MESA, Ariz. – Playing its fifth game in the span of four days, Gonzaga baseball came up with an explosive six-run ninth to rally from down three against California Monday at Sloan Park, with a three-run homer from Jack Machtolf breaking the tie to lift the Zags to an eventual 9-8 win.

Stephen Lund finished with a team-high four hits and two RBI to pace the Zags on offense, with Grayson Sterling (one run) and Jack Machtolf (one run, three RBI) finishing with two hits apiece. Five other Zags got a knock apiece to round out a 13-hit outing – GU's fourth in as many games.

"Really gutsy win today, back and forth battle vs a Cal team that I would anticipate making a regional," said GU head coach Mark Machtolf. "Lots of clutch hits, and performances up and down the lineup. Most impressed with our whole group though, continuing to battle when they faced some adversity." 

After starting at third base in his last three appearances, Cade McGee got the starting pitcher nod for GU, striking out six in 4.2 innings on the mound while walking one. Nico Zeglin and Brody Jessee appeared as relievers, with Zeglin striking out one and walking one in 1.1 innings of action and Jessee closing the final three frames with three K's to earn the win.

"Not totally satisfied with the weekend but lots of things to build on," Machtolf said. "Time to switch gears for Fullerton next weekend."

The Action

Cal got on the board early with a solo homer from Dylan Beavers in the bottom of the first for a 1-0 lead, but McGee settled in quickly, holding Cal's lineup scoreless through the next three frames without a hit in that span. 

GU broke the stalemate in the top of the fifth, jumping out to a 3-1 lead with some well-timed drives. Jaxon Sorenson got his first collegiate hit to start the frame, a single to left field, and Connor Coballes added a single of his own in the following at-bat before Apodaca connected on a huge triple that scored them both. 

But Cal had an answer at the bottom of the inning, with Keshawn Ogans scoring on a wild pitch and Jag Burden tying it up with a double to right field. The Golden Bears' lead stretched to 6-3 after three more runs in innings seven and eight, including a solo homer from Carson Crawford and a two-RBI single from Cole Elvis.

With just one frame left to make up the difference, GU put together its highest-scoring inning of the season so far, connecting on five hits and drawing two walks. After Apodaca was walked to start the frame, Sterling connected on his fifth double of the season to push him to third. Apodaca got across on a wild pitch that pushed Sterling to third, and Lund drove Sterling home with an RBI single to get the Zags within a run.

Pinch running for Lund, Savier Pinales stole second before tying the game up at 6-all off another RBI single, this time from Marenco. But it was Jack Machtolf who broke the game open with the Zags' first homer of the year on a 2-0 count, scoring three runs to take a 9-6 lead heading into the bottom of the inning.

Jessee struck out Nathan Manning looking to start the frame, but the Golden Bears wouldn't go away without a fight. Crawford tripled, Beavers hit his second homer of the game, and Nathan Martorella doubled down the left field line to get Cal within a run, but a flyout ended the game before the comeback could be completed.

Up Next

Gonzaga hits the road again this weekend for a three-game series with California State-Fullerton, with Gabriel Hughes set to start on the mound in Friday's game one against a to-be-announced thrower from the Titans. CSUF is 1-2 after a three-game series with Stanford to open the season.

Follow the Game

Friday's game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start, with Saturday's at 6 p.m. and Sunday's at noon (all times PST). Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @zagbaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.