Sanderson Ford Collegiate Baseball Classic
Feb. 15-18  |  Surprise Stadium  |  Surprise, Ariz.

Minnesota (0-0) vs. Gonzaga (0-0)
Friday, Feb. 15 | 4 p.m. PT/5 p.m. MT
LHP Nick Lackney vs. RHP Casey Legumina
Live Stats

No. 5/8 Oregon State (0-0) vs. Gonzaga (0-0)
Saturday, Feb. 16 | 12 p.m. PT/1 p.m. MT
RHP Bryce Fehmel vs. RHP Alek Jacob
Live Stats

New Mexico (0-0) vs. Gonzaga (0-0)
Sunday, Feb. 17 | 4 p.m. PT/5 p.m. MT
RHP Brian Coffey vs. LHP Mac Lardner
Live Stats

Minnesota (0-0) vs. Gonzaga (0-0)
Monday, Feb. 18 | 9 a.m. PT/10 a.m. MT
RHP Jake Stevenson vs. LHP Justin Blatner
Live Stats

Season Opening Surprise
- Gonzaga is opening in Surprise, Arizona, for the third straight season. 
- This is the 18th consecutive season the Zags have started the year in a warm-weather climate (since 2002)...they've played 10 season openers in Arizona since 2003, including five of the last six (2014: Tucson, 2016: Phoenix, 2017-18-19: Surprise).
- The Zags return 20 players from 2018 (35 on roster).
- GU was selected as the preseason West Coast Conference favorite by the league's 10 head coaches. GU earned five first-place votes. 
-  RHP Casey Legumina and 3B Ernie Yake were named to the Preseason All-WCC Squad. 

Mac is Back
- Head coach Mark Machtolf is entering his 16th season at the helm of the program, and his 29th season on the Gonzaga coaching staff overall. He has a career record of 450-363-2.

Closer to Starter
- Friday starter Casey Legumina enters the season as a Preseason All-America Second Team selection by Collegiate Baseball. 
- Legumina closed games for the Zags in 2018 to the tune of a school-record 13 saves.
- The Chandler, Arizona, native appeared in 26 games overall in 2018, finishing with a 3-3 record in 48.2 innings pitched. He had 52 strikeouts with only seven walks and recorded a 2.77 earned-run average on the year, while being named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch list.
- Legumina was drafted in the 35th round by the Cleveland Indians in the 2018 MLB Draft. 

2018 Recap
- GU went 33-24 last season and won the West Coast Conference Tournament title to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals. GU outscored its opponents 34-5 in three games at the league tournament.
- At the Minneapolis Regional, GU went 1-2 with a pair of losses to UCLA and a win over Canisius as the No. 3 seed.
- The NCAA bid marked GU's second in the last three seasons after earning an at-large bid in the 2016 season.
- It also marked the third straight year with a WCC title. GU won a share of the regular season title in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons.  

Pitching and Defense
- Gonzaga ranked in the top 10 in the nation in 2018 in both fielding percentage and earned-run average
- GU was No. 2 in the nation in fielding percentage at .984.
- The Zags ranked No. 9 in team earned-run average at 3.12. 

More Pitching
- Along with Legumina making the leap from closer to starter, the Zags return two of the league's best from 2018 in Alek Jacob and Mac Lardner.
- Jacob, a sophomore right-hander, went 7-5 with a 2.88 ERA and .199 batting average against in his freshman season.
- Lardner, a junior left-hander, was 7-4 with a 2.95 ERA. 

Offensive Production Returning
- Sophomore 3B Ernie Yake was the Zags' top threat on offense as a freshman in 2018. He hit a team-leading .322 with 76 hits, including 15 doubles, both team-highs. Yake struck out only 20 times in 236 at-bats. 
- Senior C Austin Pinorini will also provide some offensive punch after turning in on down the stretch last season. He earned both WCC All-Tournament and NCAA All-Region honors, going 7-for-13 with a homer at the WCC Tournament and 4-for-10 at the NCAA Regionals. 

New Faces
- SS Josh Bristyan comes to Gonzaga after a stellar career at Paradise Valley [Ariz.] Community College. He was named NJCAA Division II First Team All-American in addition to being named to the 2018 ABCA/Rawlings NJCAA Div. II Gold Glove Team, making him a two-time recipient of the award.
- RHP Nick Trogrlic-Iverson chose the Zags over pro ball after being drafted in the 15th round by the Milwaukee Brewers. The Oakville, Ontario native spent two seasons at Central Arizona College, going 8-3 on the season with six complete games. In 76.2 innings pitched, he posted a 2.35 ERA with 91 strikeouts and 20 earned runs.

Follow the Zags
- Follow all the action for Gonzaga women's tennis on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with @zagsbaseball or on GoZags.com.
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