SPOKANE, Wash. — San Diego's offensive prowess got the better of No. 14 Gonzaga for the second time in as many days Saturday at Patterson Baseball Complex and Coach Steve Hertz Field, as the Toreros (33-12, 19-8) scored runs in five consecutive innings and rode a torrid defensive effort to disrupt the Bulldogs' (33-17, 15-5) rhythm on the other end for a 10-2 rout.
In the Zags' final regular-season home game of the spring, 10 runners were stranded on base and they didn't put a run on the board until the seventh, by which time USD had already soared to a 10-run advantage.
A seven-hit outing for the GU lineup was led by
Ernie Yake and
Jack Machtolf, who both finished with two hits. Yake and
Brett Harris added an RBI apiece, both of which were scored by
Mason Marenco.
"Not how we wanted to finish the regular season, for whatever reason we didn't play clean the last two days," said Head Coach
Mark Machtolf. "But we are so proud to be regular season champs and looking forward to the selection show Monday morning."
The Action
The Toreros looked almost certain to score in the first, when Max Jung-Goldberg connected on a triple that barely evaded
Grayson Sterling's glove and Shane McGuire flew out deep with one out on the board. But
Guthrie Morrison rocketed the throw from center field to home plate and
Tyler Rando collected it and dove towards the dish for an inning-ending double play.
But USD would not be denied again, pouring on the offense with 12 base hits to yield all 10 runs over the next five frames, paced by Thomas Luevano (3 runs, 2 hits, 5 RBIs) and Cody Jefferis (3 hits, 2 runs, one RBI) in addition to four other Toreros batters with at least two hits.
Entering in the fifth, RHP
Trystan Vrieling held USD scoreless over the final three frames, striking out three and giving GU room to put both runs on the board before the game ended.
Up Next
The final 16 regional hosts will be announced Sunday, May 30 at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN's ticker and NCAA.com; Gonzaga was one of 20 potential hosts announced on May 14. The Zags will learn their regional matchups when the complete field of 64 is announced during the NCAA's Tournament selection show on Monday at 9 a.m., with streaming available on WatchESPN. Regional play will take place June 4-7.
