Box Score

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Down by five early, the Gonzaga baseball team used its biggest offensive output of the season to storm out to a 13-7 victory over Santa Clara Friday night at Stephen Schott Stadium in Santa Clara.

The host Broncos took their early advantage with five runs in the first inning, plating all of them off GU starter Justin Vernia. They tallied five hits on the frame through just one out, but Vernia ended the inning with a double play, setting himself up for shutout innings in the second and the third.

In the fourth, Gonzaga crawled back within one after scoring four runs, their first of three big innings on the night. Designated hitter Jace VanDeBrake got things going with a one-out walk, and then the Zags posted four straight hits, getting a two-RBI double from Jake Roberts, an RBI triple from Sam Brown, and another base knock to drive in a run from Daniel Fredrickson.

Santa Clara then extended its lead back out to three, getting one run in the fourth on a solo home run and another in the sixth on an RBI double.

Down 7-4 entering the seventh, the Bulldogs preceded to bat around twice in the final three innings, storming ahead for the win. They put up their own five-spot in the seventh, loading the bases with the first three batters. With the bags juiced, VanDeBrake then drew four balls for the first RBI, and Gunnar Schubert tacked one on with a sacrifice fly. Two batters later, Fredrickson ripped a 3-1 pitch through the left side of the infield to drive in two runs, and Tyler Frost capped off the frame with a single to right field for Gonzaga's fifth run of the period.

Gonzaga tacked on four more in the ninth, sending 10 men to the plate once again. They needed just two hits to achieve the feat, taking advantage of a walk, a Bronco error, and three hit batsmen in the frame. Brown drove in the first RBI with a single up the middle, and Fredrickson added another with a sacrifice fly. Two batters later, Brown came in to score on a passed ball, and pinch hitter Troy Johnston drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in the final run of the game.

Reliever Calvin LeBrun earned the win, his first of the year, after two innings of solid work. The junior allowed just one unearned run after entering in the sixth inning. Senior Sam Hellinger picked up the save after another two-inning outing, shutting down the Broncos in the eighth and the ninth.

Bulldog Bites:

• Gonzaga's 16 hits and 13 runs both set season highs. The Bulldogs added five bases on balls and four hit by pitches for a .390 hitting percentage (16x41) and a .481 on-base percentage (25x52) in the game.
• Fredrickson led the way with four RBIs, tying the most by a Zag this season. Seven Gonzaga hitters drove in at least one run Friday night. Seven different batters tallied a hit as well, with three - Brown, Frost, Schubert, and Roberts - collecting three each.
• The comeback from a five-run deficit was the Zags' biggest in over two years. They last won a game after trailing by five runs March 20, 2015, when they turned a 1-6 deficit into a 7-6 victory against BYU in Spokane.
• GU batted around twice Friday night. The Bulldogs sent 10 men to the plate in the seventh, scoring five runs and leaving two on base. In the ninth, they again saw 10 plate appearances, scoring four runs and leaving the bases loaded. They entered the game having batted around in an inning just once this season: in the second inning March 18 versus Pacific (9 Rs, 12 PAs).

Mac Talk: Thoughts from Gonzaga head coach Mark Machtolf

• "We feel like last night prepared us for tonight. We didn't play very cleanly early on, but we stayed with our approach of rolling up quality at-bats and chipping away. Our pitching settled in and the relievers did a good job of holding them down to allow us to extend the lead. These are huge games for our ballclub to build upon down the stretch in the WCC race."

Next Up:

The Bulldogs (19-14, 10-4 WCC) and Broncos (7-27, 3-8 WCC) will wrap up the series on Saturday, April 15. The finale will begin at 1:00 p.m., again at Stephen Schott Stadium in Santa Clara.