SPOKANE, Wash. — Building on a 3-0 lead in the sixth and staying ahead the whole game, Gonzaga baseball completed its first series sweep of the season Sunday with a 5-2 win at Santa Clara, picking up 11 hits behind solid throwing from three different pitchers who combined to keep the Broncos to just four hits of their own.
 
RHP Bradley Mullan earned the win in his third start, striking out five batters in 5.2 innings of work while holding the Broncos (6-12) to two hits and a single run. RHP Trystan Vrieling (2.1 IP, two hits, one run) struck out three more over the next two frames, and Alek Jacob came in for his second save of the season in the ninth, holding SCU without a single hit through the end of the game.
 
"Proud of our guys' effort this weekend," said Head Coach Mark Machtolf. "Thought we swung the bats better today than the five runs showed.
 
"Bradley Mullan gave us a great start. Looking forward to happy flight home and then a big midweek game with the Huskies."

After connecting on a solo homer for his first hit of the season the day previous, Ryan Sullivan paced the Bulldogs (11-8) on offense with a team-best 3-for-4 outing. Guthrie Morrison picked up two hits and a run, and six other Zags finished with a hit apiece — Brett Harris, Stephen Lund and Gabriel Hughes made up the rest of GU's scoring.
 
Hughes got it started for the Bulldogs in the second, driving into a double play that put Jack Machtolf out but sent Lund home for the first run of the game. Lund homered in the fourth — his fifth of the year — to double that margin, and Andrew Orzel singled in the fifth to make it a 3-0 Zags lead.
 
SCU did not get a run on the board until the next inning, when a single up the middle from Jason Dichochea sent Austin Reyes home after Reyes reached first on a throwing error and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Harris earned run No. 4 for GU on a flyout from Orzel the next inning in response, but Ryan McCarthy smacked a solo homer at the bottom of the inning to cut the Zags' lead back to two.
 
Sullivan singled to left field in the top of the eighth to send Hughes home for GU's final run — the Zags' bullpen did the rest, lifting GU to a third consecutive win for the first time this season.

Inside the Series
 
With the win, GU moves to 48-28 against SCU all time. The two teams didn't meet during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but last played in 2019, a conference series the Zags won 2-1.

Next Up
 
The Zags host Washington at home on Tuesday in a one-off non-conference matchup. The Huskies (8-9) are winners of two straight over Portland and Seattle.
 
Follow the Game
 
Tuesday's game is set for a 3 p.m. start and will be broadcast regionally on SWX; live streaming is available out of region on WCC Network. Check GoZags for up-to-date game information and live stats.