Zags Begin Final Road Trip of Regular Season
5/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Gonzaga (23-24) at Oregon (29-22)
PK Park | Eugene, Ore.
Tuesday, May 12; 6:00 p.m. - RHP Tyler Frost vs. RHP Kohl Hostert
Wednesday, May 13; 6:00 p.m. - TBA vs TBA
Links to live stats and audio may be found on the baseball schedule page of GoZags.com
Game Notes: Gonzaga | Oregon
STORY LINES
- The Zags start a regular season-ending five game road trip with two midweek games at Oregon. They wrap up the regular season in Malibu, Calif., for three critical games at Pepperdine.
- Gonzaga is 11-12 in non-conference action with wins over Utah Valley, UC Davis, Purdue, Tulane, Arkansas, Washington State and UCLA. Oregon will be the fifth Pac-12 school Gonzaga has squared off against, and the Zags are 2-5 in those contests. They opened the month of May by playing then-No. 2 UCLA tough in Los Angeles, winning the middle game 6-1 and leading the Bruins 5-1 in the series finale May 3.
- The Zags are 2-14 against Oregon dating back to 1960 but have not beaten the Ducks in the last 10 games between the two clubs. Last year, the Zags hosted the two-game series, falling 3-2 in game one and 14-5 in game two in Spokane. Gonzaga and Oregon last played in Eugene during the 2013 season with Oregon winning those two games 4-3 and 4-1.
ABOUT GONZAGA
- Gonzaga is 23-24 on the year, coming off a 2-1 weekend against Pacific. Gonzaga smacked the ball hard in the three games against the Tigers, scoring 29 runs. That offensive production was the most during a series this year and the most since GU scored 34 runs in three games at BYU to close out the 2013 season.
- First baseman Taylor Jones has led the team with a .388 batting average, .446 on base percentage, and .603 slugging percentage after breaking into the lineup during the BYU series in March. Third baseman Mitchell Gunsolus, meanwhile, has put together a standout senior campaign, leading the squad with 65 hits, 23 extra base hits, 42 runs scored, 30 walks, and seven home runs. Additionally, he's among the top two in every offensive statistical category except for hit by pitches. Sam Brown and Justin Jacobs have also come up big for the Zags as Brown has 58 hits and a .414 on base percentage while Jacobs leads the squad with 35 RBIs.
- With a 3.35 combined ERA, the Gonzaga pitching staff leads the conference and has done so all conference season long. Brandon Bailey's 2.70 ERA is sixth in the conference and leads the crop of regular starters while David Bigelow paces the bullpen with a 1.85 ERA. Bailey is also second in the conference with 87 strikeouts. Bigelow, the team's closer, is tied for second in GU history with nine saves and also leads the team with 21 appearances. He was named to the NCBWA's Stopper of the Year midseason watch list. Out of the pen, Hunter Wells has a 0.64 ERA in eight relief appearances (he's also started five games), and lefty Calvin LeBrun has posted a 3.09 ERA in seven outings in relief.
ABOUT OREGON
- The Ducks are 29-22 on the year and 11-13 in Pac-12 action. They're also coming off a weekend series in eastern Washington, going 2-1 at Washington State with an 8-3 win May 8 and 7-2 victory May 10. They're 18-9 in non-conference action and have five opponents in common with the Zags: Portland, San Francisco, Arizona State, Washington, and Washington State. The Ducks are 8-6 against those foes while GU is 3-7.
- Infielder Mitchell Tolman leads the team in numerous offensive categories, hitting .319 with 58 runs, 19 extra base hits, 34 runs scored 34 RBIs, and 36 walks. He's the only Duck to start in 50 games, while outfielder Phil Craig-St. Louis is the only other one to play in 50 games. He's hitting .275 with 46 hits, 32 RBIs, and 28 runs scored. First baseman Brandon Cuddy is another solid bat for UO, hitting .267 but adding a .430 slugging percentage, 33 RBIs, and 16 hits for extra bases. As a team, Oregon is hitting .248 with 277 runs, 5.4 runs per game.
- Right hander Stephen Nogesek has the lowest ERA of Oregon's bullpen, posting a 1.90 ERA in 29 appearances and 42.2 innings. Southpaw Garrett Cleavinger is the team's closer, earning seven saves in 28 outings and holding a 2.10 ERA. The combined staff ERA is 3.92, and they're allowing 4.6 runs per contest. Additionally, opponents are hitting .244 off Duck pitchers.
SLUGGING IT OUT
Gonzaga hit the ball hard all weekend against Pacific, posting a team slugging percentage of .618 in three games. Overall, the Zags raised their team slugging percentage from .367 to .384 with the extra-base outburst. They collected 23 hits for extra bases including five triples: two from Sam Brown on Saturday and one each day from Tyler Frost. The Zags stormed back in to the WCC lead with 16 triples on the year, and Frost leapt into a tie for second with four on the season. The Zags also smacked three home runs during the weekend for a total of 20 on the year, the most in the last three seasons. Overall, seven different players claimed an extra-base hit over the weekend, and six of them hit at least two.
THAT'S 133 IN DOG RUNS
The Zags scored 19 runs Saturday night against the Tigers, the most they've scored since plating 23 on March 25, 2010 at Utah Valley. Nineteen runs also matched the Patterson Baseball Complex high, which the Zags first set on February 28, 2008 against BYU. Thanks to the 19 runs from the offense and solid pitching by Bailey, Brija, and Bigelow, the Zags beat Pacific by 17 runs, their biggest margin of victory in 10 years; the Bulldogs beat Chicago State 22-4 during the ‘05 season. In 2015, the Zags have won four games by at least 10 runs with 10-run wins over Purdue and Arkansas and a 13-run win at Santa Clara.
SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST
All year long, the Zags have been adept at scoring runs late in games and preventing their opponents from doing the same. They're outscoring opponents 104-57 past the sixth inning and 64-24 in the last two innings of the game. As a team, Gonzaga is hitting .303 in innings seven through nine with 164 hits, 104 runs, and 94 RBIs. The Zags are also getting on base at a .386 clip in the final third of games, drawing 63 walks and getting hit by a pitch 16 times.
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 .290 against non-starting pitchers this season and billed them for 121 runs (95 earned) in 165.2 innings, a 5.16 ERA. More than half of GU's walks (86 of 169) 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 seven times this season, and all seven times came against relief pitching. Last week, the Zags scored 15 runs off the Tigers' bullpen in 13.0 innings, with 11 of those earned for a 7.62 ERA.
STARTING LINE
Gonzaga will send RHP Tyler Frost to the mound Tuesday but has not yet announced a Wednesday starter...Frost is a two-way player, batting in 40 games while pitching in eight during his freshman campaign. His last appearance on the mound was April 25 at Santa Clara when he threw 2.2 innings in relief, allowing two runs and striking out two. He's started five games on the mound so far this season, the first one coming in his hometown of Phoenix against Purdue in game one of a doubleheader. He went a season high 7.0 innings March 11 at Arkansas, allowing just three runs in the Zags' 15-5 win over the Razorbacks, and he struck out four batters March 31 versus Washington State, also a season best.
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES
Infielder Taylor Jones has roared into the starting lineup, hitting .412 (43x102) since grabbing hold of a starting spot 26 games ago (on March 20 vs. BYU). He's set or equaled career highs in hits and RBIs (4 hits twice; 3 RBIs twice) in that stretch, and he's ripped five of his six career home runs as well. The sizable junior is absolutely crushing WCC pitching this season too, posting a .456/.506/.658 slash line in conference play. He's added 16 RBIs and 17 runs against WCC opponents, second on the squad in both categories. Just as importantly, he's given the Zags solid defense at first base with a .990 fielding percentage in WCC play and the ability to collect both high and low throws to the bag. After finally meeting the NCAA's minimum requirements on plate appearances and games played, Jones is also 17th in the nation with a .388 batting average, leading the conference as well.
GUNSOLUS ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Third baseman Mitchell Gunsolus earned Capital One Academic All-District honors last Thursday. A senior, Gunsolus has posted a 3.45 GPA as a business major and graduated on Sunday with his bachelor's degree. His season achievements have been listed elsewhere in these notes, but he will also end his GU career among the top 10 in school history with at least 111 walks and at least tied for third with 13 career triples.
RELIEF IS COMING
Gonzaga's bullpen didn't see a lot of action against Pacific as all three starters lasted at least 7.0 innings, but when relievers were on the mound for the Zags, they quite effective. The three relievers that threw against Pacific didn't allow a run in 5.1 innings. Closer David Bigelow led threw 2.1 shutout innings in two games, fanning two Tigers, while Derek Peterson made his senior year debut Friday night, allowing just two hits and striking out one. Additionally, Sean-Luke Brija walked two batters but didn't allow a hit in the eighth inning Saturday night. Overall, Gonzaga's bullpen has posted a 2.64 ERA on the year, holding opponents to a .229 batting average. They've allowed 40 earned runs and have fanned 106 opposing hitters.
TWO OUT, SO WHAT?
Thirteen of the Zags' runs last weekend, including all four Friday night, came with two outs. Throughout the year, Gonzaga has posted 95 two-out RBIs, 41.7% of their 228 total RBIs. Their opponents, however, only have brought in 43 runs with two outs. As a team, the Zags are hitting .262 (135x516) with two outs, and they've drawn 49 two-out walks and have been hit by 14 pitches for an on-base percentage of .342. Cory LeBrun's .347 two-out batting average is tops on the team, and two other Zags that see regular playing time are hitting .300 or better as well.
