PROVO,Utah – No. 19 Gonzaga baseball leaned on two explosive innings and another shutdown outing on the mound from RHP Trystan Vrieling to hold off BYU and clinch a series win in Saturday's West Coast Conference series finale at Larry H. Miller Park, winning 9-4. The series win lifts GU to 5-1 in WCC play, good for first place in the league standings.
The Bulldogs (16-6) tested BYU early, getting a runner in scoring position in both of the first two frames before breaking through with a four-run fourth and a five-run eighth that put the game out of reach.
Enzo Apodaca (2 runs, 2 RBI) connected on a pair of doubles to lead a balanced nine-hit outing for the Zags, with Shea Kramer slamming a massive three-run homer in the eighth for a team-high three RBI. Six other Zags picked up at least a knock apiece in the winning effort.
"Really solid road series win for the Zags," said GU Head Coach Mark Machtolf. "I'm really proud of our group — they took a big punch in game one and were able to respond with two big wins. Ready to get home and regroup, and have our home-opening series next weekend!"
Vrieling held the Cougars (12-9) to one earned run over 6 ⅓ frames to earn his third win of the season, striking out six while being tagged for seven hits. RHP Michael Spellacy earned his fifth save of the season in relief, holding BYU to three earned runs on four hits through the rest of the game.
The Action
Three RBI knocks with two outs on the board in the fourth put the Zags out in front after BYU's first frame score on an RBI single from Ryan Sepedes — a pair of doubles from Jack Machtolf and Apodaca yielded three runs, and a single from Connor Coballes brought Apodaca across for the fourth.
A BYU error in the top of the eighth gave Machtolf and Apodaca another opportunity to get across, stretching the lead to 6-1 before Kramer's three-run bomb turned the game on its head.
The Cougars got three back on Spellacy in the eighth, with Jacob Wilk homering, Jacob Rogers tripling and Ozzie Pratt flying out to get the third across, but Spellacy induced three flyouts while holding the lineup hitless in the final frame to seal the series.
Series at a Glance
With the win, Gonzaga is 27-21 against BYU all-time and 18-14 in conference games against the Cougars since they joined the WCC in 2012, but are 12-12 in matchups in Provo. Their last meeting was a 3-0 Zags series sweep in Spokane in 2021.
Up Next / Follow the Game
GU returns home to host its first weekend series of the season at Patterson Baseball Complex against Pepperdine. The Waves (12-8, 2-2 WCC) sit at sixth place in the conference standings ahead of the final two games of their weekend series with Pacific. Friday's Series Opener is set for a 6 p.m. start.
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