Box Score

PASCO, Wash.--With a pair of strong pitching performances, the Gonzaga University baseball team completed a season sweep of regional foe Washington State Tuesday, beating the Cougars 5-2 at Gesa Stadium in Pasco.

Gonzaga took the lead in the second with four runs. The first three batters drew walks to load the bases, and the next four all put the ball in play to drive in Gonzaga's runs. Jace VanDeBrake started the scoring wave with a sacrifice fly, and Sam Brown followed up with a double down the left field line. After an RBI groundout from Jeff Bohling, Taylor Jones ripped a double to left to cap the stretch.

Washington State scored two off Gonzaga starter Justin Vernia in the third inning, both runs coming on RBI doubles, The Issaquah, Wash., native didn't allow another hit in his 4.1 innings of work, though, striking out five batters and exiting the game with a 4-2 lead in the fifth.

Lefty Calvin LeBrun came on in relief of Vernia and continued to stifle Washington State's bats. After issuing a walk to the first batter he faced, he got out of the inning with a strikeout and a fly out. The Phoenix native then struck out the side in the sixth and also sat the Cougs down in order in the seventh as well.

The Cougars' bullpen also kept the Zags in check after the four-run outburst in the second. Gonzaga did get runners on during every inning from the third through the sixth, but those came on walks or a hit by pitch. In the eighth, however, they took advantage of a Washington State throwing error to take a 5-2 lead. That throwing error from Cougar shortstop Justin Harrer allowed Dustin Breshears to score from first and put the Zags up by three.

LeBrun, meanwhile, continued to shut the Cougars down in the eighth and ninth, not allowing a base runner in either frame. After 4.2 innings of no-hit ball, LeBrun picked up the win, his fifth of the year.

Bulldog Bites:

• Vernia and LeBrun held Washington State to two hits on the night, both of which came in the third inning. It's the first combined two-hitter for Gonzaga since 2011. Prior to Tuesday night, Vernia hadn't allowed fewer than five hits in a start while it was LeBrun's longest hitless outing of the year.
• Gonzaga's two pitchers also combined for 12 strikeouts on the day: LeBrun rang up seven and Vernia fanned five. The Zags are now at 417 on the year, five away from tying the program's single-season record. LeBrun's seven Ks were a career best while Vernia also matched his best strikeout total in a Bulldogs uniform Tuesday night.
• With the win, Gonzaga picked up its first sweep of Washington State since taking all three games back in 2013. It's also GU's sixth series sweep of the year after taking three-game sets off UTSA, Pacific, Portland, and Loyola Marymount, and a two-gamer from Oregon.
• Bulldog batters drew 10 walks Tuesday night, the fourth time this season they've taken at least 10 free passes. During the first meeting between the two Eastern Washington clubs, they drew seven and they walked eight times in the second.

Next Up:

Gonzaga (31-15, 16-8 WCC) will wrap up the West Coast Conference season this weekend with a three-game set at San Diego. The first game between the Bulldogs and the Toreros is set for 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 19, in San Diego's Fowler Park.