Gonzaga University
Oregon
No. 19 Gonzaga to Host Oregon for Home Opener Tuesday
3/21/2022 1:20:00 PM | Baseball
SPOKANE, Wash. – No. 19 Gonzaga baseball is set to host Oregon at Patterson Baseball Complex and Steve Hertz Field for its home opener at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
Tuesday's matchup will be the first of two between the regional rivals, with the Bulldogs set for a rematch in Eugene, Ore. on May 17.
The Ducks (13-6, 5-1 Pac-12) wrapped up a sweep of the Utes (11-7-1, 2-4 Pac-12) over the weekend, moving into sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 Conference in the process after taking a series from then-No. 2 Stanford the weekend previous. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs (14-4, 3-0 WCC) are winners of three straight after a sweep of Pacific last weekend to open West Coast Conference Play – their third road sweep of the season so far.
NO. 19 GONZAGA VS. OREGON
MARCH 21 | 3 P.M. | SPOKANE, WASH.
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SERIES AT A GLANCE
Gonzaga has faced Pac-12 opponents numerous times over the years — 569 times to be exact. Against current members of the conference, the Zags carry a 219-349-1 record. Of the 12 current member institutions, GU has faced Washington State the most with an 88-126 overall record in the series. The next opponent the Zags have played the most out of the Pac-12 is Washington with 141 meetings between the two programs with the most recent meeting coming April 20, 2021 at Washington, a 3-0 shutout win in favor of Gonzaga.
Overall, the Bulldogs are 2-17 against the Ducks since 2010, with both wins coming in 2016. GU faced Oregon twice last season – once in a midweek matchup on May 18, 2021 and again as part of the Eugene Regional on June 5. This is the first time Oregon has played against the Zags in Spokane since 2016, with GU set to travel to Eugene again for round two on May 17.
LAST TIME OUT
GU opened up West Coast Conference play with a sweep of Pacific in Stockton, Calif., with all three starting pitchers notching at least nine strikeouts apiece in their respective starts.
In Friday's Opener, 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 were the most scored in a single game this season. Saturday's win saw the Bulldogs put up all nine runs in the first three frames of its Saturday matchup with Pacific at Klein Family Field, weathering a late push from the Tigers to win 9-7 and clinch its fifth-straight series victory in a series to open WCC play.
OFFENSE AT A GLANCE
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Junior outfielder Grayson Sterling leads the Bulldogs in batting average (.333), OPS (.854) and hits (19) despite only appearing in 14 of the Zags 17 games so far this season.
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Tyler Rando is batting .353 with a .923 OPS in 13 appearances so far this season, with 18 hits and nine RBI in that span.
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Connor Coballes is second with a .311 batting average with a team-high .417 on-base percentage, drawing seven walks and four HBP.
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Stephen Lund has driven in a team-high 13 runs with two homers on the season,
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Nine Bulldogs have connected on double-digit knocks so far this season, with five having connected on at least five extra base hits.
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Enzo Apodaca has accumulated a team-high 25 bases, going a team-best 3-for-5 on steal attempts.
STAFF CHECK-IN
RHP Gabriel Hughes took home UCU West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week honors for the second time this season after his most dominant start yet on Friday. Earning his fourth win this season in Gonzaga's series opener against Pacific on Friday, Hughes ended the night with a career-high 13 strikeouts in six frames on the mound - all hitless and scoreless. The Bulldogs went on to win, 13-0, and swept the series with the Tigers after taking a 9-7 win in game two and 5-3 win in the finale.
Last week's Pitcher of the Week Trystan Vrieling turned in another quality start in the Sunday spot, striking out 10 in 6.2 innings on the bump while holding the Tigers to one run on six hits and one walk. Relievers Nico Zeglin(1.1 IP) and Michael Spellacy (1IP) both struck out two apiece to close out the game, with a pair of solo homers being the Tigers' only hits in that span. Spellacy earned his fourth save of the season and second in as many days after closing out Saturday's win, and Vrieling got his second win in a start on the mound.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING…
- Gonzaga currently sits at No. 7 in the NCAA's RPI rankings.
- GU's defense is No. 21 in the nation in Double Plays (17)
- Connor Coballes is No. 14 amongst the toughest batters to strike out in the nation, with three K's in 61 at-bats.
- Trystan Vrieling ranks No. 8 in the nation in strikeouts (49) with Trystan Vrieling (48) 11th. Hughes also ranks 22nd in strikeouts per nine innings (14.23).
- Gonzaga's strength of schedule is the 51st-best in the nation. GU's opponents average 3.48 runs per game, the 32nd-lowest average in the nation. The Zags' five RPI Quad 1 wins are the fourth-most in the nation.
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.
ZAGS IN THE RANKINGS
GU remained in the Top 25 in multiple rankings released Monday after entering two weeks ago, clocking in at No. 23 in D1Baseball.com's poll, No. 19 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 was 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."
