Tuesday, April 2
Pullman, Wash.
5 p.m.
Gonzaga University
at
Washington State
Photo by: Mike Wootton
Baseball Heads to WSU for Tuesday Game
4/1/2019 3:39:00 PM | Baseball
GU went 2-1 against the Cougars last season
Gonzaga (12-12) at Washington State (6-20)
April 2 | 5:05 p.m. | Bailey-Brayton Field | Pullman, Wash.
LHP Matthew Henckel vs. LHP Tyson Guerrero
Live Video | Live Stats
Pac-12 Foes Aplenty
- Washington State is the fourth of 10 Pac-12 opponents this season, and GU is 2-1 so far.
- Earlier this season, Gonzaga won 5-3 on the road at Utah. In that game, the Zags got 4.1 innings from lefty starter Matthew Henckel (2 R, 7 H) and 4.2 innings from the bullpen (combined 1 R, 6 H), and Nick Nyquist his a three-run homer with the Zags down 2-1 in the sixth to put them ahead for good.
- Last week, Gonzaga took down last year's College World Series participant Washington in a single-game midweek contest, 5-4. The Zags got out to leads of 3-0 and 4-3, before breaking a four-all tie in the bottom of the eighth. Ernie Yake knocked home Brett Harris with a hard-hit ball to the first baseman's left for the deciding run. Michael Spellacy came out in the ninth and went 1-2-3 for his first career save.
Zags Walk Off to Series Win
- Gonzaga went 2-1 in a home series with San Diego, grabbing the finale with a three-run walk-off homer by Daniel Fredrickson with two outs in the ninth inning on Sunday.
- On Friday, Gonzaga scored two in the eighth to tie the score, but USD won with two runs in the 12th inning.
- The Zag offense broke out with a 15-3 victory on Saturday, led by four hits and five RBI from Guthrie Morrison.
- Then on Sunday, Fredrickson's homer propelled GU to a win after USD had hit a grand slam in the top of the ninth to take a 9-6 lead. In the home half, GU scored two runs to put it at 9-8 with two outs and a pair of runners aboard for Fredrickson, who deposited his first homer since 2017 over the right field fence.
- Six Zags hit .300 or better in the series, led by Fredrickson's .444 (4-for-9) and Morrison's .429 (6-for-14) and both players had five RBI in three games.
Harris Breaks Out
- Junior college transfer 3B Brett Harris had eight hits (.444) across the four games with at least one hit in each last week.
- Harris' biggest game came in the series finale against San Diego with two doubles, four RBI and two walks. He got the Gonzaga rally started in the ninth inning with the team down by three when he ripped a two-run double to left, and GU went on to win in walk-off fashion.
- He also had a 3-for-4 day in GU's midweek win over Washington with a double, RBI and run scored.
- Harris had one hit against San Diego on Friday, then had two and a run scored in a 15-3 win on Saturday.
#ErnieRake
- Sophomore SS Ernie Yake continues to be Gonzaga's most consistent hitter, leading the team with 30 hits and a .323 batting average.
- Yake has struck out just three times in 93 at-bats, which leads the nation at once every 31 at-bats.
- He also leads the team with a .394 on-base percentage and is second with eight doubles.
Series Salvaged
- Gonzaga found itself down two games in the three-game set at Pepperdine and down 2-1, three outs away from being swept on Sunday. But, the Zags scored two runs and slammed the door to beat Pepperdine 3-2.
- Alek Jacob was named the WCC Pitcher of the Week for his work in the Sunday victory. He entered the game in relief with no outs in the second inning, and proceeded to pitch the next 8.0 innings scoreless, allowing just two hits and striking out six while walking just two batters in the win. In the outing, held opposing hitters to just a .091 batting average. Gonzaga won the game with a two-out, two-run single in the ninth inning by Troy Johnston.
- For the series, Johnston hit .385 (5-for-13) with a team-high three RBI and one double.
Zags Go 2-1 to Open WCC
- Gonzaga started the West Coast Conference season with a pair of wins in a three-game set at BYU. In series originally scheduled for Spokane, but moved due to late winter weather, Gonzaga still found a way to win the bookends by similar scores of 4-2.
- Gonzaga closer Alek Jacob had an outstanding week out of the bullpen, pitching in all three of Gonzaga's wins as the Zags went 3-1 on the road. He collected two saves and one win, pitching 8.0 total innings, allowing zero earned runs (1 unearned) and just three hits, while striking out 10.
- Ernie Yake hit .474 (9-for-19) with six extra-base hits (5 2B, 1 3B) to help Gonzaga go 3-1 in four road games. On Thursday in the WCC opener at BYU, Yake tied the score in the fifth with an RBI, then knocked home a pair of runs with a double in the 11th inning to break a two-all tie and propel GU to the win.
- Yake led off three of the four games in the week with an extra-base hit.
Fast Start, Tough Finish
- Gonzaga got off to a great start in the series at No. 20/22 Texas A&M with a Friday win, but the Aggies took the final two games of the series.
- The win in game one gave GU three straight wins over ranked opponents when combined with the two the previous weekend at then-No. 23 Southern Miss.
- Casey Legumina earned the win with 5.0 innings of work and Alek Jacob worked a 3.0 inning save to help GU to a 6-4 win. Austin Pinorini was 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored.
- In the second game, A&M put up 14 runs, but GU came back on Sunday and held them to just three in a 3-1 loss.
- The bright spot in the finale was Nick Trogrlic-Iverson, who worked 5.0 innings of one-run relief.
Zags Take Sweep at Southern Miss
- Gonzaga enters the Texas A&M series fresh off a two-game sweep at then-No. 23 Southern Miss last weekend.
- In a weather-filled trip, the Friday game was postponed to Saturday, making a doubleheader which the Zags won 4-2 and 10-8 (10). Sunday's game began and played into the fourth with USM leading 7-1, but weather caused a delay, which turned into a cancellation. The game officially went down as a no contest.
Offense Coming
- Gonzaga has at least seven hits in 16 of its last 18 games, including at least 10 in six of those games.
- Ernie Yake and Troy Johnston have been the most clutch hitters for GU, with Yake going 10-for-24 (.417) and 10-for-27 (.370) with runners in scoring position.
- Johnston leads the way with 17 RBI on the season, while Ryan Sullivan and Nick Nyquist have 14 each, followed by Yake's 13 and 12 each from Guthrie Morrison and Austin Pinorini.
Team Notes
- Gonzaga has played in four extra inning games this season and is 3-1 overall.
- Gonzaga is 3-1 in the last four games, and after starting the year 2-6, has gone 10-6 since.
- GU is 3-1 at home and 8-8 in true road games.
- Gonzaga has 51 doubles to just 32 for opponents, but has 11 total homers compared to 28 for opponents.
- Gonzaga is also good at taking pitches, getting HBPs 33 times in 24 games.
- GU has also struck out 30 less times than their opponents in total on the year - 179-149.
Streaks
- Guthrie Morrison has reached base in each of the last eight games, Ernie Yake and Brett Harris in each of the last five.
- Harris has a five-game hitting streak, while Morrison, Troy Johnston and Daniel Fredrickson have hits in three in a row.
Freshman into Starting Roles
- Mason Wells and Daniel Naughton have been moved into a starting roles as freshmen and has responded nicely.
- Wells has started three games and compiled a 3.58 earned-run average.
- Wells went 5.1 innings against BYU and gave up just one earned run at BYU, and then threw an 8.0-inning complete game in a two-run loss at Pepperdine, allowing just four runs on four hits.
- Naughton's sample size is a bit smaller, joining the pitching staff only in the last week. Across 5.0 total innings, he's given up just two hits and two runs with three strikeouts and no walks.
Spellacy Rising
- Michael Spellacy earned his first-career save with a perfect ninth inning against Washington in a 5-4 win.
- Spellacy also went 5.0 innings of relief at Pepperdine on Saturday, allowing just one run on four hits.
- Spellacy had a solid outing in his time on the mound at Texas A&M. In the second game of the series, he worked 3.2 shutout innings in relief.
New Closer
- At Southern Miss, Gonzaga head coach Mark Machtolf tabbed Alek Jacob with the closing duties, and Jacob responded by earning the save in both games of a doubleheader.
- Jacob then picked up his third save of the season in the series opener at Texas A&M and fourth save at Utah.
- He totaled 2.2 innings over the two games at Southern Miss, allowed zero runs, three hits and struck out four.
Lights Out Legumina
- Casey Legumina, who returned to GU after being drafted in the 35th round of the MLB Draft last summer, is torching hitters with 29 strikeouts in 24.0 innings pitched with just eight walks across four starts.
- His last two times out, he's defeated a Top-25 team in then-No. 23 Southern Miss and then-No. 20 Texas A&M
- He's allowed hitters to bat just .159 against him and has a 0.92 WHIP and 1.50 ERA on the season so far.
April 2 | 5:05 p.m. | Bailey-Brayton Field | Pullman, Wash.
LHP Matthew Henckel vs. LHP Tyson Guerrero
Live Video | Live Stats
Pac-12 Foes Aplenty
- Washington State is the fourth of 10 Pac-12 opponents this season, and GU is 2-1 so far.
- Earlier this season, Gonzaga won 5-3 on the road at Utah. In that game, the Zags got 4.1 innings from lefty starter Matthew Henckel (2 R, 7 H) and 4.2 innings from the bullpen (combined 1 R, 6 H), and Nick Nyquist his a three-run homer with the Zags down 2-1 in the sixth to put them ahead for good.
- Last week, Gonzaga took down last year's College World Series participant Washington in a single-game midweek contest, 5-4. The Zags got out to leads of 3-0 and 4-3, before breaking a four-all tie in the bottom of the eighth. Ernie Yake knocked home Brett Harris with a hard-hit ball to the first baseman's left for the deciding run. Michael Spellacy came out in the ninth and went 1-2-3 for his first career save.
Zags Walk Off to Series Win
- Gonzaga went 2-1 in a home series with San Diego, grabbing the finale with a three-run walk-off homer by Daniel Fredrickson with two outs in the ninth inning on Sunday.
- On Friday, Gonzaga scored two in the eighth to tie the score, but USD won with two runs in the 12th inning.
- The Zag offense broke out with a 15-3 victory on Saturday, led by four hits and five RBI from Guthrie Morrison.
- Then on Sunday, Fredrickson's homer propelled GU to a win after USD had hit a grand slam in the top of the ninth to take a 9-6 lead. In the home half, GU scored two runs to put it at 9-8 with two outs and a pair of runners aboard for Fredrickson, who deposited his first homer since 2017 over the right field fence.
- Six Zags hit .300 or better in the series, led by Fredrickson's .444 (4-for-9) and Morrison's .429 (6-for-14) and both players had five RBI in three games.
Harris Breaks Out
- Junior college transfer 3B Brett Harris had eight hits (.444) across the four games with at least one hit in each last week.
- Harris' biggest game came in the series finale against San Diego with two doubles, four RBI and two walks. He got the Gonzaga rally started in the ninth inning with the team down by three when he ripped a two-run double to left, and GU went on to win in walk-off fashion.
- He also had a 3-for-4 day in GU's midweek win over Washington with a double, RBI and run scored.
- Harris had one hit against San Diego on Friday, then had two and a run scored in a 15-3 win on Saturday.
#ErnieRake
- Sophomore SS Ernie Yake continues to be Gonzaga's most consistent hitter, leading the team with 30 hits and a .323 batting average.
- Yake has struck out just three times in 93 at-bats, which leads the nation at once every 31 at-bats.
- He also leads the team with a .394 on-base percentage and is second with eight doubles.
Series Salvaged
- Gonzaga found itself down two games in the three-game set at Pepperdine and down 2-1, three outs away from being swept on Sunday. But, the Zags scored two runs and slammed the door to beat Pepperdine 3-2.
- Alek Jacob was named the WCC Pitcher of the Week for his work in the Sunday victory. He entered the game in relief with no outs in the second inning, and proceeded to pitch the next 8.0 innings scoreless, allowing just two hits and striking out six while walking just two batters in the win. In the outing, held opposing hitters to just a .091 batting average. Gonzaga won the game with a two-out, two-run single in the ninth inning by Troy Johnston.
- For the series, Johnston hit .385 (5-for-13) with a team-high three RBI and one double.
Zags Go 2-1 to Open WCC
- Gonzaga started the West Coast Conference season with a pair of wins in a three-game set at BYU. In series originally scheduled for Spokane, but moved due to late winter weather, Gonzaga still found a way to win the bookends by similar scores of 4-2.
- Gonzaga closer Alek Jacob had an outstanding week out of the bullpen, pitching in all three of Gonzaga's wins as the Zags went 3-1 on the road. He collected two saves and one win, pitching 8.0 total innings, allowing zero earned runs (1 unearned) and just three hits, while striking out 10.
- Ernie Yake hit .474 (9-for-19) with six extra-base hits (5 2B, 1 3B) to help Gonzaga go 3-1 in four road games. On Thursday in the WCC opener at BYU, Yake tied the score in the fifth with an RBI, then knocked home a pair of runs with a double in the 11th inning to break a two-all tie and propel GU to the win.
- Yake led off three of the four games in the week with an extra-base hit.
Fast Start, Tough Finish
- Gonzaga got off to a great start in the series at No. 20/22 Texas A&M with a Friday win, but the Aggies took the final two games of the series.
- The win in game one gave GU three straight wins over ranked opponents when combined with the two the previous weekend at then-No. 23 Southern Miss.
- Casey Legumina earned the win with 5.0 innings of work and Alek Jacob worked a 3.0 inning save to help GU to a 6-4 win. Austin Pinorini was 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored.
- In the second game, A&M put up 14 runs, but GU came back on Sunday and held them to just three in a 3-1 loss.
- The bright spot in the finale was Nick Trogrlic-Iverson, who worked 5.0 innings of one-run relief.
Zags Take Sweep at Southern Miss
- Gonzaga enters the Texas A&M series fresh off a two-game sweep at then-No. 23 Southern Miss last weekend.
- In a weather-filled trip, the Friday game was postponed to Saturday, making a doubleheader which the Zags won 4-2 and 10-8 (10). Sunday's game began and played into the fourth with USM leading 7-1, but weather caused a delay, which turned into a cancellation. The game officially went down as a no contest.
Offense Coming
- Gonzaga has at least seven hits in 16 of its last 18 games, including at least 10 in six of those games.
- Ernie Yake and Troy Johnston have been the most clutch hitters for GU, with Yake going 10-for-24 (.417) and 10-for-27 (.370) with runners in scoring position.
- Johnston leads the way with 17 RBI on the season, while Ryan Sullivan and Nick Nyquist have 14 each, followed by Yake's 13 and 12 each from Guthrie Morrison and Austin Pinorini.
Team Notes
- Gonzaga has played in four extra inning games this season and is 3-1 overall.
- Gonzaga is 3-1 in the last four games, and after starting the year 2-6, has gone 10-6 since.
- GU is 3-1 at home and 8-8 in true road games.
- Gonzaga has 51 doubles to just 32 for opponents, but has 11 total homers compared to 28 for opponents.
- Gonzaga is also good at taking pitches, getting HBPs 33 times in 24 games.
- GU has also struck out 30 less times than their opponents in total on the year - 179-149.
Streaks
- Guthrie Morrison has reached base in each of the last eight games, Ernie Yake and Brett Harris in each of the last five.
- Harris has a five-game hitting streak, while Morrison, Troy Johnston and Daniel Fredrickson have hits in three in a row.
Freshman into Starting Roles
- Mason Wells and Daniel Naughton have been moved into a starting roles as freshmen and has responded nicely.
- Wells has started three games and compiled a 3.58 earned-run average.
- Wells went 5.1 innings against BYU and gave up just one earned run at BYU, and then threw an 8.0-inning complete game in a two-run loss at Pepperdine, allowing just four runs on four hits.
- Naughton's sample size is a bit smaller, joining the pitching staff only in the last week. Across 5.0 total innings, he's given up just two hits and two runs with three strikeouts and no walks.
Spellacy Rising
- Michael Spellacy earned his first-career save with a perfect ninth inning against Washington in a 5-4 win.
- Spellacy also went 5.0 innings of relief at Pepperdine on Saturday, allowing just one run on four hits.
- Spellacy had a solid outing in his time on the mound at Texas A&M. In the second game of the series, he worked 3.2 shutout innings in relief.
New Closer
- At Southern Miss, Gonzaga head coach Mark Machtolf tabbed Alek Jacob with the closing duties, and Jacob responded by earning the save in both games of a doubleheader.
- Jacob then picked up his third save of the season in the series opener at Texas A&M and fourth save at Utah.
- He totaled 2.2 innings over the two games at Southern Miss, allowed zero runs, three hits and struck out four.
Lights Out Legumina
- Casey Legumina, who returned to GU after being drafted in the 35th round of the MLB Draft last summer, is torching hitters with 29 strikeouts in 24.0 innings pitched with just eight walks across four starts.
- His last two times out, he's defeated a Top-25 team in then-No. 23 Southern Miss and then-No. 20 Texas A&M
- He's allowed hitters to bat just .159 against him and has a 0.92 WHIP and 1.50 ERA on the season so far.
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