Box Score

Gonzaga at UCSB Box Score

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.--The Gonzaga University baseball team saw a tough end to the 2016 regular season Monday, falling 6-5 to Santa Barbara on a walk-off wild pitch at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium in Santa Barbara.

The Zags took an immediate lead to begin the game, scoring three runs in the first inning. Gonzaga put its first three batters on base -- Sam Brown on an error, Jeff Bohling on a double, and Taylor Jones on a walk -- and cleanup hitter Tyler Frost brought them all home with a double to right center.

Santa Barbara drew within one in the second, scoring two runs on three hits and an error, but Gonzaga got those back in the very next frame. Joey Harris gave the Zags a base runner with a two-out infield single, and he touched the plate shortly after when Nick Brooks smashed a 2-1 pitch from Kyle Hatton over the netting in left field. The two-run homer was Brooks' sixth of the year.

In the bottom of the third, the Gauchos scored once more, getting a run on a single from Billy Fredrick and ending Justin Vernia's outing. Lefty reliever Calvin LeBrun then came on to induce an inning-ending double play, preserving the lead for Gonzaga.

Over the next five innings, LeBrun shined while keeping UCSB off the board. The sophomore retired the first eight batters he faced, and Fredrick only broke that stretch with a single that bounced out of a diving Justin Jacobs' glove in the sixth. Unfazed, LeBrun made outs during the next two at-bats to end the frame and got through the seventh and eighth unscathed as well.

While LeBrun limited the home team's scoring chances, the Zags put men on base in each of the fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth innings, but the Gaucho defense held and prevented insurance runs. In the bottom of the ninth, UCSB broke through against LeBrun, loading the bases with singles from each of the first three batters and placing the winning run on first. Closer Wyatt Mills then came on in relief, allowing a sacrifice fly to his first batter faced and a single to his second to tie the game. On that single, UCSB's Tevin Mitchell advanced to third base, and he scored the winning run on a wild pitch to Austin Bush.

Bulldog Bites:

• Frost's three RBIs on the day give him 46 for the year, tied for third-most in the WCC. Those 46 RBIs are also the most by a Zag since 2012 when Royce Bolinger drove in 51. The sophomore from Phoenix is tied for the team lead with 10 multi-RBI games, and Monday was his first multi-RBI game since April 22 versus Santa Clara.
• All six of Brooks' home runs have come in the last 35 days as he hit his first of the year April 19 at Washington State (17 games). Since then, the redshirt sophomore has hit .315 (17x54) and slugged .648 while adding 17 RBIs, 13 runs scored, eight walks, and four hit by pitches. Overall, he leads the team in slugging (.553) despite starting only 21 games during the regular season. Brooks' slugging percentage could have been higher, too, as Fredrick robbed him of extra bases in the second inning Monday with a running grab in left field.
• Until the ninth, LeBrun had been cruising through the UCSB lineup, allowing just three hits between the middle of the third and the end of the eighth. He also struck out four batters during that stretch. Overall on the year, LeBrun has been solid out of the bullpen, posting a 2.45 ERA with 11 earned runs allowed in 41.1 relief innings. Thirty-two of his 35 strikeouts on the year have come in those 13 relief appearances.
• At No. 30 in the RPI, Gonzaga is the highest-rated opponent that UC Santa Barbara had seen this season. The Gauchos entered the day at No. 20 in the RPI, the Zags' second-highest opponent after TCU (No. 17). According to Nolan's Live RPI report, the loss didn't affect GU's RPI standing while UCSB climbed one spot to No. 19.

Mac Talk: Thoughts from Gonzaga head coach Mark Machtolf:

• "We need to have a short memory for this one. Despite the tough ending, we think this game will make us better going into the weekend. We'll learn from it and wipe the slate clean on Thursday. These guys are hungry for a WCC tournament title!"

Next Up:

With the end of the season, Gonzaga (33-17, 18-9 WCC) now heads into postseason play with the WCC Championships in Stockton, Calif. As the tournament's No. 3 seed, the Bulldogs will begin the tournament with a contest against No. 2 BYU on Thursday, May 26. That game will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton.