SPOKANE, Wash. — Gonzaga bounced back from a shutout loss in its home opener with Portland with a shutout of its own Saturday afternoon at the Patterson Baseball Complex and Steve Hertz Field. The Zags held the Pilots scoreless behind a commanding performance from sophomore RHP William Kempner and an 11-hit outing that more than doubled the previous day's count. The three-game series is now split at 1-1 and set to complete Sunday (March 7).

Kempner made the most out of his first career start on the mound, throwing 10 strikeouts and walking three with high-powered fastballs and deceptive cutters. After a first inning that saw three Portland batters get on base, Kempner closed the inning without any damage on the box score. But from that point on, he was dialed in, allowing only two more hits through eight innings despite a career-high pitch total.

"Very happy with the response of our group today," said Head Coach Mark Machtolf. "Kempner gave us an outstanding outing on the mound. Offensively, we did a nice job of putting together some good at bats against a very good arm in [UP starter Christian] Peters."
 
Brett Harris led the Bulldogs (5-5) with a 3-for-4 day and contributed a triple and an RBI. Guthrie Morrison (2-for-5) and Grayson Sterling (2-for-2) added two more hits apiece. Six Zags finished with a run to their name — Morrison, Jack Machtolf, Tyler Rando, Kanta Kobayashi, Grayson Sterling, Mason Marenco and Stephen Lund.
 
Machtolf earned the first run of the game in the second frame off a grounder from Gabriel Hughes, and GU tacked on two more in the fourth when Guthrie Morrison clubbed to far left field with the bases loaded to drive in runs from Rando and Sterling. 

Peters gave up 10 hits in 5.1 innings, but GU kept piling on runs off of reliever Peter Allegro in the sixth — Morrison loaded the bases with a short grounder, and Stephen Lund was hit by a pitch for run No. 4 with one out in the inning. Two more RBI from a Harris walk and a sacrifice fly from Andrew Orzel put GU ahead 6-0 heading into frame seven.
 
Meanwhile, Kempner continued to keep the Pilots (3-5) in check until RHP Michael Spellacy took over for the final inning. 

"It felt good to keep getting back on the mound every inning," Kempner said. "I'm glad we could come out with the win and bring momentum into tomorrow"

Spellacy did his part to earn the save, keeping the run column blank while striking out one more to put the finishing touches on the win.

Inside the Series
Gonzaga leads the all-time series with Portland 52-14 since their first meeting in 2000. This weekend's series does not count toward the WCC pennant race, but the two teams will meet once more in Spokane tomorrow and three more times in Portland, Ore., in May. 
 
Next Up
GU gets the chance to claim its first series win of the young season on Sunday for the Zags' final non-conference matchup with the Pilots.
 
Follow the Game
Up-to-date game time information is available on GoZags.com, and free live streaming will be available via the WCC Network. Sunday's game starts at noon.
 
Notes
-GU completed three double plays against UP on Saturday — their best mark of the season so far, doubling their previous high.
-Mason Marenco produced career-high numbers in today's outing, picking up two runs, a hit and two walks in three at bats.
-Portland didn't generate a single extra base hit Saturday — GU finished with three.
-The Bulldogs finished with a .905 OPS but left nine runners on base.