Box Score

STOCKTON, Calif.--Thanks to a marvelous start and career high in strikeouts from starting pitcher Brandon Bailey, the Gonzaga baseball team posted a 6-0 win during game one of a three-game series at Pacific in Stockton, Calif.

Both squads saw scoring chances in the first two innings as both had multiple runners on base. The Zags put two on in both the first and the second with three total hits and a walk but didn't score. Bailey, meanwhile, got the Tigers to strand a runner on third in the first and two runners in the second.

In the third, the Zags broke the scoreless deadlock when, with one out, Taylor Jones reached base on an fielding error by Pacific third baseman JJ Wagner. In the next at bat, the senior went from first to third thanks to a chopper from Tyler Frost that bounced into right field for a base hit, and designated hitter Jarod Gonzales brought in the senior with a sacrifice fly out to center field.

Gonzaga plated three more runs in the fifth, again taking advantage of another Pacific error. Second baseman Patrick Chung led the frame off by reaching on a throwing error by Pacific shortstop Kevin Sandri, and Jones followed up with a single to right field. After a sacrifice bunt from Frost advanced them both 90 feet, GU shortstop Dustin Breshears ripped a double to right center, bringing them both home. Catcher Jake Roberts then plated Breshears with a single to left field.

Bailey, meanwhile, got sharper as the night went on. He allowed just one base runner in each of the third and the fourth innings, and he retired 14 in a row, from the fourth to the eighth, to end his night. After striking out just four batters in the first three innings, he exploded to strike out nine between the fourth and seventh. The mark is a career high and the most by a Gonzaga pitcher since 2012. The Broomfield, Colo., native struck out the side in the fourth inning and fanned two in the second, fifth, and sixth frames and picked up his fourth win of the season.

Gonzaga tacked on a pair of runs in the sixth as Jeff Bohling scored on a passed ball and Frost hit an RBI single through the right side to plate Chung. The Zags saw another scoring chance in the eighth inning by loading the bases, but the score remained 6-0 after two consecutive outs to end the frame.

Bulldog Bites:

• Not only was Bailey's 13 strikeouts the most by a Bulldog since Marco Gonzales struck out 15 versus Loyola Marymount on April 28 2012, it's the most by a West Coast Conference pitcher this year. The junior entered the night ranked second in the WCC with 46 strikeouts, and he was 16^th among active Division I pitchers with 199 career strikeouts. After Friday night's game, he has tallied 59 strikeouts on the year and averaging 1.31 an inning and 11.8 per nine innings.
• By holding the Tigers scoreless, the Bulldogs posted their first shutout of the season and first since they beat Saint Mary's 1-0 on April 12, 2015. Bailey also pitched that game, going this distance to keep the Gaels scoreless. The Zags shut out their opponents four times during last season.
• Two Zags made their first starts of the year as Nick Brooks got the nod in left field and Jace VanDeBrake started opposite him in left. It was VanDeBrake's first career start, while Brooks started twice in 2014; both redshirted in 2015. Brooks saw his second career multi-hit game with a pair of singles, while VanDeBrake posted his first career hit with a one-bagger onto left field in the fourth inning, and got another in the eighth. Chung, meanwhile, made his first start at second base after 13 as DH.
• In all, five Zags saw multi-hit games, including each of the Zags' No.7-No.9 hitters in Roberts, Brooks, and VanDeBrake. All three of them saw their first multi-hit game of the year, and 13 different Zags have posted two or more hits at least once. GU batters have posted multiple-hit games 63 times this year.

Mac Talk: Thoughts from Gonzaga head coach Mark Machtolf

• "Bailey did a great job of attacking with his best stuff tonight. His changeup to left handed hitters was devastating at times. He knew he needed to set the tone on the mound knowing we were missing some bodies. Just a great outing from our leader on the mound."

Next Up:

Gonzaga (14-10, 4-3 WCC) and Pacific will continue the three-game series Saturday, April 2, during another 7:00 p.m. contest at Klein Family Field. GU sends RHP Eli Morgan to the mound while The Tigers counter with southpaw Ricky Reynoso.