STILLWATER, Okla. — Gonzaga baseball leaned on the formula that secured the first two wins of its series with No. 6 Oklahoma State in its finale at O'Brate Stadium on Monday, building on a dominant pitching outing with opportunistic offense to secure its first-ever sweep of a Top-10 opponent with a 2-1 win.
The Zags scored both runs on four consecutive hits in the third, with Enzo Apodaca (1 hit, 1 RBI) and Tyler Rando (1 hit, 1 RBI) driving in Savier Pinales (2 hits, 1 run) and Sam Canton (1 hit) for a lead that would hold through the rest of the game thanks to a shutdown day from GU's pitching staff.
RHP Trystan Vrieling dazzled with a career-high 13 strikeouts in five innings on the mound, holding the Cowboys to one run on two hits in that span. Coming in to pitch the sixth, Owen Wild struck out six more while slamming the door on hopes of a comeback to earn the save. Wild held the lineup to just two hits through the rest of the game while keeping the Zags' lead intact without walking a single batter.
"Outstanding series for the Zags — That is a very good Oklahoma state team," said GU Head Coach Mark Machtolf. "Can't say enough about Vrieling today, dominant outing and huge for Owen Wild to come in and have that type of results.
"Offensively, we saw some premier arms and did enough to score more than they did. Seeing that type of competition is going to make us that much better going forward."
The Action
Vrieling struck out three batters in the first and two more in the second to set the tone for the Zags with the game still scoreless before a burst of offense in the third gave GU the cushion they needed. Vrieling finished with three separate innings in which he struck out three separate batters.
After going hitless for seven consecutive at-bats to start the game, GU connected on four straight knocks to take the first lead for the third straight game. Canton and Pinales singled in succession before Apodaca drove Canton home with an RBI single, and Rando got Pinales across with an RBI double in the next at-bat for a 2-0 advantage.
The Zags got six runners on base over the next five frames, but didn't get another across through the rest of the game. Meanwhile, Vrieling continued to deal, cracking double-digit strikeouts after striking out three straight in the fourth.
After Pinales connected on his second single of the game to start off the fifth, a pair of groundouts pushed him to third and Rando was hit by a pitch, but another groundout from Kramer kept him from reaching home.
OSU got one run back in the fifth on a throwing error after Ehrhard reached third on a single and wild pitch, but three more K's from Vrieling halted further advance going into the sixth.
Wild came in to pitch in the next frame, striking out two straight to end the inning with runners on second and third. The righty kept rolling through nine, striking out four more while the Zags' infield generated five outs with balls in play to put the finishing touches on one of the biggest sweeps in program history.
Up Next
The Zags have a two-day layoff before they begin a four-game series with Missouri in Columbia, Mo. The Tigers (9-1) are winners of six straight, coming off a series sweep over Tarleton State at home and a two-game sweep of UL Monroe on the road. Starters on the mound are to be announced.
Follow the Game
Thursday's series opener 4 p.m. PST start time. Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @zagbaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.
