April 3, 2016 Box Score
STOCKTON, Calif.--The Gonzaga University baseball team capped off its second series sweep of the season and first in West Coast Conference play Sunday as the Zags downed Pacific 10-5 at Klein Family Field in Stockton.
The Zag bats erupted for 10 runs on the day with six of them coming in the fourth when Gonzaga opened the game's scoring record. They scored those runs on seven hits in the frame, including base knocks from the first four Bulldogs to bat. Shortstop Dustin Breshears knocked in the first run with a single to center field, scoring leadoff batter Tyler Frost, and catcher Jake Roberts followed up with a knock through the left side of the infield to plate designated hitter Jarod Gonzales. Two batters later, right fielder Jace VanDeBrake brought home both Breshears and Roberts with a hit to center, and he came home himself on a double from Jeff Bohling. Taylor Jones also added an RBI in the frame, scoring Bohling with a sacrifice fly out to right field.
Over the next three innings, Pacific whittled the Gonzaga lead to just one run, scoring once in the bottom of the fourth and twice in both the fifth and sixth innings. In the seventh, however, the Zags got a bit of breathing room when Frost hit a two-run blast out to right-center field, bringing home Jones in the process. After a double in the next at bat, Gonzales worked his way to third base to give the Zags a runner on third with one out, but he was stranded at the corner.
In the eighth, the Bulldogs added two more with another big blast. Left fielder Nick Brooks led off the frame with a single to right center, and he took second on a ground ball from VanDeBrake. After Gage Burland came on to replace the redshirt freshman on the base paths, Bohling went yard to give the Zags their ninth and 10th runs of the day.
Reliever Justin Vernia picked up the win, the first of his Gonzaga career, after coming on in relief of starter Hunter Wells in the fifth inning. Fellow reliever and left-hander Calvin LeBrun picked up the save after throwing 3.0 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out one.
Bulldog Bites:
- Gonzaga picked up its second sweep of the year Sunday, also going 3-for-3 at UTSA in March. The Zags also posted two sweeps back in 2014, taking three games off San Francisco and Portland in WCC play. They've now swept Pacific three times in Stockton; the previous sweeps came in 2008 and 2011. They have yet to lose a multi-game series to the Tigers and are 20-7 against the newest WCC member in the all-time series.
- Frost erupted at the plate during Sunday's game, going 4-for-5 with two singles, a double, a home run, two RBIs, two and two runs scored. Those four hits equals his career high set Feb. 26, 2015, versus Purdue. The sophomore is hitting .324 on the year with 34 hits, six doubles, a triple, and three home runs. He's already set a career high with 28 RBIs, and his next home run will also be a new career best. Furthermore, he's only eight more hits away from his tally in 2015 as a freshman.
- With nine more strikeouts Sunday, Gonzaga's pitchers threw a chair to a total of 39 Pacific batters. They entered the series with 200 strikeouts on the year, third-most in the WCC. Wells equaled a career high with eight strikeouts during his 4.1 inning start Sunday. He's the third Bulldog pitcher to set or equal a career mark during the series; Brandon Bailey did so with 13 Ks April 1 while Wyatt Mills fanned eight April 2 to beat his old mark by three.
- By crossing the plate 10 times, the Bulldogs posted their eighth 10+ run game of the year Sunday and first since scoring 11 against Pepperdine March 20. They reached the mark just six times last season. With 15 hits, they saw their 16th double-digit hit game of the year and second of the series.
Mac Talk: Thoughts from Gonzaga head coach Mark Machtolf:
- "We're so proud of this group for coming together for a great weekend! There were so many big contributions and Zag efforts when we needed them. We're ready for a nice homestand this week at Patterson."
Next Up:
Gonzaga (16-10, 6-3 WCC) returns to Spokane for a four-game homestand at Patterson Baseball Complex & Washington Trust Field. They host regional foe Washington State on Tuesday, April 5, at 6:00 p.m. before Portland comes to town April 8-10. Tuesday's game against the Cougars and Friday's against the Pilots will both be aired on local television by SWX.
