Box Score

Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score

SAN ANTONIO, Texas--The Gonzaga University baseball team picked up a pair of wins at UTSA Sunday, sweeping the series against the Roadrunners and ending a 15 game season-opening road trip.

Game One: Gonzaga 12, UTSA 3

The Zags' bats got going late in game one, but they sure got hot, plating nine runs over the final three innings for a 12-3 win. They sent all nine batters to the plate in the seventh inning, plating five runs in the process. The first two batters -- Taylor Jones and Justin Jacobs -- reached to lead off the inning, and Jones scored on an RBI single from Jarod Gonzales. Shortstop Dustin Breshears then posted the big hit, clearing the bases with a triple to right field, and catcher Joey Harris followed up with a double down the right field line, scoring Breshears. The senior from Claremont, Calif., later scored on a wild pitch.

Gonzaga struck again in the ninth, plating four more to push the score to the 12-3 final. They plated those runs on two hits, two walks, and a UTSA error. Breshears led the frame off with a walk while Harris singled through the right side, and Breshears scored on a ground ball from Branson Trube, who reached via an error. Subs Jake Roberts and Jace VanDeBrake also added RBIs in the frame, Roberts' coming via the walk and VanDeBrake's on a fielder's choice.

Gonzaga took an early lead in the game with a run in the first and doubled it with another in the second, but UTSA got one back in the bottom of the second. The Roadrunners then scored one in each of the fourth and the fifth to take a brief lead, but right fielder Sam Brown ripped a game-tying RBI double to left center in the sixth to tie it back up.

The Gonzaga pitching staff, meanwhile, held the Roadrunners to three runs despite allowing 12 hits. Starter Hunter Wells allowed all three runs and nine of the hits, but struck out five batters while issuing zero walks. Junior Sam Hellinger came on in relief in the seventh inning, holding the Roadrunners scoreless while striking out four and allowing only four to reach base. Wells got the win while Hellinger earned the three-inning save, his second of the year.

Game Two: Gonzaga 12, UTSA 4

During the afternoon contest, the Zag bats again came alive to score 12 runs once more, getting a third of them in the first inning. Brown drew a game-opening walk, and third baseman Jeff Bohling followed up with a single through the right side. Jones then drove in both with a double to left center, and he came around to score when left fielder Tyler Frost hit a blast over the fence in right field for his first home run of the year.

UTSA responded with one in the bottom of the first when Matt Hilston homered to right center, but the Zags got that back and more in the second. Brown ripped an RBI single up the middle to score Harris, and he came home on a two-out triple from Jones. The Bulldogs added two runs in the fourth -- one on a single from Jones, one on a single from Jacobs -- and one in the fifth -- a sacrifice fly from Trube -- to take a 9-1 advantage.

The `Runners got one more in the seventh and two off relievers in the eighth, but those frames sandwiched a three-run GU eighth inning. Gonzaga's three runs in the eighth came all on two outs with Breshears banging a two-run triple and Jake Roberts knocking in a run with a ground ball that turned into a fielding error from UTSA.

On the mound for Gonzaga, Eli Morgan bounced back from a first-inning home run to pitch a gem for the Zags, holding the home team to two runs on four hits in seven innings. Morgan also fanned seven batters. Trent Schulte and Gage Burland each allowed a run, both of those coming in the eighth.

Bulldog Bites:

• The Zags' offense erupted for double-digit runs in both games Sunday, plating 12 in both the morning and afternoon. Those are the fifth and sixth double-digit run games of the year for Gonzaga, with two coming at Grand Canyon, one coming against Texas Southern, and one at Arkansas March 9. This equals last year's tally of six games with double-digit runs scored. Both Jones and Breshears brought in four runs on the day, and seven other Zags knocked in at least one. Ten different players scored at least one run Sunday.
• Gonzaga picked up its first sweep of a three-game series of the year; they went 2-2 at Grand Canyon and 1-2 at TCU earlier in the year. The Zags swept one three-game series last year; April 10-12 versus Saint Mary's in Spokane. The three wins elevate GU to 4-1 all-time against UTSA.
• Of Gonzaga's 28 hits on the day, 11 of them went for extra bases, and the team combined for a slugging percentage of .542. Both Jones and Breshears ripped triples in each game, and Jones added a pair of doubles, one in each contest as well. Over both games, Jones hit .625 (5x8; 2 2B, 2 3B, 4 RBIs, 3 Rs) with a 1.375 slugging percentage, while Breshears posted three hits and a .875 slugging mark. Harris and Bohling each posted a double to account for Gonzaga's final two hits for extra bases.

Mac Talk: Thoughts from Gonzaga head coach Mark Machtolf

• "Any time we can go out and sweep a doubleheader on a weekend, it's a good day. Overall we swung the bats well with plenty of extra-base hits."
• "It was a good road trip with five quality wins. We are ready to play in front of Zag Nation on Friday night!"

Next Up:

After 15 games on the road, the Zags (9-6) will finally begin the 2016 home slate with the first three games of West Coast Conference action. They'll host Pepperdine for three games, the first of which begins at 6:00 p.m. Friday, March 18, at Patterson Baseball Complex & Washington Trust Field in Spokane.