LOS ANGELES — Gonzaga struck first in the second game of its West Coast Conference series with LMU Saturday evening at Page Stadium, but a five-run hitting barrage from the Lions in the seventh and eighth innings undid GU's early efforts and a ninth-inning rally attempt fell short as the Zags fell 8-4.
Guthrie Morrison went 4-for-5 with two extra base hits on the day to pace the Bulldogs (12-10, 3-2 WCC) on offense, and
Brett Harris and
Tyler Rando added two hits apiece in the loss. Six other Zags finished with base hits to round out a 14-hit performance — more than double that of the night previous.
In his fourth start on the mound,
Bradley Mullan threw five strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work, giving up two earned runs but only three hits. RHP's
Trystan Vrieling,
Carson Walters and
Alek Jacob combined for six more K's in relief.
"Tough outcome tonight — We put ourselves in position to win that game, and tip your cap to LMU they got after us in the 7th and 8th inning," said Head Coach
Mark Machtolf. "Not the spot we want to be in but a huge game tomorrow to avoid a road sweep."
The lead shifted hands multiple times before the Lions got into a rhythm late, with GU holding steady through the middle of the game after an improved offensive showing from Friday.
Harris's flyout in the first frame drove in a run from Yake to give the Zags a 1-0 lead, but LMU quickly negated it in the next frame. Kenny Oyama capitalized on a wild pitch and Tommy Delgado earned another run off a groundout from Julian Bury to retake the lead, and neither team scored again until GU batters started making contact again in the sixth.
Tyler Rando smacked his second homer of the season in that frame, and
Andrew Orzel laced a single in the next inning that scored
Guthrie Morrison to give the Zags a 3-2 edge. Rando's double in the ninth drove in run No. 4, but at that point the Lion's offense had generated five more runs off seven hits in the seventh and eighth that sealed the game.
Next Up
The Zags will wrap up the series on Sunday with a chance at taking game three from the Lions. Freshman RHP
William Kempner (2-2, 20 K, 2.60 ERA) is set to start on the mound for GU against LMU righty Adam Christopher (3-3, 10 K, 1.80 ERA).
Follow the Game
Sunday's series finale is set to start at 1 p.m. Live streaming will be available via the WCC Network. Check GoZags.com for up-to-date game information and live stats.
