Pullman, Wash. — No. 11 Gonzaga battled until the final out of a back-and-forth affair with a red-hot Washington State team in a midweek matchup at Bailey-Brayton field, but ultimately the Cougars held off their in-state rivals off late with a runner on third for a 6-5 win.

"We just didn't do enough to win that game tonight," said GU Head Coach Mark Machtolf. "Credit to WSU, they put pressure on us every inning and came through with those three big two-out hits. 

I thought our guys did a good job of battling and the energy was good. We just came up one or two hits short."

Starting on the mound and as a designated hitter, Cade McGee struck out two while allowing one earned run over two frames while two hits and an RBI. Enzo Apodaca led the Bulldogs in the leadoff spot, going 3-for-4 with three RBI to go with a run.

The Action

Enzo Apodaca got the Zags going early, doubling in the leadoff spot in the first and reaching third before a punchout and a lineout ended the frame prematurely. The redshirt freshman outfielder came through again in the top of the second after a pair of walks and an error loaded the bases, singling with two outs to lift GU to a 2-0 lead. The Cougs got one back in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single up the middle from Collin Montez that scored Justin Van De Brake, eventually tying the game on a sac fly in the third from Will Cresswell.

The next few frames saw the back-and-forth heat up with each team scoring runs in the fifth, seventh and eighth frames, with WSU getting the runs it needed late to seal the win.

Rando broke the tie for the first time with a solo slam — his third of the season — in the top of the fifth after the Zags were held scoreless for two frames, but the Cougs found a response yet again with a two-run double in the bottom of the frame that retook the lead. 

Rutherford got out of another threatening Cougar push in the bottom of the sixth, and the Zags found some traction again in the top of the seventh. After Apodaca was hit by a pitch and Rando singled to push him to second, McGee tied the game again with an RBI single, but two consecutive outs stranded both remaining runners on base.

But after Mullan took the mound in the bottom of the frame, the Cougs responded yet again to retake the lead after Elijah Hainline singled to capitalize off an error-assisted knock that pushed Jacob McKeon to third to start the frame. Gomez took over from there, inducing a lineout to close the inning after a fielder's choice picked up the second out.

Once again, it was Apodaca who delivered for the Bulldogs, picking up his third hit and third RBI of the night with a single that scored Samperi to tie things up yet again. WSU got one back yet again on a right-field single in the bottom of the frame to take the lead for the fourth time This time it'd stick, even after a McGee single — pinch ran by Sam Canton — advanced to third on a pair of knocks from Grayson Sterling and Shea Kramer before a lineout kept them 90 feet shy of equalizing.

Up Next / Follow the Game

The Zags won't be leaving the state again for a while, with a three-game home series with second-place Loyola Marymount set for this weekend. The Lions (15-24-1, 11-7 WCC) are tied with San Diego for two games behind GU in the WCC standings, coming off a series win over San Francisco.

Starters are still to be announced. Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @zagbaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.