Gonzaga University
Oregon
BASE Begins Final Road Trip of Regular Season
5/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Box Score
EUGENE, Ore.—The Gonzaga University baseball team started its final road trip of the regular season Tuesday night, falling 9-4 to Oregon in a non-conference game at PK Park in Eugene.
After four innings, it looked to be a barn-burner as all 13 runs came in the first half of the contest, but each team's bullpen settled down and the offenses in check for the rest of the night. Oregon took the early lead in the bottom of the first inning as starting pitcher Tyler Frost retired the first two Duck batters he faced, but the next three tallied singles and took advantage of a wild pitch. Phil Craig-St. Louis and Mitchell Tolman reached base on back-to-back singles, and they moved up 90 feet on a pitch in the dirt. The two runs came in on an RBI single from Scott Heineman. After a walk, Frost got a ground out to first base and worked his way out of the inning.
The Zags wasted no time to eliminate the deficit, scoring four in the top of the second to take the lead. Frost started things off with a solo home run, giving himself some run support. Caleb Wood followed up with a double down the left field line, and both Joey Harris and Dustin Breshears joined him on base after getting hit by a pitch and walking, respectively. The two lead runners touched home by a double from Sam Brown that also went down the left field line, and Breshears later came home on a sacrifice fly from Jeff Bohling.
Oregon took the lead back in the third inning with a four-run frame of its own. The Ducks scored their four runs on four hits and a walk. Brandon Cuddy tallied the big hit with an RBI single up the middle that allowed Craig-St. Louis to score, and Heineman also touched home on the play due to a throwing error by the Gonzaga defense. The Ducks scored one more unearned run in the frame to take a 6-4 lead, and they extended that advantage in the fourth with a three-run home run from Tolman.
After the Zags' chased Oregon starter Kohl Hostert in just the second inning, their run production was stifled, but not for a lack of trying. The Duck defense turned double plays in the third, fourth, and sixth innings, and the Bulldogs had hard hits all night that were right at Oregon defenders. Frost hit one to the warning track in center field before it was caught during the seventh, and Wood hit a sharp grounder down the third base line but right at Tolman, the Oregon third baseman, later on in the frame.
Gonzaga's bullpen also held the Ducks scoreless as Wyatt Mills and Zach Abbruzza combined throw 4.2 scoreless innings in relief. Frost was pulled in the fourth inning after hitting a batter, and Mills didn't allow his inherited runner to score. He worked through the end of the seventh inning while Abbruzza got the Ducks to strand two runners while pitching the eighth inning.
Bulldog Bites
- The Zags continued to raise their slugging percentage, posting three doubles and a home run Tuesday. They've tallied at least three extra base hits in each of the last four games and have had one extra bagger in each of the last six. In those last six games - since May 1 - they've raised their team slugging percentage from .366 to .387.
- Mills pitched effectively in relief, throwing 3.2 innings of shutout ball while allowing just two hits. The 3.2 innings is a career high for the sophomore, and his two strikeouts match a personal best as well. He made his first appearance since a 1.2-inning outing at Santa Clara April 25.
- Wood earned a start at second base, his 26th of the season but just his third since April 8. He picked two hits on the day, both doubles. It is his first game with multiple extra base hits since May 13 of last season at Washington State.
- Frost's night on the mound (3.1 innings, nine runs, eight earned runs, two strikeouts) was a tough one, but he had a decent night at the plate. He posted his 10th multi-hit game of the season Tuesday, and he hit his third home run of the year. With the four-bagger, Frost has tallied an extra base hit in each of the last five games.
- Senior infielder Mitchell Gunsolus did not play in Tuesday's game, snapping a string of 156 consecutive starts dating back to the first game of the 2013 season. Gunsolus' start streak was the 17th-longest in the nation.
Next Up
Gonzaga (23-25) will wrap up the non-conference slate Wednesday, May 13, with one final game at Oregon. First pitch for that contest is again slated for 6:03 p.m. at PK Park in Eugene. Gonzaga is slated to send LHP Calvin LeBrun to the plate, and fellow south paw Jacob Corn will throw for Oregon.
