PORTLAND, Ore. — No. 22 Gonzaga baseball's return to the diamond against Portland came after a two-week break due to COVID protocols, but the Bulldogs (28-13, 15-4) showed little signs of rust, picking up 19 hits and scoring four runs each in the seventh and ninth innings in a 12-4 rout that pushed their win streak to seven games.
 
Windy conditions with speeds of up to 20 mph permeated the conditions in Portland pre-game, threatening to elevate well-struck drives out of the park. Both teams hit homers within the first two frames, and GU batters picked up three more over the rest of the game. RHP Alek Jacob stifled the Pilots' (22-22, 13-9) offense in crucial moments, holding them scoreless for four innings after Chad Stevens' homer off the first pitch while the offense got to work.
 
The 6'1 righty struck out nine in six frames of work while throwing 71 strikes on 100 total pitches to earn the win, stranding runners on base nine times. RHP Trystan Vrieling slammed the door on the game in relief with six straight outs in the seventh and eighth for the save, and Jacob Rutherford closed the final frame.
 
Meanwhile, GU's batters provided waves of scoring throughout, culminating in a four-run seventh that put the game out of reach after UP got within one in the sixth. Brett Harris hit two homers and scored three runs with three RBI to lead the way, and Ryan Sullivan drove in a combined four runs with crucial drives in his last two at-bats to effectively seal the game for the Bulldogs. Four other Bulldog batters finished with at least two hits, including Andrew Orzel, who picked up three hits to go with two runs and an RBI.
 
"Really happy to be back on the diamond," Head Coach Mark Machtolf said. "Very proud of our offense tonight with contributions from all nine spots. AJ [Alek Jacob] did a great job of battling through some tough spots. We're ready to get back out there tomorrow."
 
The Action
 
The top of GU's lineup produced at the plate early, with back-to-back singles from Harris and Rando getting a runner in scoring position and another drive from Mason Marenco bringing Harris home to get on the board with one run. But the advance was met with resistance — Pilots starter Brett Gillis struck out Grayson Sterling to end the frame with two runners on base, and Stevens went yard off the first pitch thrown to him to immediately equalize the score. 
 
Two quick outs from Jack Machtolf and Sullivan dampened the beginning of the second, but Tyler Stone gave GU the lead in his first at-bat with a wind-lifted solo homer that breached right field. Morrison picked up a single in the next at-bat, but a popup from Harris ended the inning with another runner still on base.
 
Jacob reasserted himself in the second with three consecutive outs and struck out three in the third to stall Portland's progress, despite a throwing error that got Nich Klemp all the way to third on a single.
 
Jack Machtolf led off the fourth with a deep double, but three Bulldogs batters were retired consecutively to keep him from getting home. Singles from Portland's Briley Knight and Sam Brown put Jacob in a tough situation in the bottom of the frame with two outs on the board and the bases loaded, but the righty got the strikeout he needed on Klemp to make it three-straight scoreless innings for UP.
 
Harris hit the Bulldogs' second solo homer of the game to lead off the fifth to make it a 3-1 ballgame. Orzel nearly matched him with a double that bounced off the left field wall, stealing third in the next at-bat before Sterling deposited an RBI single in center field to yield the run. 
 
The Pilots threatened to put runs on the board again in the fifth with Stevens and Patacsil picking up two more hits. But Jacob showed his command yet again with another crucial frame-ending strikeout, this time with three straight strikes on Knight. 
 
After a frame with no progress on offense from GU, the Pilots finally broke through in the sixth, cutting the deficit to one with an RBI double from Jake Tsukada and a sacrifice fly from Ty Saunders. Stevens grounded out to end the frame just short of equalizing, but the Zags had a quick response inbound — a four-run seventh that would shift momentum their way yet again, this time for good.
 
GU capitalized on errors in two consecutive at-bats from Portland's infield, scoring runs from Orzel and Rando to go back up by three, 6-3. After Machtolf struck out, Sullivan bounced back from an 0-3 start to drive in two more runs with a powerful single to left center, changing the complexion of the inning and the game.
 
A flyout, a groundout and a strikeout from Vrieling, all in succession, kept the bottom of the frame clean, and he replicated that feat in the eighth with two more K's and a groundout from Tsukada. 
 
Sullivan came through in a big way yet again with another strong swing of the bat in the top of the ninth, slamming a two-run homer to crack double-digit run scoring for the 13th time this season. But the Zags weren't done yet — Guthrie Morrison singled and stole second, and Harris hit his second homer of the night to bring in two more runs, stretching the lead to nine.
 
Rutherford took the mound with plenty of run support already behind him, needing just three outs to close the game. After groundouts from Klemp and Stevens, Jake Holcroft drove in Saunders for Portland's fourth run, but a flyout from Knight ended the game.
 
Inside the Series
 
With the win, Gonzaga leads the series 56-14 since 2000. The Zags won an earlier non-conference matchup against Portland in March, dropping the first game 2-0 before winning two straight to clinch the series. Before dropping the 2-0 decision on March 5, GU had strung together 12 straight wins over the Pilots dating back to 2016, and are now winners of three straight against them.
 
Next Up
 
The Zags have a chance to make it eight straight wins and six straight series victories in a potential series-clinching game two on Saturday. RHP William Kempner (2-1, 2.20 ERA, 28.2 IP, 26 K) is the Zags' probable starter on the mound against LHP Brad McVay (6-2, 2.98 ERA, 54.1 IP, 59 K).
 
Follow the Game
 
Game two is set to begin at 3 p.m. Saturday, with the series finale on Sunday at noon. Live streaming will be available via the WCC Network. Check GoZags.com for up-to-date game day information, live stats and more.