MALIBU, Calif. — Gonzaga's Alek Jacob pitched 8.0 innings of shutout relief and kept the Zags in the game long enough for the offense to come through in the ninth inning of a 3-2 win over Pepperdine on Sunday in Malibu, Calif.

Jacob entered for starter Justin Blatner in the second inning with GU (9-11, 3-3) down 2-0 to the Waves (12-8, 4-2). He was lights out the rest of the way, and got the win after Troy Johnston knocked home two runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. On the day, Jacob allowed just two hits and struck out six while walking two.

"It was a really gutsy performance to dig out a crucial win on the road, and you can't say enough about how about Alek Jacob. It was another huge performance from him, and what a clutch hit from Troy Johnston.," head coach Mark Machtolf said. "We are ready to get back home and play at Patterson."

Gonzaga's offense came up with eight hits in the game, led by Johnston's two and two from Daniel Fredrickson.

Down 2-1 entering the final frame, Brett Harris started with a single and then Fredrickson attempted a sacrifice, but a perfectly placed bunt netted him a single. With two runners on, Jack Machtolf bunted the runners to second and third, and then Ernie Yake was intentionally walked to load the bases. After a fielder's choice forced a runner out at home, Johnston came up with the heroics on a single to left that brought home both Fredrickson and Yake.

Jacob came back out for his final inning of work and faced just three batters. He walked one, but catcher Austin Pinorini cut down the runner trying to steal second.

The win helped Gonzaga avoid the sweep in the series after dropping a pair of two-run games on Friday and Saturday.

GU returns to Spokane for its home opener against Washington on Tuesday, March 26, at Patterson Baseball Complex and Washington Trust Field. Links to live scoring are available at GoZags.com.