Box Score April 17, 2018 Box Score | Photo Gallery 
SPOKANE, Wash. -- Gonzaga baseball scored seven runs in the first three innings on the way to a 7-4 victory over Washington State at home on Tuesday evening.
Gonzaga's three-run second inning gave the offense a lead they wouldn't relinquish and Justin Blatner pitched 5.2 innings of relief to get his first win of the season. The Zags (19-16) managed 12 hits against nine for the Cougars (10-20).
"These last two games we are trending the right way offensively," associate head coach Danny Evans said. "Our pitchers have been doing a great job, and I think if our offense can keep getting better, we can be a championship-caliber team. We are looking forward to a good series with USF this weekend. They have been pitching well, that will be a big series for us."
Blatner allowed just one run on five hits with eight strikeouts in his 5.1 innings of relief work in place of starter Taylor Davis. Calvin LeBrun came on in the middle of the eighth and pitched a perfect 1.1 innings to get his second save of the year.
On offense, Branson Trube reached base four times with a pair of hits and two walks, while Isaac Barrera had two hits, scored once and knocked in a run. Gunnar Schubert picked up two RBI in the game and both Jake Vieth and Ernie Yake had two hits each.
GU got the scoring started right away, posting at least one run in each of the first four innings. The biggest inning came in the second when the Zags posted three with a solo homer from Nick Brooks, an RBI single by Barrera and an RBI double by Trube to put GU up 4-1.
Vieth added a solo home run in the third and then Schubert notched an RBI single as part of a two-run bottom of the fourth to answer two by WSU in the top half of the inning.
Blatner then continued his strong outing through the top of the eighth before giving way to LeBrun, who closed the game out.
Gonzaga will be back on the road this weekend at West Coast Conference-leading San Francisco for a three-game series. The Zags enter just one game behind the Dons for first place in the league. Check GoZags.com for links to live coverage.
