MALIBU, Calif. — A defensive battle in game two of a West Coast Conference series between Gonzaga and Pepperdine on Saturday afternoon at Eddy D. Field came down to the very last play of the bottom of the ninth, with the Waves (12-12, 5-3 WCC) scoring a tie-breaking run for a 4-3 win as a throw for a game-prolonging putout reached just a hair too late.
Both starters received a no decision for their efforts on the mound, with GU RHP
Gabriel Hughes striking out eight in a seven-inning effort and Pepperdine RHP Cooper Chandler picking up two over six, holding GU scoreless until the seventh.
Grayson Sterling led the Bulldogs (21-13, 10-4 WCC) with two hits, an RBI and a run, and
Brett Harris,
Andrew Orzel and
Mason Marenco all picked up a hit apiece in the losing effort, with four Zags hitters being hit by a pitch and three walked.
"Tough loss today — Thought we could have done more early in the game to get ourselves separated," said Head Coach
Mark Machtolf. "Looking forward to our response tomorrow and an opportunity to go win an important series on the road."
Hughes retired the first nine Waves hitters a day after
Alek Jacob retired the first ten, with Wyatt Young picking up Pepperdine's first base hit of the series with a single in the bottom of the fourth.
But after Young's base hit, the Waves' batters kept making contact. A sacrifice fly from Justin Lutes and a single from Ryan Johnson yielded Pepperdine's first runs of the series in for a 2-0 lead before Hughes could get the final out.
In the top of the fifth, Sterling came through with a single and reached scoring position on a balk, but Chandler retired the side before they could generate a response.
The Waves threatened again in the bottom of the inning, with Grant Schoen and Young reaching second and third on a throwing error and Reese Alexiades intentionally walked to load the bases. But Hughes stranded all three there in the next at-bat, striking out Lutes looking to close the frame scoreless.
The Zags didn't produce a run until the three-run seventh that gave them the lead. Marenco doubled down the left field line,
Jack Machtolf was walked, and Sterling drove another extra base hit to nearly the same location as Marenco to send him home for the first run — with plenty of runners still on base and only one out on the board.
Sterling's drive prompted a pitching change for the Waves, with RHP Brandon Llewellyn taking the mound to close. Yake and
Guthrie Morrison were both walked to score
Jack Machtolf and reload the bases, and Sterling scored on a passed ball for a 3-2 lead.
Llewelyn actually finished with a win for his efforts — five strikeouts and zero hits over 2.2 innings, throwing a shutdown eighth and ninth that kept the Bulldogs from making any progress toward building the lead.
Hughes kept going into the seventh, posting three quick outs and striking out Young swinging to put an exclamation mark on his time on the mound. But Llewelyn struck out Rando and Orzel consecutively to halt the Zags' momentum in the eighth, and a lineout from
Mason Marenco was collected to close the frame.
Taking Hughes' place after the first out of the eighth, Spellacy gave up a solo homer from Lutes but kept the Zags in a position to win, striking out one and picking off Connor Bradshaw with a throw to first to keep it a tied game going into the ninth.
At the bottom of the ninth, Aharon Modlin reached scoring position after a wild pitch and a stolen base, and RHP
Brody Jessee came in to finish the game for GU with little margin for error. Jessee struck out Schoen swinging, but a single from Young loaded the bases and set up a game-winning single from Alexiades.
Next Up
The Zags will get a series-deciding rubber match with Pepperdine on Sunday, with probable starters to be determined.
Follow the Game
Sunday's series finale is set for a 1 p.m. start. Live streaming will be available via the WCC Network. Check GoZags.com for up-to-date game information and live stats.
