ABOUT GONZAGA:

• The Bulldogs are coming off a series loss to San Francisco after entering the weekend on a seven-game win streak. After losing game one Friday night, the Zags evened the series with a 10-2 win on Saturday behind the bat of Jace VanDeBrake, who swatted his first two career home runs, including a grand slam in the ninth, for the win. During Sunday's rubber match, the Zags sent the tying run to the plate in each of the final two innings and scored once in the eighth, but they couldn't reel in San Francisco, who used a four-run third inning to take the lead. Despite the series loss, the Zags are still 8-2 in their last 10 games and 16-6 since March 9.
• Head coach Mark Machtolf is in his 13th season at the helm of the program. He's put together a 369-310-2 record (including this season's results) as manager and is the second in program history in terms of wins and third in win percentage (.543). He's also second-longest tenured coach in program history behind Steve Hertz (24 years, 1978, 1981-2003). Before becoming head coach, Machtolf was an assistant for 13 years as well; this is his 26th season with Gonzaga baseball.

JUST STEPPING OUT FOR A SECOND:

• Gonzaga wraps up its shortest road trip of the season this weekend with its shortest trip of the season, playing local rival Washington State in Pullman; just 78 separate Patterson Baseball Complex and Bailey-Brayton Field. This is the final game before the Zags start their final homestand of the season, a three-game set against Santa Clara. In all, the Zags will play 38 of their 48 games away from Spokane with 34 true away games. They will travel 26,472 miles this season.
• The Zags are 13-9 in road games this year, sweeping series at UTSA and Pacific to go along with two wins at Grand Canyon and singles wins at TCU, Arkansas, Saint Mary's, Washington, and San Francisco. As a team, they're hitting .298 on the road and averaging 6.2 runs a game. The pitchers have a 4.55 ERA in road games, striking out 190 batters in 193.2 innings of work.

WHY STOP AT ONE?:

• GU's hitters have been taking extra bases all season, totaling 83 doubles, 16 triples, and 16 home runs for a team slugging percentage of .440. They lead the WCC in triples and are second in doubles but are among Division I's Top 20 in both categories, and their slugging mark is also second-best in the league. That slugging mark is the highest in the WCC, the team's highest in the last eight years, and the Zags are on pace to post the program's second-most doubles (120) and most triples (23) during that same time frame.
• On April 8 vs. Portland, Gonzaga tallied 11 extra-base hits: five doubles, four triples, and two home runs. The four triples were the most in a game since at least 2008, and Bohling's two three-baggers tie him with Brown for the most in a single game during that span. The night alone raised GU's slugging percentage by 20 points.
• After losing the team lead in extra-base hits vs. Portland, 1B Taylor Jones took it right back with 22 on the year, adding a pair of doubles to his already lofty tally in San Francisco. The senior from Kent, Wash., leads the league and is fifth in the country with 17 doubles, and he and 3B Jeff Bohling are tied for the conference lead with four triples. Bohling is second on the team with 21 hits for extra bases. In addition his four triples, he leads the squad with five home runs and is second with 13 two-baggers.

CATS AND DOGS:

• Unsurprisingly, Washington State is Gonzaga's most frequent opponent (since 1960 when records are first available). WSU leads the series between former Pac-10 North rivals 123-80, but Gonzaga has enjoyed a majority of the recent success, not having lost a season series to the Cougars since 2011, going 9-3 against the Cougs during that time.
• Gonzaga won the first game between the two local rivals this year, posting their first shutout of WSU in 13 years April 5 at Patterson, winning 8-0. LHP Justin Blatner pitched 5.0 scoreless innings in his first career start while LeBrun tossed three scoreless innings and Sam Hellinger added one. Last year, the two squads split the competition 1-1 with each winning at home. Gonzaga took the lead in the second and blew the game open with five in the fifth; Joey Harris, Jake Roberts, and VanDeBrake each drove in two runs during the game.
• Of current Zag pitchers, OF/RHP Tyler leads the squad with 10.2 innings pitched and seven strikeouts against the Cougars, all of which came last year during his freshman season; Blatner's five-inning appearance from two weeks ago ranks second, while LeBrun's second with six strikeouts. In all, five Zags have not allowed an earned run against Washington State: Blatner in five innings, and Hellinger, Brandon Bailey, Hunter Wells, and Gage Burland in one inning.
• By going 2-for-3 against WSU earlier, Roberts has the highest batting average against the Cougars on the current team, but Jones' .417 (5x12) tops multiple-year players; he saw just a hit and a run scored April 5, but he ripped four hits, including a home run, last season against the Cougars. OF Sam Brown leads current Zags with five RBIs against the Cougars, all five of which came in 2014.

BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM:

• Despite the best defense in the conference backing them, Gonzaga's pitchers have taken it upon themselves to retire batters recently as the pitching staff has retired 102 batters via a strikeout in the last 10 games. Six pitchers have set or tied career marks during that stretch: Brandon Bailey (13 April 1), Wyatt Mills (8 April 2), Hunter Wells (8 April 3), Justin Blatner (5 April 5), Calvin LeBrun (6 April 5), and Eli Morgan (11 April 9).
• The Bulldog pitching staff is second in the WCC with 302 strikeouts while they lead the conference with a 2.38 strikeout-walk ratio and 9.2 Ks per nine innings. Individually, RHP Brandon Bailey is second with 72 Ks and 11.57 strikeouts an inning, while RHP Hunter Wells is third with 10.22 Ks per nine. Morgan is fifth overall with 61 Ks.
• During this 10-game stretch, the Zags have combined for a 2.30 ERA, allowing 23 earned runs (30 total) in 90.0 innings of work. Batters are hitting just .237 against Gonzaga during that stretch. Seven Zag pitchers have allowed just two or fewer runs during that stretch, with Hellinger leading the way with a 0.00 ERA through 6.1 IP. Of the starters, Morgan is tops with a 0.83 ERA and two runs allowed in 21.2 innings.

PITCHING LINES:

• Blatner will make his second start of the year and second against the Cougars after allowing just four hits in five innings against Washington State two weeks ago. His 5.0 innings and five strikeouts were both career highs, and he also picked up his first win as well. The Spokane native has also seen time in four games as a reliever, pitching at least 1.0 innings against Grand Canyon, Texas Southern, TCU, and Washington. Versus Texas Southern, he pitched 1.2 innings while allowing one run and striking out four, and at UW, he fanned two of the four batters he faced in one scoreless inning of work. He has not pitched since the WSU game.
• In high school, Blatner was named 2013 Greater Spokane League MVP and earned a spot on the Kansas City Royals' Area Code team that year, posting a miniscule 0.22 ERA while hitting .426 with five home runs and 26 RBIs for Gonzaga Prep.
• Gonzaga's bullpen has posted a 3.34 ERA on the year, allowing 42 earned runs (51 total) in 113.1 innings of work with a 6-4 record...four Zags have an ERA under 3.00 out of the bullpen, including Daniel Bies' 0.00 ERA in 2.1 innings of work...Burland's allowed just one earned run in 6.1 innings in relief (he's started two games as well)...Mills has a 1.54 ERA in 10 appearances and 23.1 innings, all out of the bullpen. He picked up his first save of the year Saturday, April 16, and he's allowed one or fewer earned runs in nine of his 10 outings. Despite being a reliever and bullpen ace, Mills has longevity as he's pitched at least 3.1 innings in each of his last three appearances and four times overall. He leads the bullpen with 27 strikeouts.

LAST GAME'S STARTING LINEUP