Gonzaga Notes | UTSA Notes

SCHEDULE UPDATE:

• It's been raining quite a bit in San Antonio recently and Roadrunner Field has taken on a lot of water. Because that amount of water, the three-game series at UTSA has been compressed to two days. Instead of playing one game each day Friday-Sunday, the series will now start Saturday, March 12, with a 2 p.m. Pacific (4 p.m. Central) first pitch. GU and UTSA will play two on Sunday with the first game of the doubleheader starting at 8:30 a.m. The series finale will begin roughly half an hour after the first game Sunday.

ABOUT GONZAGA:

• The Zags are coming off a wild win at No. 14 Arkansas. After falling behind 10-6 with a grand slam by the Hogs in the sixth, Gonzaga responded with nine unanswered runs, including five in the top of the seventh to immediately re-take the lead. GU amassed 15 runs and 18 hits in the game.
• Head coach Mark Machtolf enters his 13th season at the helm of the program. He's put together a 354-304-2 record (including this season's results) as manager and is the second in program history in terms of wins and win percentage (.537). He's also second-longest tenured coach in program history behind Steve Hertz (24 years, 1978, 1982-2003). Before becoming head coach, Machtolf was an assistant for 13 years as well; this is his 26th season with Gonzaga baseball.
• Gonzaga went 24-28 last season with a 13-14 West Coast Conference record. The Bulldogs finished sixth in the league standings, missing out on the WCC tournament for the first time in its three-year history. They return seven starting position players and one full-time starting pitcher from 2015.

ALMOST HOME:

• The Zags' 15-game road swing to open 2016 is nearly over as the Zags have just three more games at UTSA left before their home and WCC opener versus Pepperdine March 18. This series against the Roadrunners is also the last of three consecutive weekends and 10 of 11 games in Texas; they started in San Antonio for the Alamo Irish Classic Feb. 26-28, played three at #7 TCU in Fort Worth, and are coming off a rain-shortened series at Arkansas. The 15-game road swing to open the season is actually shorter than the road trips to begin the 2015 (17 games) and 2014 seasons (24 games).
• In all, Gonzaga will play 38 of their 48 games away from Spokane this season with 34 of those being true road games. With five trips out of the Pacific time zone, the Zags will travel a whopping 26,472 miles (stadium to stadium) in 2016. Their shortest trip with be a 78 mile bus ride to Pullman, Wash., to take on Washington State March 22. In WCC action, their shortest jaunt is to Provo, Utah, 762 miles away.

GONZAGA vs. UTSA:

• These two squads have played each other twice previously, first in 2007 at a tournament hosted by Dallas Baptist and again in 2012 in San Antonio. The Runners won that first game in `07 4-3, but GU posted a 4-1 win four years ago. Starter Tyler Olson went the distance, allowing just one run on three hits, while GU scored four on three hits as well, but drew six walks. Olson is currently in the New York Yankees' big league spring camp.

TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM:

• The GU hitters have been unselfish so far this season, sacrificing themselves 18 times to either advance a runner or score a run. They've offered up seven successful sacrifice bunts and 11 sacrifice flies. Those seven bunts are good for just sixth in the WCC, but with 11 sac flies, the Zags are third in the nation, four behind category leader Ball State. GU's three ahead of WCC second place team BYU.
• 3B Jeff Bohling has three sacrifice flies to lead the team, tie for the conference lead, and tie for fifth in the nation. 2B Justin Jacobs isn't far behind with two. SS Dustin Breshears and DH Patrick Chung each have two sacrifice bunts.
• GU batters have also literally taken one for the team, getting plunked by 18 pitches, tied for fourth-most in the WCC. C Joey Harris has been plunked five times, including twice at Arkansas; he's tied for third in the conference and 24th in the nation in the painful category. RF Sam Brown and CF Branson Trube have each been hit by three pitches this year.

MULTIPLE HEROES:

• Four different relievers have picked up a save this season: Hunter Wells, Sam Hellinger, Daniel Bies, and now Justin Vernia. Wells picked up a four-inning save Feb. 20 during the 21-9 win at Grand Canyon, while Hellinger did the same Feb. 27 against Incarnate Word. Bies, meanwhile, posted the final out at TCU March 4, getting Dane Steinhagen to strike out with the tying run on third. Wednesday at Arkansas, Vernia pitched 3.0 shutout innings, retiring nine of the 10 batters he faced.

BAILEY PITCHER OF THE WEEK:

• Junior RHP Brandon Bailey was named WCC Pitcher of the Week Monday after his stellar start at No. 7/9 TCU last Friday night. The Broomfield, Colo., native struck out nine batters - just one off a career high - while tossing 7.0 innings of three-run ball in the win. He didn't allow issue walks and retired his final six batters faced.
• It is his fifth career Pitcher of the Week honor after earning one as a freshman in 2014 and in his sophomore year last season. He was named to the Preseason All-WCC team back in February.

TWO OUT, SO WHAT?:

• Gonzaga's hitters have been proficient when down to their last out of a frame. As a team, they're hitting .320 (48x150) with 38 RBIs, 15 doubles, and a home run. Overall, the Zags have 82 RBIs this year, meaning nearly half of those have come with two down. Even more astoundingly, the Zags have an on-base percentage of .436 with two outs, having drawn 23 walks and getting plunked six times.
• Brown leads the team with a .417 two-out average (8x17), adding two doubles, a home run, and five RBIs. Additionally, he's drawn two walks and been hit by three pitches for an on-base percentage of .591. LF Tyler Frost leads the team with seven two-out RBIs, and 1B Taylor Jones has had the most two-out opportunities on the squad with 23. He's hitting .318 (7x22) with two doubles, 6 RBIs, and a walk.

PITCHING LINES:

• RHP Brandon Bailey earned WCC Pitcher of the Week after his start March 4 at No. 7 TCU. He struck out nine batters - one off his career high - while holding the Horned Frogs to three runs in GU's 4-3 win in Fort Worth. In his third year as staff ace, he's second in the WCC with 23 strikeouts, on pace to set a career high. His 7.67 strikeouts per game and 11.50 per nine innings would be personal bests. His 174 career strikeouts are 24th-most among active pitchers, and he's 16th with five complete games.
• Junior RHP Hunter Wells will make his second start of the season Sunday. He earned the win his first start Feb. 27 vs. Incarnate Word, striking out eight batters and allowing four runs in an 8-5 victory. His other two appearances have come in long relief as he pitched 4.0 innings Feb. 20 at Grand Canyon and March 5 at TCU. The Spokane native allowed one earned run to the Antelopes and two to the Horned Frogs.
• RHP Eli Morgan is coming off a pair of rough starts vs. Notre Dame and at TCU. Against the Irish in San Antonio, he pitched 4.1 innings, allowing six earned runs while fanning two. At TCU, he allowed nine runs in 3.1 innings, also striking out two. Entering the contest against the Irish, he was 2-0 with a 2.51 ERA (8 earned runs in 28.2 innings) and 19 strikeouts in four starts (final three weekends of last season and first week of 2016). Morgan broke out in summer ball, posting a miniscule 0.82 ERA while striking out 47 with the Alaska Baseball League's Matsu Miners, earning Summer Collegiate All-America honors from Perfect Game.

POSSIBLE STARTING LINEUP: (based on previous game)