SURPRISE, Ariz. — Gonzaga baseball struck the first blow with two early runs in its second matchup with No. 11 Oregon State at Surprise Stadium on Sunday, but fell 9-5 after an offensive onslaught from the Beavers in innings four and five and a late rally that came up short.
The Bulldogs (2-2) cracked double-digit hits for the third straight game, getting two each from Enzo Apodaca, Shea Kramer () and Mason Marenco. Logan Johnstone (1 run), Cade McGee (1 run, 1 RBI), Dylan Johnson (1 RBI), Connor Coballes (1 run) and Grayson Sterling all added a hit apiece to complete an 11-hit outing.
In his first start of the season, RHP Trystan Vrieling held the OSU lineup scoreless through three innings of action, but the Beavers racked up three runs in the fourth and six more in the fifth to change the complexion of the game entirely. The 6'4" righty finished with five K's on the day, walking four.
Entering the game midway through the fifth, RHP Owen Wild threw a solid four innings of relief, holding the Beavers to only one run on five hits while striking out three and walking one.
"Not the outcome we were looking for — we got outplayed today," said GU Head Coach Mark Machtolf. "We definitely did some good things that we can build on. Need to keep getting better, and I'm looking forward to our matchup with Cal tomorrow."
The Action
After three consecutive outs in the first inning, GU's offense got going in the second after Kramer got the frame started with his fourth double of the weekend, a deep shot to left center. Johnstone followed with a single that got Kramer to third, and another double from Marenco — this time down the left field line — and a sacrifice fly to center from Johnson scored them both for a 2-0 lead.
Vrieling turned in two scoreless innings after the Zags broke the seal, striking out three in the process, but OSU's offense started to find answers in the fourth. A triple down the right field line from Jacob Melton brought in runs from Justin Boyd and Garret Forrester — who were walked in succession to start the frame — tied the game at 2-all. Vrieling struck out Wheeler looking in the next at-bat, but a drive from Matthew Gretler in the next at-bat got Melton home to break the tie.
GU started to mount another push in the top of the fifth, with a walk from Coballes and a left field double from Apodaca forcing Beavers starter Brock Townsend out of the game. He was replaced with Ian Lawson, who struck out Sterling and Samperi in succession before walking Kramer to load the bases. A groundout from Johnstone, however, ended the frame without any more runs on the board.
The Beavers' offense exploded for six runs in the fifth off RBI drives from Travis Bazzana, Boyd, Melton and Wheeler, all with zero outs on the board. Wild took the mound after Boyd's single scored Bazzana to make it 6-2, eventually inducing a double play and a groundout to end the inning.
Two more runs got across for the Bulldogs in the sixth to cut into OSU's lead — after a single from Marenco, McGee's third double of the weekend brought him home to make it 9-3, and after a Coballes walk and a single from Apodaca loaded the bases, Samperi drew another walk to push the second across.
While Wild and the GU defense held the Beavers scoreless through the rest of the game, the Zags picked up their fifth run in the eighth. Coballes drove a single to center field, and a double from Sterling pushed him to third before a groundout from Samperi got Coballes home. A pair of flyouts and a strikeout from Johnson in the ninth ended the Bulldogs' hopes of completing the rally.
Play of the Game
Connor Coballes extends for an impressive catch to get the first out of the sixth.
Series at a Glance
The Zags are 9-16 all-time against the Beavers, who they will face two more times this season on the road in Corvallis, Ore. The two teams have faced each other at least once every season since 2018.
Up Next
Gonzaga faces California in a one-off game at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz. Monday, with RHP Cade McGee set to get the start on the mound against a to-be-announced pitcher from the Golden Bears. Cal is 3-0 so far this season, with wins over Houston, No. 17 TCU and San Diego State over the weekend.
Follow the Game
Tomorrow's game is set for a noon PST start. Live stats are available on GoZags.com — follow @zagbaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.
