SPOKANE, Wash. — Coming off a three-game sweep of BYU that landed them in D1Baseball.com's Top 25 rankings for the first time this spring, Gonzaga continues its homestand with a rematch against Washington State at Patterson Baseball Complex and Hertz Field Tuesday at 6 p.m.
 
A 9-0 win for GU in Pullman on April 13 -- cut short after five innings due to injury -- was their only other meeting this spring, and Tuesday's matchup will determine whether WSU can pull even or if GU can complete a series sweep
 
Since then, the Bulldogs (26-13,14-4 WCC) are winners are five straight and nine of their last ten, with nine games left in a WCC pennant race that will ultimately decide postseason fates in lieu of a traditional conference tournament. Likewise, the Cougars (19-15, 7-11 Pac-12) are 3-3 in the six games since they first faced GU, with an offensive effort that has come to life as they round the corner in conference play. They've won their last two to clinch a series win against eighth-place California-Berkeley, as well as an impressive 21-3 win over first-place Arizona that saw junior outfielder Jacob McKeon drive in a career-high six runs to pace a 23-hit outing.
 
Four WSU batters are hitting above .300: Kyle Manzardo (.346), Jack Smith (.331), Collin Montez (.321), and Kodie Kolden (.311).
 
GONZAGA (26-13) vs. WASHINGTON STATE (19-15)
APRIL 27 | 6 P.M. | SPOKANE, WASH. | PATTERSON BASEBALL COMPLEX
TELEVISION: SWX | LIVE STREAM (OUT OF REGION) | LIVE STATS
 
Follow the Game
 
Tuesday's game will be broadcast on SWX for local viewers, with out-of-market streaming available via the WCC Network. Check GoZags.com for up-to-date game day information, live stats and more.
 
Probable Starters
RHP Alec Gomez (4-1, 3.90 ERA, 32.1 IP, 19 K) is set to make his fifth start of the season vs. WSU RHP Tyler Hoeft (1-0, 6.08 ERA, 13.1 IP, 11K).
 
Series Review
Since the 2000 season, Gonzaga leads the series against Washington State is 37-36. Gonzaga has won 10 of the last 12 outings and have lost just five games to the Cougars since 2012. In Spokane, the series is tied 13-13.
 
Pac-12 Track Record
Gonzaga has faced Pac-12 opponents numerous times over the years -- 564 times, to be exact. Against current members of the conference, the Zags carry a 218-345-1 record. Of the 12 current member institutions, GU has faced Washington State most frequently, with an 88-126 overall record in the series. The next opponent the Zags have played the most out of the Pac-12 is Washington with 1401 meetings between the two programs with the most recent meeting coming April 20th at Washington, a 3-0 shutout win in favor of Gonzaga.
So far this season, Gonzaga carries a 4-2 overall record against Pac-12 opponents with two losses to Oregon State and victories against OSU, Washington and Washington State. Including Tuesday's matchup against Washington State, the Zags have four more outings against Pac-12 opponents.
 
West Coast Conference Outlook
- Gonzaga is currently on top of the West Coast Conference standings with an 14-4 mark in conference play. San Diego sits alone in second with an 11-4 conference record, while Portland and San Francisco are third and fourth, respectively. Pacific is the only winless team in the WCC at 0-12.
- Gonzaga leads the WCC in strikeouts (387) and strikeouts per nine innings (10.12). Portland is the next closest with 359 strikeouts.
- The Bulldogs also lead the conference in fielding percentage at .982 with 1032 putouts, which also leads the conference. The Zags also have the fewest errors in the league with 24 and rank tied for second in the league in double plays with 26. Pacific leads the league in double plays with 34.
- The Bulldogs rank second in the WCC in batting average at .284; San Diego leads the league with a .299 average while Pepperdine ranks third at .260.
- The Zags lead the WCC in RBI with 228 and in hits with 381; the next closest team is San Diego with 338 RBI. Andrew Orzel ranks fourth in the conference in RBI with 31, while Brett Harris ranks fourth with 30. Tyler Rando (T-8th, 25 RBI), Ernie Yake (T-10th, 24 RBI) and Guthrie Morrison (T-17, 22 RBI) all rank in the top 20 in the league in RBI. Harris also ranks second in the league in batting average at .372.
- GU also leads the conference in runs with 265; San Diego ranks second with 245 while San Francisco ranks third with 200 total runs.
- Gonzaga ranks second in the conference in double plays with 26 behind Pacific (34).
- Gonzaga was picked to finish the WCC second behind Pepperdine.
 
Zags Are Here: Bulldogs Ranked in D1Baseball.com Top 25
Gonzaga earned its first national ranking of the season on April 26, earning a No. 21 ranking from D1Baseball.com. The Zags finished the last week with an unblemished 4-0 record, starting with a Tuesday afternoon win at Washington and ending with a series sweep over BYU at Patterson Baseball Complex and Coach Steve Hertz Field. Tuesday at Washington, the Zags defeated the Huskies 3-0 for their nation-leading seventh shutout of the season. GU returned to Spokane to blank BYU 12-1 in a Thursday night pitching showdown, as RHP Alek Jacob struck-out a career-high tying 12 batters for the second-straight time. The Bulldogs completed the sweep with a 2-1 win on Friday, followed by a 7-3 Saturday night victory.
Gonzaga earned its first-ever national ranking during the 1971 season, earning a No. 15 ranking by Collegiate Baseball. GU's highest-ever national ranking came in the 1980 season when the Bulldogs were ranked ninth by Collegiate Baseball. Since 2010, Gonzaga has been ranked 19 times, reaching as high as 19th in both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball national rankings. This season, GU has five wins over ranked opponents (Dallas Baptist, TCU and Oregon State), and has had an RPI ranking as high as No. 25 this season.
 
Nationally Speaking...
- The Bulldogs broke into the D1Baseball Top 25 this week for the first time this season and sit at No. 21.
- Currently the Zags are 29th in the RPI rankings (for games through April 25) and rank the highest out of any WCC teams. San Diego ranks 47th, while San Francisco ranks 120th.
- Brett Harris has been hit by pitches 19 times on the year to rank tied for second nationally.
- As a team, GU batters have been hit by pitches 80 times; that number ranks tied for third in the country and leads the West Coast Conference.
- Gonzaga ranks tied for fifth nationally and leads the WCC in doubles with 84.
- The Bulldogs also rank among the top 10 nationally in fielding percentage with a .982 fielding percentage. That number ranks sixth nationally.
- With seven shutouts on the year, Gonzaga ranks tied for first nationally.
 
Zags at a Glance
- Brett Harris leads the Zags in batting average (.372) and OPS (1.048), while Ernie Yake ranks second with a .310 batting average.
- Tyler Rando leads the fielding effort with a team-high 270 putouts with 14 assists and a .996 fielding percentage. Andrew Orzel ranks second with 199 putouts, 34 assists and a .995 fielding percentage while Guthrie Morrison has 97 putouts.
- On the mound, Alek Jacob leads the team and the West Coast Conference in strikeouts with 80 with a 3.02 ERA, good for 10th. Gabriel Hughes ranks second on the team and third in the conference with 67 Ks in 61.1 innings pitched.
- The Zags have had multiple Player of the Week and Pitcher of the Week honors this season. Grayson Sterling was the most recent Zag to earn WCC Player of the Week, joining Brett Harris (April 19) and Stephen Lund (March 16) who have also earned the award this season. This was the first week in nearly a month that the Zags didn't take home WCC Pitcher of the Week honors.
GU earned three-straight WCC Pitcher of the Week awards from April 5-19, with Alek Jacob earning the honor on April 5 and 19th with Gabriel Hughes took it home on April 12. Hughes was also named Pitcher of the Week back on March 23, while William Kempner was named Pitcher of the Week on March 9.
 
Racking Up the Honors
Gonzaga's Grayson Sterling took home his first career WCC Player of the Week award Monday afternoon. The freshman infielder was instrumental in Gonzaga's 4-0 record on the week with a win at Washington Tuesday, April 20 followed by a three-game series sweep of BYU at Patterson Baseball Complex. The Boise, Idaho, native led the Zags in batting average for the week, connecting on six hits on 12 at bats for a .500 batting average. He had one homer on the week and one double to go along with three runs scored. Sterling's home run came in a 12-1 rout of BYU on Thursday; he connected for the solo homer in the first at-bat of the seventh inning for his third home run of the season. The Boise, Idaho, native added seven catches and seven putouts on the week with a perfect 1.00 fielding percentage.