Box Score

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - The Gonzaga University baseball team squared off against Cal Poly for just the second time in its history Monday night, falling 6-1 to the Mustangs at Baggett Stadium in San Luis Obispo.

Cal Poly opened the scoring account in the second inning, getting a one-out runner when Michael Sanderson singled to left center. After advancing on a groundout, he came home when Colby Barrick hit a triple into the right field corner. Gonzaga starter Casey Legumina, however, limited the damage by ending the frame with a groundout.

Gonzaga got its first base runner in the third inning. Catcher Jake Roberts was hit in the foot by the first pitch he saw from Mustang starter Kyle Smith. The Bulldogs looked to have a rally going when left fielder Sam Brown drew a walk for a pair of baserunners, but Smith too got out of the jam with a strikeout.

The Mustangs broke the game open in the fifth inning, sending 10 men to the plate and scoring five runs. With one on and one out, the home team saw four consecutive base knocks to score three runs. After a groundout and another walk to load the bases, Elijah Skipps hit a single to center field, scoring two more. Legumina then ended the frame with a strikeout, leaving runners on first and second.

In the eighth, the Bulldogs scratched across a run of their own with a pair of hits, their second and third of the game. After the first two batters of the frame made outs, right fielder Daniel Fredrickson sent the first pitch he saw up the middle for a single. First baseman Jake Vieth then doubled to the gap in right center, allowing Fredrickson to score from first. That was all the Bulldogs got, however, as the Mustangs escaped the eighth without further damage and worked around a Troy Johnston pinch-hit single in the ninth.

Reliever Cam Schneider got the win, his first of the season, after pitching two scoreless innings. He entered the game in the fifth inning and got the Mustangs out of a two-on, no-out jam. Legumina took the loss, his third of the year, while allowing six runs in six innings.

Bulldog Bites:

• Brown collected the team's first hit with one down in the seventh inning, his 19th base knock of the season. Before that, the Bulldogs had earned five base runners via a base on balls and three more via a hit by pitch. Four bulldogs reached base twice in the game: Brown, Roberts, Vieth and Fredrickson.
• Vieth's eighth-inning RBI was his first since March 4 during the second game of a doubleheader at California. He has six on the season, the squad's third-highest total. The RBI double was also Vieth's first extra-base hit since March 4 as well.
• Roberts caught Alex McKenna attempting to steal second base in the sixth inning. That's the redshirt senior's second caught stealing of the year. His other came Feb. 17 against Indiana.
• Cal Poly's win gives the Mustangs an all-time series lead. These two clubs have only met once previously: an 8-8 tie in Fresno, Calif., during the 2003 season.

Mac Talk: Thoughts from Gonzaga head coach Mark Machtolf

• "We just need to stay the course. Baseball is about responding and we have a great opportunity to do so tomorrow against UC Riverside."

Next Up:

The Bulldogs (6-9) wrap up their tour of Southern California on Tuesday, March 14, with a single game at UC Riverside in Riverside, Calif. That contest will begin at 6:00 p.m. at Riverside Sports Complex. Links for live stats and audio may be found at www.GoZags.com.