Thursday, April 1
Spokane, Wash.
6 p.m.
Gonzaga University
vs
Pacific
Photo by: Nicholas Domiano
BSB: Zags Host Pacific in West Coast Conference Home Opener
3/30/2021 4:14:00 PM | Baseball
Series kicks off Thursday, April 1 at 6 p.m.
SPOKANE, Wash. — Gonzaga baseball opens up its first home West Coast Conference series at Baseball Complex and Coach Steve Hertz Field Thursday against Pacific, seeking to bounce back in the conference pennant race after a mixed weekend in Los Angeles. The Tigers are in the same boat, seeking momentum after a seven-game skid that left them as the only team without a win in conference play.
Sitting at second in the conference standings, the Bulldogs (13-10, 4-2 WCC) had their season-best five-game win streak snapped last week by two losses to LMU on the road, but their bats came alive in the series finale with a 14-2 runaway victory that saw nine different Zags pick up at least one hit. Mason Marenco, Ernie Yake and Brett Harris all finished with six hits apiece on the weekend, with Harris driving in a team-high five runs and entering this weekend as GU's leader in batting average (.371) and runs (26).
Meanwhile, the Tigers (7-14, 0-6 WCC) have yet to come away with a second series victory after taking three of four from California-Berkeley in their opening weekend. In all three games against San Diego last weekend, Pacific was held to single-digit hits, putting up three runs in its highest-scoring outing against a Toreros team that ranks second nationally in batting average.
Two juniors pace Pacific's offense so far this season — Infielder James Arakawa leads the team in batting average (.418), OPS (.972) and hits (28), finishing with at least two hits in eight different games, while catcher Jeremy Lea has a team-best three homers and nine RBI.
Inside the Series
16-4 against Pacific since it joined the WCC in 2013, Gonzaga is 27-8 against them all-time and 12-3 in matchups at home — having never lost more than one game to the Tigers in a conference series. They last met in 2019, a 3-0 home victory for GU that capped a 2-1 series win.
Bullpen Matchup
Gonzaga's throwers rank 40th in the NCAA in strikeouts per game with 10.2 K's per outing, striking out 29 batters last weekend to LMU's 21 and finishing with a composite 5.04 ERA overall. Pacific's staff struck out a combined 18 in its series with the Toreros, but gave up 23 runs in those three games for an ERA of 7.50.
Probable Series Starters (GU vs. Pacific)
Thursday
RHP Alek Jacob (1-1, 38 strikeouts 5.47 ERA) vs. RHP Hayden Pearce (1-3, 15 strikeouts 3.51 ERA)
Friday
RHP Gabriel Hughes (1-3, 37 strikeouts, 5.08 ERA) vs. TBD
Saturday
RHP William Kempner (1-1, 23 strikeouts, 2.33 ERA) vs. RHP Henrik Reinertsen (1-3, 19 strikeouts, 6.43 ERA)
Follow the Game
Thursday's and Friday's matchups are set for a 6 p.m. start, with Saturday's at 2 p.m. Thursday's game will be broadcast locally on SWX with live streaming will be available via the WCC Network. Check GoZags.com for up-to-date game information and live stats.
Sitting at second in the conference standings, the Bulldogs (13-10, 4-2 WCC) had their season-best five-game win streak snapped last week by two losses to LMU on the road, but their bats came alive in the series finale with a 14-2 runaway victory that saw nine different Zags pick up at least one hit. Mason Marenco, Ernie Yake and Brett Harris all finished with six hits apiece on the weekend, with Harris driving in a team-high five runs and entering this weekend as GU's leader in batting average (.371) and runs (26).
Meanwhile, the Tigers (7-14, 0-6 WCC) have yet to come away with a second series victory after taking three of four from California-Berkeley in their opening weekend. In all three games against San Diego last weekend, Pacific was held to single-digit hits, putting up three runs in its highest-scoring outing against a Toreros team that ranks second nationally in batting average.
Two juniors pace Pacific's offense so far this season — Infielder James Arakawa leads the team in batting average (.418), OPS (.972) and hits (28), finishing with at least two hits in eight different games, while catcher Jeremy Lea has a team-best three homers and nine RBI.
Inside the Series
16-4 against Pacific since it joined the WCC in 2013, Gonzaga is 27-8 against them all-time and 12-3 in matchups at home — having never lost more than one game to the Tigers in a conference series. They last met in 2019, a 3-0 home victory for GU that capped a 2-1 series win.
Bullpen Matchup
Gonzaga's throwers rank 40th in the NCAA in strikeouts per game with 10.2 K's per outing, striking out 29 batters last weekend to LMU's 21 and finishing with a composite 5.04 ERA overall. Pacific's staff struck out a combined 18 in its series with the Toreros, but gave up 23 runs in those three games for an ERA of 7.50.
Probable Series Starters (GU vs. Pacific)
Thursday
RHP Alek Jacob (1-1, 38 strikeouts 5.47 ERA) vs. RHP Hayden Pearce (1-3, 15 strikeouts 3.51 ERA)
Friday
RHP Gabriel Hughes (1-3, 37 strikeouts, 5.08 ERA) vs. TBD
Saturday
RHP William Kempner (1-1, 23 strikeouts, 2.33 ERA) vs. RHP Henrik Reinertsen (1-3, 19 strikeouts, 6.43 ERA)
Follow the Game
Thursday's and Friday's matchups are set for a 6 p.m. start, with Saturday's at 2 p.m. Thursday's game will be broadcast locally on SWX with live streaming will be available via the WCC Network. Check GoZags.com for up-to-date game information and live stats.
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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RHP
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INF
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