SPOKANE, Wash. – The #14 Gonzaga baseball team hosts second-place San Diego for a three-game series May 27-29 at Patterson Baseball Complex and Coach Steve Hertz Field. The West Coast Conference regular-season title is on the line; Gonzaga is currently one win away from securing the outright title.
 
#14 GONZAGA (32-15, 19-5 WCC) vs. SAN DIEGO (31-11, 17-7 WCC)
SPOKANE, WASH. | PATTERSON BASEBALL COMPLEX AND COACH STEVE HERTZ FIELD
MAY 27 | 6 P.M. | WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS
MAY 28 | 6 P.M. | WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS
MAY 39 | 12 P.M. | WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS
 
Probables
May 27 | 6 p.m. PT 
RHP Alek Jacob (6-1, 3.10 ERA, 69.2 IP, 95 K) vs. RHP Jake Miller (6-1, 2.06 ERA, 56.2 IP, 75 K)
 
May 28 | 6 p.m. PT
TBA vs. TBA
 
May 29 | 12 p.m. PT
TBA vs. TBA
 
Series Review
Since the 2000 season, San Diego leads the series 37-32, but Gonzaga has won each of the last five series and 10 of the last 14 meetings, dating back to the 2015 season. In the last series between the two programs, the Toreros took the first game 4-2 in 13 innings, but Gonzaga evened the series with a 15-3 stomp in game two. The series finale was a high-scoring outing, ending in favor of the Zags with an 11-9 final score.
 
WCC Title on the Line
This weekend's series has a WCC Title up for grabs. Currently, Gonzaga has a two-game lead on San Diego in the pennant race, and the Zags need just one win to clinch the regular-season title. The Zags' last regular-season title came back in 2017, and GU won the 2018 WCC Tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
 
West Coast Conference Outlook
- The Bulldogs sit atop the West Coast Conference standings with a 19-5 mark, two games ahead of San Diego at 17-7 conference mark. The Zags will clinch the West Coast Conference regular-season title with one win over the Toreros in the upcoming series. San Francisco (16-11) and BYU (15-12) round out the top four spots.
- Portland leads the WCC in strikeouts with 471, while Saint Mary's ranks second with 461. The Zags rank third with 450 total strikeouts on the season
- The Bulldogs lead the conference in fielding percentage at .983 with 1248 putouts, which ranks eighth. The Zags also have the fewest number of errors in the league with 29 and rank fourth in the league in double plays with 32. Pacific leads the WCC in doubles plays with 44.
- San Diego leads the WCC in batting average at .299, while Gonzaga claims the second spot with a .283 batting average. Pepperdine ranks third at .267.
- Gonzaga also ranks second in the WCC in RBI with 268 but lead the conference in hits with 458. San Diego leads the WCC in RBI with 283 and ranks third in hits with 433.
- Brett Harris ranks second in the league in batting average at .356 and third in hits with 63. Harris ranks tied for fifth in the conference with 36 RBI, while Andrew Orzel ranks tied for eighth with 33 RBI. Tyler Rando ranks tied for 15th in RBI with 30.
- GU ranks second in the WCC in runs with 308, while San Diego leads the league with 310.
- Gonzaga was picked to finish the WCC second behind Pepperdine.
 
Keep Climbing: Gonzaga Ranked in Multiple Top 25 Polls
The Zags are currently ranked 14th in the D1Baseball.com Top 25 poll--the highest ranking for the Zags this season--No. 18 in the USA Today Coaches Poll , No. 20 in the Baseball America Top 25 and 29th in Collegiate Baseball's NCAA Div. I Baseball Poll. Gonzaga earned its first national ranking of the season on April 26, earning a No. 21 ranking from D1Baseball.com. The Zags finished the week prior with an unblemished 4-0 record, starting with a Tuesday afternoon win at Washington (April 20) and ending with a series sweep over BYU at Patterson Baseball Complex and Coach Steve Hertz Field (April 22-24). Since then, Gonzaga was forced into a two-week pause due to COVID-19 protocols, but in its first series back from the pause the Zags swept Portland on the road by scores of 12-4, 6-3 and 5-3 (10 inn.). The Bulldogs didn't skip a beat, and the national polls took notice. On Monday, May 17, the Zags jumped to No. 17 in the D1Baseball Top 25, to No. 19 in Collegiate Baseball Top 25 and broke into the top 25 in Baseball America, coming in at No. 25. Gonzaga's No. 17 ranking is the highest ranking for GU since a No. 19 ranking in 2017, and it's the highest since GU earned a No. 9 ranking from Collegiate Baseball back in 1980.
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. 27 this season.
 
Nationally Speaking...
- The Bulldogs broke into the D1Baseball Top 25 on April 26 for the first time this season, debuting at No. 21. GU is currently ranked in four separate polls: #14 (D1Baseball), #18 (USA Today Coaches Poll, #20 (Baseball America), #29 (Collegiate Baseball).
- Currently the Zags are 23rd in the RPI rankings (for games through May 25) and rank the highest out of any WCC teams. San Diego ranks 88th, while San Francisco ranks 119th and Pepperdine ranks 139th.
- Brett Harris has been hit by pitches 22 times on the year to rank sixth nationally. Three players are tied for third with 23 HBPs.
- As a team, GU batters have been hit by pitches 92 times; that number ranks sixth in the country and leads the West Coast Conference.
- The Bulldogs also rank among the top 10 nationally in fielding percentage with a .983 fielding percentage. That number ranks sixth nationally.
- With seven shutouts on the year, Gonzaga ranks tied for fourth nationally.
- The Zags have seven shutouts on the year to rank tied for fifth nationally.
 
Zags at a Glance
- Brett Harris leads the Zags in batting average (.356) and OPS (1.048), while Ernie Yake ranks second with a .315 batting average.
- Tyler Rando leads the fielding effort with a team-high 299 putouts with 15 assists and a .997 fielding percentage. Andrew Orzel ranks second with 201 putouts, 46 assists and a .988 fielding percentage while Guthrie Morrison has 113 putouts.
- On the mound, Alek Jacob leads the team and ranks second in the West Coast Conference in strikeouts with 95 with a 3.10 ERA, good for sixth in the WCC. Gabriel Hughes ranks second on the team and tied for ninth in the conference with 67 Ks in 61.1 innings pitched.