Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash.--Sophomore right-hander Eli Morgan went the distance Saturday night, holding the Portland Pilots scoreless and to just four hits while the Bulldogs gave him enough offense for a 3-0 win at Patterson Baseball Complex & Washington Trust Field.

Morgan pitched all 9.0 innings for Gonzaga, allowing just five Pilots on base the entire night. He didn't cede a hit until the fifth - a single to right center from Brian Pozos - and he allowed multiple baserunners in just one inning: the sixth. After a leadoff single in that frame, Morgan fanned the next to Pilot batters. A two-out single put two men on, and both advanced 90 feet on a wild pitch, but Morgan got out of the situation by striking out Grant Sutton for the third out.

The native of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., native struck out 11 batters, a career high. In addition to striking out the side in the sixth inning, he struck out two in both the second and fourth innings and one each in the first, third, eighth, and ninth.

Gonzaga's bats gave Morgan an early lead, scoring once in each of the second and third innings. Center fielder Tyler Frost led off the frame with a double down the right field line. Three batters later, after a couple of strikeouts and a hit by pitch, Jake Roberts brought him home with a base hit to the left side of the diamond.

In the third, the Zags once again got a leadoff hit when Sam Brown ripped a single to right field. He came around on the very next pitch when Jeff Bohling crushed the first pitch he saw from Portland's Davis Tominaga into left center field, plating the Zags' left fielder with a double. The Zags eventually loaded the bases in the frame, but they couldn't touch the plate any more, taking a 2-0 lead into the fourth.

That margin held all the way until the eighth inning when the Zags again loaded the bases and got one run. They benefitted from two Portland errors - both on sacrifice bunts designed to move the leadoff hitter over - and eventually scored when Roberts flew out to center field. Portland's Geoffrey Lee made a spectacular diving catch to retire Roberts, but pinch runner Gage Burland easily scored from third on the play for Gonzaga's third and final run of the game.

Bulldog Bites:

• Morgan pitched his second career complete game and first-ever shutout. It's the Zags' first complete game shutout of the season; they had just one last year on April 12 when Brandon Bailey hold Saint Mary's scoreless. He's also posted five straight quality starts, lowering his ERA from 9.77 on March 13 to its current level of 3.95. He also set a career high in strikeouts, bettering the 10 he fanned March 20 of this season against Pepperdine by one. Morgan is 4-0 in his last five starts, striking no less than seven batters and pitching no less than 7.0 innings. He improved his record to 5-1 on the season.
• The win gives Gonzaga its sixth consecutive win, its longest win streak of the season. That streak started April 1 at Pacific and includes a three-game sweep in Stockton, one win at home over Washington State, and two at home against Portland. During that stretch, the Zags' starting pitchers have combined for a 1.14 ERA with two strong outings from both Morgan and Bailey and a scoreless 5.0-inning appearance by Justin Blatner. The Zags have three shutouts on the year, and all three have come during the last six games.
• With his RBI in the second inning, Roberts has three game-winning hits during that win streak. He went 1-for-3 Saturday night a pair of RBIs, his third multi-RBI game of the year. All three of those have come during the win streak, and in that stretch Roberts is hitting .478 (11x23) with eight RBIs.
• After posting three hits for extra bases April 8, Bohling added a pair of doubles to his tally Saturday night. He now has a team-leading 20 extra-base hits on the year: 12 doubles, three triples, and a team-best five home runs.

Zag Speak:

Associate Head Coach Danny Evans:

• "Impeccable, that's how you can describe Morgan's performance tonight. He had 27 first-pitch strikes of 30. If you do that, you win ball games."
• "Bailey and Morgan, I'll put those two guys against anyone in the in the country; and they have. They've played some of the best teams on the biggest stages, and they've continued to be consistent. That's what you want Friday and Saturday night, especially on a night like tonight when offensively we're not clicking."

Sophomore RHP Eli Morgan:

• "That felt good. I was throwing all three pitches for strikes and got good spin on the breaking ball. I threw a lot of first-pitch strikes and that's a pretty good recipe for success."

Next Up:

Gonzaga (19-10, 8-3 WCC) will look to complete the sweep on Sunday, April 10, with one more game against the Pilots. First pitch for the season finale is slated for 12:00 p.m., again at Patterson Baseball Complex. The Bulldogs have yet to announce a starter, but the Pilots will send out left-hander Jordan Harak.