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Gonzaga University Athletics

Baseball

Baseball Opens WCC and Home Slate vs. Pacific

March 16, 2017

Gonzaga Notes | Pacific Notes

Friday, March 17vs. PacificSpokane, Wash.3:00 p.m.Live Video
RHP Eli Morgan (2-1, 2.57) vs. RHP Shelby Lackey (1-2, 6.00)
Saturday, March 18vs. PacificSpokane, Wash.3:00 p.m.Live Video

RHP Justin Vernia (2-1, 2.70) vs. RHP Will Lydon (2-1, 3.16)



Sunday, March 19vs. PacificSpokane, Wash.12:00 p.m.Live StatsLive Video
TBD vs. vs. LHP Ricky Reynoso (2-2, 6.35)

SO LONG, SOCAL...:

  • The Bulldogs went 2-3 over a five game stretch in Southern California last weekend and earlier this week...GU won games at then-No. 7/11 Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside while falling to the Titans twice and Cal Poly once...the win in Fullerton was the Zags' first win over a ranked foe in 2017, and their 10 runs against the Highlanders is a season high...all three games against CSUF were decided by one run.
  • During the five-game trip, Gonzaga hit .224 and scored 17 runs, besting the marks put up by their opponents...senior Jeff Bohling topped the team with a .368 average and seven hits while junior Tyler Frost brought in five runs and scored four himself...the pitching staff posted a 3.00 ERA, the same as GU's opponents...senior Sam Hellinger made three appearances out of the pen while senior Wyatt Mills and junior Calvin LeBrun both pitched in two games.

HELLO SPOKANE!:

  • Gonzaga begins its 23-game home schedule this weekend, the first three of an eight-game home stretch...23 of their final 36 regular season games will take place in Spokane...since opening Patterson Baseball Complex & Washington Trust Field in 2007, the Bulldogs have gone 115-73 (.611) overall at home.
  • GU has posted a winning record in each of their 10 seasons at Patterson...last year's 8-2 record (.800) was the best in the stadium's history...they won 17 home games in the 2012 season, the most inside their new home.
  • The Bulldogs host six WCC teams after making six trips last year...the home slate ends with 10 straight games from April 28 to May 20...season tickets are available at http://www.gozags.com/tickets.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PACIFIC:

  • Gonzaga leads the overall series with UoP 20-7, and GU head coach Mark Machtolf was at the helm for all but one of those...last year, the Zags swept the Tigers in Stockton by scores of 6-0, 5-1 in 11 innings, and 10-5 despite missing several players due to illness...GU has not lost a home series to Pacific.
  • The Tigers are 8-7 on the year, most recently taking three of four at home against Seattle U last weekend...Gonzaga and Pacific share just one common opponent so far: Pacific swept a three-game home series against Cal Poly in Stockton while the Zags lost Monday in San Luis Obispo.
  • C/INF James Free leads Pacific with a .350/.447/.475 slash in 11 starts...INF Matt Tarantino tops the squad with 13 RBIs while INF/RHP Ryan Schalch has scored 13 runs...RHP Miles Haddad and RHP Jordan Gonzales have each made six appearances out of the bullpen, and RHP Vince Arobio is the pen ace with three games saved and a 1.08 ERA through 9.0 innings of work.

BUSTING OUT THE BATS:

  • The Zags scored a season-high 10 runs at UC Riverside Tuesday, reaching double digits for the first time since last April...they also equaled a season best with 13 hits...Gonzaga has reached the 10-hit mark five times this season and did so twice during the five games in Southern California.
  • Also in SoCal, GU hit three of their seven home runs on the year...Frost homered once at Cal State Fullerton and once at UCR, and Justin Jacobs also went yard against the Highlanders...those two combined for a pair of home runs March 5 at California as well, the Zags' only other multi-home run game of the year.

ON CONFERENCE PLAY:

  • The Zags begin the WCC slate this season...last year, they went 18-9 and claimed a share of their third regular season title...they've posted winning records in five of the last six conference seasons, claiming two titles, two second-place finishes, and one third-place tally...they've qualified for the WCC Baseball Championships, a four-team tournament to decide the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament, in three of its four years of existence.
  • Seven Bulldogs earned All-WCC honors last season, headlined by Player of the Year Jeff Bohling...the Bellevue, Wash., native tallied a .319/.382/.647 slash in WCC play last year with 27 RBIs and 24 extra-base hits...of this year's returners, Tyler Frost and Eli Morgan earned First Team All-WCC, Justin Jacobs was All-WCC Honorable Mention, and Jace VanDeBrake was voted to the All-Freshman team.
  • Jacobs tops all current qualifying Bulldogs with a .307 career batting average against WCC foes...he hit .341 and reached base at a .438 clip in 21 games in WCC play last season...redshirt senior Sam Brown has started 78 conference games, already the fourth-most by a Bulldog since 2008...he's on pace to finish as the program leader in numerous categories since game-by-game information is first available (since 2008).
  • On the mound, RHP Eli Morgan has dominated batters during conference play...last season, he went a perfect 8-0 with a 1.14 ERA and 71 strikeouts...Morgan also pitched four complete games, three of them being shutouts...over his career, Morgan is 9-0 with a 1.02 ERA against the WCC during the regular season...senior RHP Wyatt Mills has made 19 appearances in WCC games, tallying a 3.45 ERA and five saves, all of which came last year.

PITCHING LINES:

  • RHP Eli Morgan is coming off his best start as a Bulldog, striking out 15 batters and allowing just two hits while going the distance in a 1-0 win at #7/11 Cal State Fullerton last Friday...he faced just one three-ball count the entire game...the junior from Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., leads the WCC and is sixth in the nation with 41 strikeouts this year after posting two career highs: his 15 Ks at CSUF and 12 one week earlier at California...Morgan is also tied with Seton Hall's Shane McCarthy as the active Division I leader with four career shutouts...the pair are tied for sixth overall in the NCAA.
  • After his performance at CSUF, Morgan was named National Pitcher of the Week by the NCBWA, Perfect Game/Rawlings, Collegiate Baseball, and was a finalist for USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Standard Performance of the Week...he also earned his second consecutive WCC/Rawlings Pitcher of the Week award.
  • RHP Justin Vernia is coming off a solid performance last Saturday at #7/11 Cal State Fullerton as he posted his third quality start of the season...he pitched 6.0 innings of one-run ball and struck out a career-high six batters...his outings versus Duke and at California were also quality starts...the Issaquah, Wash., native is 2-1 on the year, beginning the season with a win against the Blue Devils...in that season opener, Vernia pitched a career-high 8.0 innings.
  • Gonzaga has yet to announce a starter for Sunday, but there are plenty of options available...RHP Daniel Bies, LHP Mac Lardner, and RHP Casey Legumina all have started at least two games this season...Bies and Lardner are 1-1 this year while Legumina is still searching for his first win...also, LHP Justin Blatner and LHP Calvin LeBrun have made starts for the Bulldogs in their careers.


LAST GAME'S STARTING LINEUP:

Pos.No.NameYr.Notable
C23Jake RobertsSr.Equaled career high with three hits March 14 at UC Riverside.
1B22Jake ViethJr.Leads team with 11 bases on balls, four of which came March 4 (gm. 1).
2B37Justin JacobsSr..333/.403/.508 slash with two home runs so far as a senior.
3B17Jeff BohlingRSr.Doubled twice and drove in two runs March 14 at UC Riverside.
SS6Gunnar SchubertJr.Season-high three hits March 11 at Cal State Fullerton.
LF11Sam BrownRSr.Two hits away from 200 in his career...31 from entering GU's top 10.
CF16Tyler FrostJr.Tied for third in WCC with four home runs...GU's RBI co-leader with 11.
RF38Daniel FredricksonRSo.Nine starts in first year as a Bulldog...hits in seven of 11 games played.
DH21Troy JohnstonFr.Earned third career start at UC Riverside...tallied a hit, scored a run.
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Players Mentioned

Gunnar Schubert

#6 Gunnar Schubert

INF
5' 11"
Junior
Troy Johnston

#21 Troy Johnston

OF
5' 11"
Freshman
Jake Vieth

#22 Jake Vieth

INF
5' 11"
Junior
Casey Legumina

#35 Casey Legumina

RHP
6' 0"
Freshman
Mac Lardner

#44 Mac Lardner

LHP
6' 4"
Freshman
Daniel Fredrickson

#9 Daniel Fredrickson

OF
5' 10"
Sophomore
Jake Roberts

#23 Jake Roberts

INF/C
6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
Justin Vernia

#24 Justin Vernia

RHP
6' 2"
Junior
Daniel Bies

#40 Daniel Bies

RHP
6' 8"
Redshirt Freshman
Sam Hellinger

#43 Sam Hellinger

RHP
6' 1"
Junior
Jace VanDeBrake

#2 Jace VanDeBrake

INF
6' 2"
Freshman
Sam Brown

#11 Sam Brown

OF
5' 11"
Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Gunnar Schubert

#6 Gunnar Schubert

5' 11"
Junior
INF
Troy Johnston

#21 Troy Johnston

5' 11"
Freshman
OF
Jake Vieth

#22 Jake Vieth

5' 11"
Junior
INF
Casey Legumina

#35 Casey Legumina

6' 0"
Freshman
RHP
Mac Lardner

#44 Mac Lardner

6' 4"
Freshman
LHP
Daniel Fredrickson

#9 Daniel Fredrickson

5' 10"
Sophomore
OF
Jake Roberts

#23 Jake Roberts

6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
INF/C
Justin Vernia

#24 Justin Vernia

6' 2"
Junior
RHP
Daniel Bies

#40 Daniel Bies

6' 8"
Redshirt Freshman
RHP
Sam Hellinger

#43 Sam Hellinger

6' 1"
Junior
RHP
Jace VanDeBrake

#2 Jace VanDeBrake

6' 2"
Freshman
INF
Sam Brown

#11 Sam Brown

5' 11"
Redshirt Sophomore
OF