SURPRISE, Ariz. — Gonzaga baseball brought an improved offensive showing to its first matchup with No. 11 Oregon State Saturday at Surprise Stadium, but couldn't capitalize on 14 total hits until a five-run ninth en route to a 13-5 loss.
Enzo Apodaca, Grayson Sterling and Ezra Samperi all finished with two knocks apiece for the Bulldogs (1-1), who got a runner on base in each of the last five frames but didn't get on the board until the final frame. Eight other Zags picked up a hit apiece — five of which came in the ninth — and GU outhit the Beavers (2-0) 14-10 in the process.
RHP William Kempner struck out three in a 4.1-inning start, walking two while being tagged for 6 hits and five runs — three of which were earned. Relievers Daniel Naughton (1.2 IP, 3 H, 5 R) and Jake Rutherford (2.0 IP) took over from there, with Rutherford striking out two while only allowing one hit through the rest of the game.
The Action
After a 1-2-3 inning for OSU's Jake Pfennings to start the game, a pair of bunts and some aggressive baserunning from the Beavers in the bottom of the first earned them an early lead, with Travis Bazzana and Wade Meckler scoring off a GU error to put them up 2-0.
Stephen Lund got the second frame started with GU's first base hit of the game, but was caught stealing at second after Jack Machtolf flew out to clear the bases with two outs on the board. Shea Kramer connected on a deep double down the left field line, and Ezra Samperi and Cade McGee both collected walks in succession to load the bases with two outs on the board and Savier Pinales up to bat next. But Pfennings jumped Pinales with three consecutive strikes to strand all three runners on base and keep the score at 2-0.
Kempner turned up the heat in the bottom of the frame, striking out three Beavers batters with high-powered fastballs to cool off OSU's offense for the time being. Meanwhile, the Zags kept making inroads on offense — Apodaca singled to center field on a 3-2 count and Sterling followed up with a right-field single of his own, but two more outs with balls in play kept GU off the board again.
Kramer reached second base yet again in the top of the fourth, this time off a throwing error, but flyouts from McGee and Samperi and another strikeout from Pinales again kept the Bulldogs from capitalizing.
OSU got two more runs across in the bottom of the frame from a Gavin Logan single that scored Jacob Melton and a fielding error that got Logan home, but the Bulldogs kept threatening to break through after a Bazzana popup stopped the bleeding. Apodaca and Sterling both connected on singles to make it three consecutive frames with GU runners on base — but Apodaca was thrown out attempting to make it to third and Pfennings got Lund swinging to nullify the advance yet again.
After the Beavers' fifth run was brought in by another Melton single, Naughton took the mound in relief, hitting T.J. Wheeler with a pitch but inducing a frame-ending double play. The Beavers put up five more runs in the sixth off RBI doubles from Justin Boyd and Wheeler and an RBI single from Garret Forrester, and Rutherford entered the game to pitch a clean seventh without a hit.
Rutherford only allowed one hit in the eighth, but OSU took advantage of four consecutive walks and a Matthew Gretler single to stretch the lead to 13-0.
With one frame left to put a dent in the Beavers' lead, GU put together its strongest offensive inning of the season so far, with big drives from a variety of newcomers yielding five runs. Logan Johnstone, Dylan Johnson and Sam Canton all singled in succession to load the bases without any outs, and Lund was hit by a pitch to push through GU's first run before Jaxon Sorenson drove in the second with a single to left field. A groundout from Samperi scored Canton, a wild pitch brought in Lund and a double from McGee got Sorenson across for an inning that nearly doubled the Bulldogs' offensive output in their season opener on Friday.
Play of the Game
Series at a Glance
The Zags are 9-15 all-time against the Beavers, who they will face three more times in 2022, including a date on Sunday in Surprise and two more on the road in Corvallis, Ore. The two teams have faced each other at least once every season since 2018.
Up Next
The Zags get a rematch with New Mexico at 4 p.m. as the second half of its doubleheader, with Zags LHP Bradley Mullan slated to take the mound against Lobos RHP Miguel Reyes Jr.
Follow the Game
GU faces the Lobos at 4 p.m. PST. Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @zagbaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.
