STOCKTON, Calif. – No. 20 Gonzaga baseball got Gabriel Hughes' most dominant start yet in its series opener with Pacific at Klein Family Field Friday evening, but the Bulldogs' bats gave him plenty of run support in a 13-0 shutout win that kicked off the reigning West Coast Conference Champs' title defense on the right foot.
The win lifts the Bulldogs to 12-4 and makes it 13 consecutive seasons that they've started out WCC play with a win.
Earning his 4th win in a start this season, Hughes finished with a career-high 13 strikeouts in six frames on the mound - all hitless. LHP Bradley Mullan threw a scoreless seventh and RHP Kai Francis preserved the shutout for the final two frames to earn the save, striking out two in the process.
The Zags' offense exploded for double-digit runs for the fourth time this year after going the previous 13 innings without a score. GU put up five in the second, three in the third, and five more in the fifth and seventh on a season-high 17 hits. GU's 13 runs are the most scored in a single game this season.
Connor Coballes continued his recent hot streak with a team-high three hits and two runs to lead a lineup that had eight Bulldogs drive in at least one run. Tyler Rando (2 hits, 2 RBI), Savier Pinales (2 hits, 2 runs, 1 RBI), Cade McGee (2 hits, 2 runs), Stephen Lund (2 hits, 1 RBI) and Jack Machtolf (3 runs, 2 hits, 1 RBI) all finished with multiple hits, and four other GU batters got at least a knock in the winning effort.
"Big win tonight to start conference play," said GU Had Coach Mark Machtolf. "Hughes definitely set the tone, brilliant effort. Lots of contributions up and down the lineup. Ready to get back after it tomorrow."
The Action
Hughes retired the first 13 batters he faced to start the game, shutting down the Tigers' bats while GU quickly began building a lead. After Sterling grounded out to start the second inning, the Zags put up four runs on seven consecutive baserunners with the last four – – all driving in a run apiece. With Sterling up to bat for the second time in the inning, a wild pitch scored Pinales to extend the lead to 5-0 before Sterling drew a walk to load the bases yet again, this time with two outs.
Consecutive one-out singles from Machtolf and Coballes cued a pitching change in the third, with RHP Nick Swanson taking the mound in relief. But the Zags' offensive onslaught didn't let up, putting up three more runs behind RBI doubles from Apodaca and Lund and a wild pitch that got Coballes across.
After another flawless inning from Hughes, the Tigers turned to RHP Austin McKinney to take over in the fifth, but the Zags got two more across when Apodaca connected on his third RBI with a sac fly and Rando slammed a wall-scraping RBI double that pushed the lead to double digits.
The Tigers got their first baserunner of the game when Jeremy Lea reached on an error in the fifth and moved to second on a passed ball, but Hughes struck out B Motheral and C Duke in succession to end the fifth with 10 K's – the third time this season he's cracked double digits. He went on to strike out three more in the sixth to notch a new career-high in single-game K's.
GU got runners on second and third in the seventh off a walk from Apodaca and a single from Lund that induced an error, but Grayson Sterling struck out to strand both on base heading into stretch time. Mullan took the mound in the bottom of the frame, inducing a double play and a groundout to keep the Tigers from advancing after Colby Canales laced their first base hit of the night.
Three more runs came the Zags' way in the eighth. Three consecutive base hits from Shea Kramer (2 hits, 1 run), McGee and Machtolf to start the frame got the Zags their 11th run of the night, and Coballes drew a walk in the next at-bat to load the bases with zero outs on the board. A pair of pinch hitters drove in runs in succession over the next two at-bats – Mason Marenco singled to right and Logan Johnstone followed up with a single up the middle to bring home McGee and Machtolf respectively and notch the most runs scored in a single game by GU so far this season.
A double play from the Tigers' infield got the first two outs of the inning, but a drawn walk from Lund loaded the bases yet again and forced another pitching change. A flyout from Sterling in the next at-bat ended the inning with all three stranded. Francis threw the final two innings for the Bulldogs, holding the Tigers scoreless in both while striking out two with just one walk to put the finishing touches on GU's 13th-straight win in a WCC opener.
Series at a Glance
Overall, the Bulldogs are 20-6 against the Tigers all-time and 16-3 against them in conference matchups, having won five 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.
Play of the Game
Up Next / Follow the Game
The Zags have a chance for a series win in Saturday's game two, with RHP Owen Wild (1-1, 14.1 IP, 14 K, 3.77 ERA) set to start on the mound vs. Tigers RHP Hunter Hayes (1-2, 20.2 IP, 21 K, 4.79 ERA). Saturday's game is set for a 3p.m. start. Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @zagbaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.
