Box Score

FORT WORTH, Texas--The Gonzaga University baseball team jumped out to an early lead and rode Brandon Bailey's right arm to a 5-1 win over Arizona State on Friday afternoon to open the NCAA's Fort Worth Regional.

The Zags scored all five runs in the first three innings, and Bailey kept the Sun Devil offense at bay. Bailey threw 7.0 innings, giving up just one earned run on five hits, while striking out five and walking just one. Sam Hellinger finished off the final 2.0 innings without allowing a run and giving up just one hit.

Taylor Jones, Jeff Bohling and Nick Brooks notched two hits apiece on the day with Jones picking up a pair of runs batted in and Bohling and Brooks plating one run each.

The designated visiting team, Gonzaga wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard. Bohling gave the Zags a one-out base runner in the first with an infield single, and he scored when Jones doubled off the wall in left center. Two batters later, Jones scored on a ground ball from Justin Jacobs for a two-run GU advantage.

After Bailey retired the side in order in the bottom of the frame, the Zags added on a pair of runs in the second, doing so on four straight singles. Bohling and Jones posted the key hits with both bringing in a run, Bohling plating Jace VanDeBrake and Jones scoring Sam Brown.

Gonzaga's fifth run came in the third when Brooks hit a double to left center, allowing shortstop Dustin Breshears to come home. Breshears drew a one-out walk for the Zags' first base runner in the frame.

Arizona State got on the scoreboard in the fourth with an RBI fielder's choice after the Zag defense just missed a double play. The Zags got out of a jam in the fifth, too, when Bailey gave up a pair of hits to begin the frame but used a fly out, a foul out, and a strikeout to end the threat.

Meanwhile, the Zags' bats were stifled by Arizona State reliever Eli Lingos, who came on during the third. He allowed just one hit and issued one walk during his 6.1 innings of work to end the game. But with Bailey's dominance and Hellinger out of the bullpen, GU's lead held strong for its 36^th win of the season.

Regional Update:

With the win, the Zags (36-19) advanced into the winner's bracket and will face the winner of tonight's TCU/Oral Roberts matchup. That winner's bracket matchup will take place at 4:30 p.m. Pacific (6:30 p.m. Central). Arizona State drops into the loser's bracket, and will face the loser of Friday night's game on Saturday, June 4, at 9:00 a.m. Pacific (11:00 a.m. Central).

Bulldog Bites:

• Bailey struck out five batters Friday afternoon in the winning effort. He's now tied for fourth in the program's career strikeouts list with 278, deadlocked with fellow Coloradoan Marco Gonzales. Additionally, Bailey has 125 on the season, the third most in a single season in GU history and has struck out at least five batters in 13 of his 15 appearances this season. He also picked up his 10^th win of the season on Friday, a career high.
• With his first inning double, Jones now has 25 on the year and averages 0.46 two-baggers per game. He leads the West Coast Conference in both stats, and he's also tied for third in the nation in total doubles. As a team, the Zags have 127 doubles on the year, two away from tying the program record of 129 set in 2010. Jones and Bohling have combined for 48 of those.
• Jones' two RBIs early in the contest gave the senior his eighth multi-RBI game of the year, which ties him for third on the team. His last came May 19 at San Diego, and his previous before that was April 22 versus Santa Clara.
• The win is Gonzaga's first over Arizona State since 2006 when the Bulldogs beat the Sun Devils 9-1 during the regular season. Since, the Sun Devils had won six of the last seven games between the two clubs after a tie in 2013. Also, the two clubs have now played five postseason games; today's win was Gonzaga's first postseason win over ASU. They hadn't met in NCAA Regionals play since 1981.

Zag Speak:

Gonzaga head coach Mark Machtolf

"That was a good win for our team. I thought we came out ready to play. We did a good job against a very good pitcher, and obviously Brandon [Bailey] set the tone, and [Taylor Jones] had a good hit to start. I'm just proud of my guys."

First baseman Taylor Jones

"It was awesome. It's cool playing on a stage like this. Like Coach said, playing on this field again is cool. It kind of felt like we were more comfortable since we've been here before."

Pitcher Brandon Bailey

"[Jones' double] was a good way to start the game, and it really set the tone. The position players really swung the bat well against a really good pitcher in Seth Martinez. I thought it was a great way to get the momentum on our side right away."

Next Up:

The Zags will return to playoff action Saturday, June 4, when they play either TCU or Oral Roberts, depending on the outcome of Friday's late game in Fort Worth. That contest will begin at 4:30 p.m. Pacific (6:30 p.m. Central) at Lupton Stadium. Links for live stats and video may be found on the Gonzaga baseball schedule page of www.GoZags.com.