Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash.--Despite allowing five runs in the first three innings, the Gonzaga University baseball team stormed back, scoring 13 unanswered runs in a 14-5 win at Patterson Baseball Complex & Washington Trust Field Sunday afternoon. The win completed Gonzaga's sweep of the Pilots and extended their win streak to seven games.

After allowing four runs in the third to go down 5-1, the Zags responded in a big way by immediately drawing even with four of their own in the third. Two of the first three batters reached via a walk, chasing Portland starter Jordan Horak from the game, and reliever Kevin Baker came in and issued consecutive singles, including an RBI base knock from Justin Jacobs that kept the bases loaded. Next, Dustin Breshears drew an RBI walk on four straight pitches, and a couple of batters later, Jake Roberts ripped a single into left center to bring in two more.

Just one inning later, the Zags pulled ahead for the first and final time in the game with three runs in the fourth. The first five batters reached base on one hit - a single from leadoff man Sam Brown - three walks, and a hit by pitch. Frost drew a base on balls with the bases loaded for an RBI, Jacobs was hit by a pitch in the next at bat, and two batters later, Patrick Chung drew an RBI walk to cap off the Zags' scoring in the frame.

In the sixth inning, the Zags blew the game open with five more runs on four hits, sending 10 men to the plate. The first four reached safely, and when considering a fielding error by Portland pitcher Jake Hawken, the first seven Bulldog batters took first base. Chung added another RBI with a single to right field, while Jace VanDeBrake did so as well despite reaching on Hawken's error. Brown also added an RBI base knock, and Jeff Bohling brought in two with a single straight up the middle.

On the mound, left-hander Calvin LeBrun put in a solid outing in replacement of starter Hunter Wells. LeBrun went 5.0 innings after entering the game with zero out in the third. He struck out three while scattering five hits and walking just five. He picked up the win, his second of the year.

Gonzaga got another run, its 14^th of the game, in the eighth inning. After VanDeBrake hit a leadoff single and moved to third on a Nick Brooks double, Jarod Gonzales brought him home with an RBI groundout. That moved the score to 14-5 Gonzaga, where it stayed.

Bulldog Bites:

• With the win, Gonzaga improved to 9-3 in West Coast Conference play and moved into a tie at first place in the conference standings with BYU. Saint Mary's also entered the day with three losses and has two games at Pacific Sunday afternoon and evening. It's their second consecutive conference sweep, taking all three games off Pacific in Stockton, Calif., April 1-3. Their seven game win streak is the longest since taking 11 in a row March 30-April 20, 2013.
• After 5.0 more innings of scoreless ball, LeBrun has now tossed 12.2 consecutive scoreless innings, last allowing a run in the sixth inning, his second inning of work March 28 at Washington. The five innings pitched Sunday equals a season high for the sophomore. The streak has lowered his ERA from 7.71, the mark entering the game against the Huskies, to its current level of 3.86.
• Bohling saw another strong day at the plate against Portland, going 2-for-5 with a triple, walk, two RBIs, and three runs scored. Over the three-game series, he hit .533 (8x15) with two doubles, three triples, and a home run. He drove in eight runs and scored six himself.
• With 14 runs on the day, the Zags reached double digits for the 10^th time already this season. Thirty games into the year, they've reached scored 10 or more in every third game, and they're averaging 7.37 runs per contest. They entered the weekend second in the West Coast Conference and 66^th in the nation in the category.
• The Zags drew 11 free passes on the day, the most this season and third-most in the last eight years. Three of Gonzaga's runs were walked in, and eight of the Bulldogs' nine starters drew at least one walk; Frost, Jacobs, and Taylor Jones each drew two walks on the day.
• With an attendance of 987 Sunday, 3,724 fans came out to Patterson Baseball Complex over the three-game series against Portland. That is the highest series attendance in the 10-year history of the ballpark.

Zag Speak:

Assistant Coach Brandon Harmon:

• "We did a good job showing resilience, giving them one early, getting it right back, giving up a big four-spot, and we answer that punch. We got a big effort out of Calvin to put some zeros on the board and give our offense a chance to extend."
• "Some guys are stepping up, and the newcomers that are coming in are playing with that next-guy-up mentality. We're playing with a bit of momentum and pitching the ball well on Friday and Saturday nights, which really gives you momentum to keep going into Sunday. We're playing with a little bit of momentum and hopefully we can get our full arsenal going forward and make a run at this thing."

Sophomore LHP Calvin LeBrun

• "I wasn't as sharp as I was earlier in the week, but I came out and got ahead in the count, which was big, and obviously scoring a lot of runs like that makes you feel comfortable. Getting ahead, working well with my fastball - getting it down - and my changeup got me a lot of ground balls."

Next Up:

Gonzaga (20-10, 9-3 WCC) will look to continue its hot play with a four-game road trip, the first three of which will take place in San Francisco. That conference series against the Dons will start Friday, April 15, with a 3:00 p.m. contest at the newly-renovated Benedetti Diamond.