960 with WSU leading the series 122-79. GU won the first contest in 2015 home-and-home series with a 5-4 victory last week, when Taylor Jones hit a two-run home run and they got one more on a ball put into play by Sam Brown during the sixth inning. The Bulldogs have now won eight of the last 10 games between the two schools, taking two of three off the Cougars in 2014. They've also won three in a row in Pullman, dating back to 2013.

ABOUT GONZAGA

• Gonzaga is 15-16 on the year, most recently taking two of three games from the WCC-leading San Diego Toreros. After falling in the series opener 9-4, Brandon Bailey pitched 8.2 innings in a tight 2-1 second game, and the GU offense exploded for seven runs in the fifth inning for a 9-1 win in the rubber match.
• Both Mitchell Gunsolus and Sam Brown have batting averages well above .300 as Gunsolus leads the team with a .341 average and Sam Brown is hitting .333. Taylor Jones, who's started at first base in the last 10 games, is currently hitting .400, but he has not yet accumulated enough at-bats to meet the minimum 2.0 plate appearances per team game. Justin Jacobs leads the team with 24 RBIs, but five other Zags have 13 or more RBIs on the season. Gunsolus also leads the squad with a .508 slugging percentage and he holds a slight lead on Sam Brown in on base percentage at .432 to .431.
• As a staff, the Gonzaga pitchers have posted a 3.25 ERA, the lowest in the West Coast Conference and among the nation's best 50 team ERAs. Andrew Sopko leads the crop of regular starters with a 2.39 ERA while three relievers - David Bigelow, Zach Abbruzza, and Hunter Wells - have ERAs under 2.00. Bigelow, the team's closer, has allowed three runs in 19.0 innings for a 1.42 ERA. Eli Morgan leads the bullpen with 20.2 innings pitched while Wells leads the relievers with 21 strikeouts, although he has also made two starts. Bigelow also leads the team with 13 appearances.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE

• The Cougars are 14-16 on the year, snapping a nine-game losing streak by taking the first two games of a three-game set at #12 California last weekend. They opened the series with a 4-2 win then shutout the Golden Bears 4-0 in Friday's middle game, but lost in the series finale 6-2 on Saturday.
• IF Ian Sagdal leads Washington State in most offensive categories with a .311 average, .443 on base percentage, 33 hits, 10 hits for extra bases, and 17 runs scored. OF Cameron Frost edges Sagdal with 18 RBIs on the year, and 1B Tyler McDowell is second with a .278 average and .391 on base percentage in 21 games played. In all, USD's hitters have scored 118 runs on 203 hits and are hitting .215 as a team.
• Closer Ian Hamilton leads the team with a 2.08 ERA in 13 appearances, allowing five runs (four earned) in 17.1 innings of work. He's saved seven games so far in 2015. LHP Matt Bower leads the team with 16 appearances and 40 strikeouts, those coming in 21.0 innings pitched. He's posted a 4.65 ERA. Also, Tuesday's starter Scotty Sunitsch has a 4.76 ERA in 15 appearances, allowing 11 runs in 17.0 innings of work. Tuesday night will be his first start of the season. Overall, the WSU pitching staff has allowed 142 runs (121 earned) in 260.0 innings of work for a 4.18 ERA. Batters are hitting .259 against the Torero hurlers.

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES
Infielder Taylor Jones has roared into the starting lineup, hitting .463 (19x41) in the last 10 games (since March 20 vs. BYU) while starting at first base each contest. His batting average, .610 slugging percentage, 19 hits, and 10 RBIs lead the team during that span. He's set or equaled career highs in hits and RBIs (4 hits vs San Diego on April 4; 3 RBIs at LMU on March 28 and vs. WSU on March 31) in the last 10 games, and he ripped his second career home run against the Cougars last Tuesday as well.

JOEY HARRIS: GUNSLINGER
Catcher Joey Harris was a defensive weapon for the Zags against San Diego, throwing out all five attempted base-stealers and preventing the Toreros from playing their preferred style of aggressive offense. The backstop from Claremont, Calif., has now thrown out 21 of 40 baserunners and a caught-stealing percentage of .525. That mark is the fifth-best in the nation among catchers who've caught at least 10 stealing. Harris played all three games against USD, helping the Gonzaga pitching staff post a 2.67 earned run average over the weekend. In all, Harris has played in 28 of the team's 31 games.

STARTING LINE
Gonzaga will send out RHP Tyler Frost Tuesday. Frost also got the not last week against Washington State, going 5.1 innings while allowing three runs, two of which were earned. The freshman struck out a season-high four batters against Washington State. He lowered his ERA to 5.68 in the no-decision. The Zags are 2-2 when Frost starts on the mound, including a 15-5 win at Arkansas March 11 when he went a season-high 7.0 innings and allowed just three runs. The Phoenix native made his first career start in his hometown Feb. 26 in a neutral-site contest against Purdue, going 6.0 innings and fanning three batters in the 5-3 loss.

WHAT A (LeB)RUN
Senior Cory LeBrun is currently riding a 15-game hit streak, collecting at least one hit in each game since March 11. During the streak, LeBrun is hitting .364 (20x55) with seven doubles, eight RBIs, seven runs, and four walks. He's also reached base in each of the last 19 games, dating back to the beginning of March. The hit streak has raised the Arizonian's batting average from .224 to .298 and is the Bulldogs' longest of the season and tied for the longest in the last five seasons (also: Royce Bolinger in 2012). The next hit streak in GU history LeBrun is chasing down is Drew Heid's 19-gamer in 2010.

TAKING THE LEAD
With Brown's .423 batting average leading off over the last seven games 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 .384 average (48x125) 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 .480 on base percentage from the top spot. In all, 16.7% of the team's runs (26x155), 16.2% of hits (48x296), and 17.7% of walks (20x113) have come from the batter hitting leadoff. The Zags are also leading off innings well, too, as GU has seen its leadoff hitter reach base 116 times in 276 opportunities, a .420 clip. Tyler Frost has performed best while heading up a frame, reaching 56.5% of the time (13x23), while Joey Harris is also well above .500 at .526 (10x19). Brown is an even .500 (13x26) as well.

TAKING THE BULL BY THE HORNS
Much of the Bulldogs late-game success hitting the ball (they're outscoring opponents 61-36 past the sixth inning and 41-18 in innings 8 and 9) has come thanks to their ability to hit opposing bullpens. Gonzaga has hit .297 against non-starting pitchers this season, billing them for 77 runs in 105.2 innings, a 5.45 ERA. Over half of GU's walks (58 of 113) have come off relief pitchers, and opposing relievers have suffered six losses at the hands of Gonzaga hitters. In fact, the Zags have batted around in an inning four times this season (twice on March 11 at Arkansas, once March 20 versus BYU, once April 4 versus San Diego), and all three times came against relief pitching. In conference action, Gonzaga has tagged WCC bullpens for a 5.45 ERA as well, scoring 27 runs (21 earned) on 34 hits while drawing 24 walks from relief pitchers.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Gonzaga played its best defense of the season against San Diego, posting a fielding percentage of .983 and turning three double plays against the Toreros. Gonzaga went errorless in the final two games of the weekend, their fourth and fifth games without a miscue. It was also the team's first back-to-back errorless games. Dustin Breshears led the team with 11 assists while Mitchell Gunsolus rebounded from a two-error game Thursday to play strong defense in the hot corner during the final two games, including a strong diving play to rob Jesse Jenner of a hit in game two on Friday.

BULLDOGS IN THE PROS
Two former Zags earned spots on MLB opening day rosters as Tyler Olson and Cody Martin earned roster spots on the Mariners and Braves, respectively. Olson will serve as a left-handed specialist in the Ms' bullpen while Cody Martin will be the long reliever for Atlanta. Olson graduated in 2013 and needed just a year and a half to get through Seattle's organization while Olson graduated in 2011 and had played in Atlanta's farm system since.