Gonzaga University
Pacific
No. 20 Zags Baseball to Open WCC Play on the Road at Pacific
3/17/2022 11:21:00 AM | Baseball
Following a spring break road swing that saw No. 20 Gonzaga go 5-2 against Oklahoma State, Missouri and Long Beach State, the Bulldogs (11-4) head to Stockton to begin their West Coast Conference title defense in a three-game swing with Pacific (7-9).
The Tigers fell to Arizona in a midweek matchup on March 14, but are coming off a 2-1 series win over CSU Bakersfield the weekend previous. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs won five of seven games in a weeklong road trip over Spring Break, sweeping Oklahoma State in Stillwater, dropping Missouri 10-5 in their own midweek game and taking a series opener from Long Beach State, 7-2.
GU has been ranked among the Top 25 in multiple major outlets' rankings for the last two weeks, and this weekend's slate will be their 11th, 12th and 13th-straight road games.
#20 GONZAGA (11-4) vs. PACIFIC (7-9)
STOCKTON, CALIF. | KLEIN FAMILY FIELD
MARCH 18 | 6 P.M. | WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS
MARCH 19 | 3 P.M. | WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS
MARCH 20 | 12 P.M. | WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS
PROBABLE STARTERS
March 18 | 6 p.m.
RHP Gabriel Hughes (3-0, 25 IP, 36 K, 2.16 ERA ) vs. RHP Elijah Birdsong (1-3, 18.2 IP, 19 K, 5.79 ERA)
March 19 | 3 p.m.
RHP Owen Wild (1-1, 14.1 IP, 14 K, 3.77 ERA) vs. RHP Hunter Hayes (1-2, 20.2 IP, 21 K, 4.79 ERA)
March 20 | 12 p.m.
RHP Trystan Vrieling (1-1, 25 IP, 38 K, 3.24 ERA) vs. RHP Zach Patterson (1-1, 12.2 IP, 9 K, 4.97 ERA)
SERIES AT A GLANCE
Overall, the Bulldogs are 19-6 against the Tigers all-time and 15-3 against them in conference matchups, having won four straight in a streak that dates back to 2019. GU swept the series in Spokane in 2021, recording two shutouts in the process with 9-0 and 6-0 wins in the first two games before a 2-1 win on Sunday.
LAST TIME OUT
GU took the series opener from Long Beach State, 7-2, but fell in the final two games to conclude a seven-game road swing. The loss on Saturday snapped the nation's longest road win streak at eight as well as the Bulldogs' overall win streak at nine.
Friday's series opener saw the Zags maintain offensive pressure early behind a strong start from Hughes (6 IP, 6 K, 1ER). A two-run homer from Stephen Lund got it started in the first, and the Zags got five more across over the next five frames while Hughes and RHP Daniel Naughton held the Dirtbags to just two runs on a combined eight hits through nine.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING…
- Gonzaga currently sits at No. 10 in the NCAA's RPI rankings.
- GU's defense is No. 11 in the nation in Double Plays (15)
- Connor Coballes is No. 8 amongst the toughest batters to strike out in the nation, with two K's in 48 at-bats.
- Trystan Vrieling ranks No. 13 in the nation in strikeouts (38) with Gabriel Hughes (36) 18th. Vrieling also ranks 41st in strikeouts per nine innings (13.68).
- Gonzaga's strength of schedule is the 20th-best in the nation. GU's opponents average 4.3 runs per game, the 53rd-lowest average in the nation. The Zags' four RPI Quad 1 wins are the sixth-most in the nation.
WEST COAST CONFERENCE OUTLOOK
The Zags will have to deal with a quick turnaround if they want to start their conference title defense on the right foot. The reigning WCC Champions will face BYU (8-5) — picked by the league's coaches to finish second in the conference — next Thursday in a three-game road series with huge standings implications.
Preseason All-WCC outfielder Thomas Gavello has driven in a team-high 17 runs and four homers, and three other Tigers are batting above .300 on the season to lead an offense that has generated 98 runs so far this season.
LINEUP AT A GLANCE
- The Zags' offense is led in batting average and OPS by Tyler Rando (.359, .922) and Grayson Sterling (.318, .832).
- Stephen Lund has driven in a team-high nine RBI, including two homers, with four Zags tied for second with seven apiece — Cade McGee, Shea Kramer, Ezra Samperi and Rando.
- Connor Coballes is batting .271 with a team-high six walks and four HBP, having struck out only twice in 48 at-bats.
- Seven Bulldogs have connected on double-digit knocks so far this season, with five having connected on at least four extra base hits.
- Enzo Apodaca has accumulated a team-high 22 bases, going a team-best 2-for-3 on steal attempts.
STAFF CHECK-IN
Gonzaga RHP Trystan Vrieling capped off a career week with UCU West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week honors for games played March 7-13. This is the first time Vrieling has earned the honor, and the second straight week a GU thrower has won it after RHP Gabriel Hughes was the prior week's Pitcher of the Week.
Vrieling turned in two dominant performances in starts last week, notching a career-high in strikeouts (13) in the Zags' series finale with No. 6 Oklahoma State on Monday and holding Long Beach State scoreless for a career-high eight frames on Sunday. The Zags won 2-1 against the Cowboys to seal a road series sweep, and fell 1-0 to the Dirtbags on Sunday, with Vrieling getting a no decision despite his masterful outing.
The 6'4 righty finished the week with 22 strikeouts in 13 frames of work — all without a single earned run — while being tagged for only five hits and four walks in that span. So far this season, Vrieling is holding opposing batters to a .172 average. His 38 total K's in four appearances lead the Bulldogs staff and rank in the top 50 in the nation in strikeouts per game (13.68, No. 42).
GU's Friday guy Hughes — a three-time WCC Pitcher of the Week — is second on the squad in strikeouts (36) and tied with Vrieling for most innings pitched (25). RHP Michael Spellacy has made a team-high six appearances in relief, holding a .93 ERA with eight strikeouts over 9.2 frames.
Nine GU throwers tout an ERA of 4 or below, with the entire staff holding opposing batters to a .249 batting average.
ZAGS IN THE RANKINGS
GU remained in the Top 25 in multiple rankings released Monday after entering last week, clocking in at No. 25 in D1Baseball.com's poll, No. 20 in Baseball America's, and No. 24 in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's.
GU entered the Top 25 in rankings released by D1Baseball.com, Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America for the first time this season on March 7, the culmination of a series-clinching upset against then-No. 4 Oklahoma State that lifted the Bulldogs to their sixth straight win and into the national discussion.
The Zags clocked in at No. 25 in D1Baseball.com's poll and No. 19 in Baseball America's ranking. GU's No. 15 ranking in Collegiate Baseball's poll is the Bulldogs' highest since GU earned a No. 9 ranking from Collegiate Baseball back in 1980. D1Baseball.com's ranking is the official Top 25 of the NCAA —In the computer-generated RPI rankings used by the NCAA, GU sits at No. 20 in the country.
This is the second straight season GU has been ranked amongst the top 25 teams nationally by all three publications. In May of 2021, the Zags jumped to No. 17 in the D1Baseball Top 25, to No. 19 in Collegiate Baseball's rankings and broke into the top 25 in Baseball America, coming in at No. 25.
Gonzaga earned its first-ever national ranking during the 1971 season, earning the No. 15 spot in Collegiate Baseball's poll. 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. Last season, GU picked up five wins over ranked opponents (Dallas Baptist, TCU and Oregon State), and held an RPI ranking as high as No. 27.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES / SEASON-OPENING NOTES
- The Zags return 24 players from 2021 (42 on roster).
- GU was selected as the preseason West Coast Conference favorite by the league's 10 head coaches. GU earned nine of ten first-place votes.
- Catcher Stephen Lund and pitchers Gabriel Hughes, Trystan Vrieling and William Kempner were named to the Preseason All-WCC Squad.
- Reigning WCC Coach of the Year Mark Machtolf is entering his 19th season at the helm of the program, and his 32nd season on the Gonzaga coaching staff overall. He has a career record of 531-420-2.
- GU's Friday-Saturday duo of sophomores Gabriel Hughes and William Kempner made Prospects Live's Preseason All-America list in January as a first-team starting pitcher and second-team reliever, respectively.
- Hughes, who was one of five starting throwers on PL's First Team, was also projected to take home West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year honors by Collegiate Baseball News earlier in the month and is on the 55-man Golden Spikes Award Watchlist. The 6'4 righty also came in at No. 42 in MLB.com's 2022 Draft Prospect Rankings and No. 61 in a similar ranking by D1Baseball.com, the highest a GU player has been rated since Marco Gonzales in 2013.
- Kempner, one of eight pitchers on the Second Team, made nine starts in 2021, going 3-3 with a 3.10 ERA over 40.2 innings pitched. A WCC Pitcher of the Week honoree after an eight-inning, 10-strikeout performance against Portland, the 6-foot righty is slotted to assume the Zags' Saturday starting role on the mound. D1Baseball.com's Shotgun Spratling wrote that Kempner "might be the nastiest sidewinder on the West Coast since former Bulldogs closer Wyatt Mills … His heavy fastball can get into the mid-90s while darting and diving all over the place."
