SPOKANE, Wash. – It took three frames, but No. 11 Gonzaga's bats heated up with a five-run fourth to nullify an early deficit and leaned on its top starter/closer combo en route to a 5-3 series-opening win over Loyola Marymount at Patterson Baseball Complex on Friday.
The win lifts the Bulldogs to 27-12 and 14-5 in WCC action.
RHP Gabriel Hughes was in his usual form in a seven-frame start, picking up his sixth win of the season, striking out 11 while holding the Lions (15-26-1, 11-8 WCC) to two earned runs on six hits. RHP Michael Spellacy struck out three more over two frames of relief to earn his ninth save of the season and move up to sixth in program history in single-season and career saves.
Enzo Apodaca finished with three RBI for the second game in a row after doing it on Tuesday at Washington State, going 2-for-4 with a massive three-run homer that proved to be the difference in the game. Dylan Johnson went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run of his own and Grayson Sterling added a pair of knocks with a run to round out an eight-hit night for the Bulldogs.
The Lions got on the board first with an RBI single from Ben Grunberg, but he was caught stealing third to end the frame with just the one run as its only damage,
All five of GU's runs in the fourth came with two outs on the board, spurred by a double from Sterling and a walk from Shea Kramer (one run) as well as a groundout that pushed them to second and third. A single to center field from Johnson scored them both, and Ezra Samperi (one hit, one run) followed up with a single of his own that set up Apodaca's three-run blast.
LMU got two back off a groundout in the fifth and a solo homer from Diego Baquiero in the eighth, but Spellacy held the Lions hitless in the top of the ninth to seal the game.
Up Next / Follow the Game
The Zags have a chance to clinch the series in Saturday's Game Two, with RHP Trystan Vrieling (4-2, 61.1 IP, 83 K, 3.38 ERA) set to get the start on the mound against LMU RHP Jimmy Galicia (1-4, 44 IP, 34 K, 7.16 ERA). Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @zagbaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.
