SPOKANE, Wash. — Coming off a series victory over BYU, No. 17 Gonzaga baseball returns to Patterson Baseball Complex for its first home series of the season against Pepperdine.

The Waves (14-9) swept Pacific at home over the weekend before falling to Long Beach State in a midweek matchup on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Zags are coming off a week that included a 9-5 loss to No. 23 Oregon in their home opener before their 2-1 weekend in Provo that kept them in first place in the West Coast Conference standings.

NO. 17 GONZAGA (16-6, 5-1) VS. PEPPERDINE (14-9, 4-2)

APRIL 1-3 | PATTERSON BASEBALL COMPLEX | SPOKANE, WASH.

PROBABLE STARTERS

Friday, April 1 | 6 p.m. | LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS 

RHP Gabriel Hughes (4-1, 37 IP, 56 K,  2.43 ERA) vs. RHP Brandon Llewellyn (3-2, 37.2 IP, 22 K, 2.63 ERA)

Saturday, April 2 | 6 p.m. | LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS 

RHP Trystan Vrieling (3-1, 38 IP, 54 K, 2.61 ERA) vs. RHP Trevor Hinkel (2-2, 34.1 IP, 26 K, 2.88 ERA)

Sunday, April 3 | 12 p.m. | LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS 

RHP Owen Wild  (2-1, 23.2 IP, 25  K, 2.28 ERA) vs. TBD

SERIES AT A GLANCE

Since 2000, Gonzaga leads the all-time series with Pepperdine 39-35 and has won four of the last six meetings. The last time these two programs met was in 2021 at Pepperdine. In the series opener, Gonzaga starter Alek Jacob threw a no-hitter — the first for a Bulldog pitcher since 1990 and fifth all-time — in a 10-0 win before the Zags fell in game two and clinched the series in game three with an 11-6 win.

WCC OUTLOOK

The Waves are one of three teams currently tied for fourth in the WCC Standings at 4-2, but could finish the weekend with a better conference record than first-place GU (5-1) with a series win. The Zags are tied for the top spot with USD, which has won six straight and is set to face San Francisco (14-12, 3-3) on the road this weekend.

LAST TIME OUT

The Bulldogs fell in its first of three games with BYU in Provo, but left with a pair of convincing victories to take the series and retain their grip on first place in the WCC Standings. The Zags fell 11-2 in the opener, but in game two, GU's bats heated up, chasing Cougars starter Janzen Keisel in the second frame and continuing to build a lead behind solid performances on the mound from RHP Owen Wild and RHP Brody Jessee for a 6-3 win to level the series. In the finale, the Zags got 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 en route to an 11-4 win that clinched the series win.

BALANCED OFFENSE

• Grayson Sterling and Savier PInales lead the Zags' lineup in batting average at .306, with Sterling's .800 OPS leading the squad. 

• Enzo Apodaca has racked up team-highs in hits (25), total bases (36) and runs (17) in the leadoff spot, as well as a team-high 10 extra base hits. He's also drawn the most walks (10) and HBP (5) amongst the Zags' lineups

• Stephen Lund and Cade McGee are tied for the lead in homers (2) and total RBI (14).

• 10 different Zag batters have connected on double-digit hits, with 11 having driven in at least five runs.

• True freshman Cade McGee touts a team-high .853 OPS and .386 On-base percentage.

STAFF CHECK-IN

• All three probable starters for this weekend tout ERA's below 3.00 — Hughes (2.43), Vrieling (2.61) and Wild (2.28). Hughes ranks No. 9 in the nation in strikeouts (56) with Vrieling (54) 14th. Hughes also ranks 27th in strikeouts per nine innings (13.62). 

• RHP Michael Spellacy has earned a team-high five saves so far this season as the Zags; primary closer, tossing 12 strikeouts over 14.2 innings in nine appearances of relief. RHP Brody Jessee has picked up three wins in five relief appearances, striking out 19 over 14.1 IP.

• RHP Alec Gomez has a team-best 0.00 ERA in two appearances so far this season after returning from injury, throwing two hitless innings in appearances against Long Beach State and Oregon. 

NATIONALLY SPEAKING…

• Gonzaga currently sits at No. 5 in the NCAA's RPI rankings.
• GU's defense is No. 15 in the nation in Double Plays (21)
• Connor Coballes is No. 40 amongst the toughest batters to strike out in the nation, with just six K's in 78 at-bats.
• Gabriel Hughes ranks No. 9 in the nation in strikeouts (56) with Trystan Vrieling (54) 14th. Hughes also ranks 27th in strikeouts per nine innings (13.62).
• Gonzaga's strength of schedule is the 22nd-best in the nation, with the sixth-best Quad 1 winning percentage in the nation amongst teams with at least six Q1 games played. The Zags' six RPI Quad 1 wins are the third-most in the nation, with the tenth-most total Quad 1 games played (10).
• GU's opponents average 3.96 runs per nine innings, the 45th-lowest average in the nation. 

ZAGS IN THE RANKINGS

GU remained in the Top 25 in multiple rankings released Monday after entering three weeks ago, clocking in at No. 234in D1Baseball.com's poll and No. 14 in Baseball America'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 upon first entry. 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/DH 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 Spratlingwrote 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."