NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — The offenses were on full display for both teams on Sunday, but the Gonzaga baseball team was on the short end of both games of a doubleheader against CSUN in Northridge, Calif.
Game 1 – CSUN 7, GU 4
GU got the bats rolling in the early going, but weren't able to keep the momentum in a 7-4 loss in the first game of a doubleheader at CSUN.
Gonzaga got three runs on four hits in the first inning, getting an RBI single from
Ryan Sullivan and a two-RBI triple by
Troy Johnston.
The Matadors then got three in the second and two more in the third off of GU starter
Mac Lardner to take a 5-3 lead. CSUN added single runs in the fourth and fifth while keeping GU off the board until the ninth.
Gonzaga loaded the bases in the last inning, but only an
Austin Pinorini walk scored a run to make the final margin.
Game 2 – CSUN 15, GU 12 (8)
Gonzaga again got on the board first, but a nine-run fifth inning for CSUN proved to be the difference as GU tried to claw its way back. The game was called after the eighth inning with the Matadors leading 15-12 due to a travel curfew decided between the teams before the game.
Gonzaga hit four home runs in the game, with two coming from
Ryan Sullivan and one each by
Troy Johnston and
Nick Nyquist. Sullivan was 3-for-4 with three RBI and four runs scored, while
Guthrie Morrison also collected three hits, scored twice and knocked in one run.
Jack Machtolf and
Josh Bristyan each collected two hits.
Gonzaga pushed its early lead to 6-2 through four innings, but in the bottom of the fifth, the Matadors batted around the order as part of a nine-run explosion to reclaim the lead 11-6. After CSUN made it 13-6, Gonzaga responded with four in the seventh behind a three-run pinch-hit homer from Nyquist and an RBI single from Morrison.
CSUN pushed the lead back up to 15-10, but Sullivan hit a blast for the second time in the game to pull GU back within three at 15-12. CSUN got out of the inning and the game was called due to the travel curfew.
Gonzaga will be back on the road next weekend with a three-game series at Southern Miss beginning on Friday, March 1. Check GoZags.com for links to live coverage.
