SPOKANE, Wash. — Gonzaga's
Daniel Fredrickson hit a three-run walkoff homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to propel the Zags to a game and series win over San Diego on Sunday afternoon at Patterson Baseball Complex and Coach Steve Hertz Field.
GU (12-12, 5-4) gave up a grand slam in the top of the ninth inning to fall behind 9-6, but put the first three batters on and scored twice with a
Brett Harris two-RBI double to bring the score to 9-8. After two more runners reached and USD (18-10, 4-5) got two outs, Fredrickson stepped to the plate and ripped a home run to right field for the win.
"It was a resilient effort, the grand slam was a gut punch, but our guys just battled in our half of the ninth," head coach
Mark Machtolf said. "We had some great at-bats in the guys leading up to [Daniel] Fredrickson, and then the fireworks happened. It couldn't have happened to a better guy, these are games and moments that we point to."
Along with his two RBI in the ninth, Harris had four on the game to go along with two hits and two walks.
Austin Pinorini and
Troy Johnston each had two hits and an RBI, while Johnston scored three times and Pinorini twice.
Right-hander
Michael Spellacy got the win after Fredrickson's heroics despite being touched up for the grand slam in the ninth. He came on for a scoreless eighth and had San Diego on the ropes with two outs in the ninth.
Mac Lardner got the start, going 4.0 innings and gave up just two runs on six hits with three strikeouts.
Trent Schulte and
Justin Blatner each pitched 0.2 scoreless innings.
After San Diego got one in the top of the first, the Zags answered with three of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Harris got his big day started with a two-run double down the line, and then
Mason Marenco pushed won home when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Then in the fourth, Gonzaga answered another single run by USD with three of their own. Johnston knocked home the first run with a double, followed by an RBI sac fly from Pinorini. Johnston then scored the third run when he scampered home after Harris got in a run-down between first and second.
San Diego chipped away with one in the seventh before exploding with the grand slam in the ninth to take a 9-6 lead. That set the stage for Fredrickson's heroics in the home half of the final inning.
Gonzaga hits the road for a midweek matchup at Washington State in Pullman, Wash., at 5 p.m. Check GoZags.com for available links to live coverage.
