Box Score

MORAGA, Calif.--The Gonzaga University baseball team suffered a tough loss Friday, falling 6-5 to Saint Mary's on a walk-off home run in the ninth inning at Louis Guiston Field in Moraga.

The Gaels picked up the win with a two-run home run from Nate Nolan, who sent the first pitch he saw from Gonzaga reliever Hunter Wells just over the fence in right center field. The blast came with two outs in the ninth, and the Zags nearly picked up the third out when Joey Fiske, the tying run, walked on a 3-2 count. Wells had entered the frame having already pitched 2.2 scoreless innings; he allowed two hits and struck out five Gaels prior to the ninth inning.

Heading into the bottom of the ninth, Gonzaga held a 5-4 lead, having scored twice in the eighth for the advantage. After a leadoff fly out, Dustin Breshears gave the Zags a baserunner with a single up the middle, and Tyler Frost added a double down the right field line to move Breshears across the diamond to third. Pinch hitter Jarod Gonzales then lifted a ball to center field, allowing the senior shortstop to score on the sacrifice. Sam Brown then completed GU's scoring in the frame with a single through the right side to plate Frost.

Gonzaga took a 3-0 early lead in the game, scoring two runs in the first and one in the second. In the first, Taylor Jones scored on a wild pitch after blasting a triple to right center, and Breshears brought home Justin Jacobs with an infield bunt single. In the second, Jones posted an RBI groundout to score Patrick Chung. The Bulldogs held that lead until the fifth, when the Gaels tied the game with three runs. The home club added one more in the sixth for a 4-3 advantage that lasted until GU's eighth-inning rally.

Wells suffered the loss, his second of the year, while the Gaels' closer Anthony Gonsolin got the win despite blowing a save opportunity by allowing the two eighth-inning runs. GU starter Justin Vernia went 4.2 innings in his first start since March 5, allowing three earned runs on five hits and four walks. He also struck out two Gaels batters.

Bulldog Bites:

• Jones led Gonzaga with three hits - two singles and a triple - while adding a run scored and a run batted in. He's now tied Jeff Bohling for the team lead with 10 multi-hit games, and he has the most three-hit games this year with four (three with three hits and one with four). He last tallied three hits in a game March 13 during game two of a doubleheader at UTSA.
• Bohling saw his 10-game hit streak snapped after going 0-for-4. That was the second-longest hit streak by a Bulldog this year; Jacobs had a 15-gamer end March 24. Bohling's on-base streak, however, was extended to 17 games after a first inning walk. That is the longest such streak for the Bulldogs in 2016. Both stretches are career bests for the redshirt junior.
• Friday was only Gonzaga's second loss after scoring at least once in the first inning. It's also the Zags' second loss after scoring five runs; they were previously 8-1 when scoring more than four times in a game.
• Saint Mary's win Friday means the Gaels have clinched the series, having won the opening contest 2-0 on March 24. This snaps Gonzaga's four-year streak of winning the series against Saint Mary's; they entered the year having beaten the Gaels in 10 of the previous 11 games between the two clubs.

Next Up:

Gonzaga (11-9, 2-4 WCC) will look to salvage one game of the three-game series at Saint Mary's on Saturday, March 26. RHP Eli Morgan will get the nod in the series finale, and the Gaels will counter with RHP Cameron Neff. First pitch for that contest is slated for 1:00 p.m., again at Louis Guiston Field.