SPOKANE, Wash. — No. 17 Gonzaga baseball clinched its third-straight West Coast Conference series victory in its finale with Pepperdine Sunday at Patterson Baseball Complex, winning 7-4 behind another tone-setting offensive performance and a career-high seven-frame start from RHP Owen Wild that held the Waves (15-11, 5-3 WCC) to just two earned runs on six hits.

"Very solid series win over a good Pepperdine club," said GU Head Coach Mark Machtolf. "I thought Wild was outstanding today and really set the tone early. Offensively that was one of our more efficient days — a lot of productivity up and down the lineup."

The Bulldogs (18-7, 6-2) connected on the most hits in a single game so far this series (12), with seven different GU batters getting knocks in the winning effort. Shea Kramer (2 runs, 2 RBI) and Cade McGee (2 runs) led the way with three hits apiece, and Ezra Samperi drove in a team-high 3 RBI.

Wild held the Waves' lineup without a hit until the fourth and without an earned run until the eighth, striking out seven six hits without a walk. RHP Michael Spellacy picked up his sixth save of the season in relief, not allowing a single hit while getting the final five outs and adding another strikeout in the process.

The Action
Wild began his outing with three straight K's, going on to hold the Waves hitless through three to pave the way for another early offensive flurry from GU. The Zags struck first with a multi-run frame for the second game in a row, getting three across on Kramer's 15th RBI of the season and a two-run single from Samperi that grazed the wall. 

GU got runners on second and third in the fourth after Jack Machtolf (1 hit) and Kramer singled in succession and a groundout from Savier Pinales (1 hit, 1 run) advanced them. Samperi followed up with a grounder that plated Kramer for his third RBI of the day, extending the lead to 4-0.

The Bulldogs put two more runs on the board with a flyout from Grayson Sterling (1 run, 1 RBI) that brought in Tyler Rando (2 hits, 1 run) and Kramer's first triple of the season that yielded a run from McGee. The Waves responded in the next frame with a pair of unearned runs off a single from Charles Masino and a flyout from John Peck to cut the lead to four, but GU countered just as quickly in the bottom of the frame.

Pinales singled, moved to second on a HBP and stole third to score the Zags' seventh run when Apodaca singled, but the Waves showed some life in the eighth. Pepperdine's Nolan Lingley slammed a solo homer to cut the lead to four and Cole Sheehan tripled in the next at-bat before scoring on a groundout to cut the lead to three, cueing Spellacy's entry into the game in relief. The righthander induced two consecutive groundouts to close the inning without any further damage, throwing a hitless ninth while adding a strikeout to seal the series win.

Series at a Glance
Since 2000, Gonzaga leads the all-time series with Pepperdine 41-36 and has won four of the last six meetings. The last time these two programs met was in 2021 in Malibu. 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.

Play of the Game

B5 | Zags 6, Waves 0
Kramer legs out a triple for his third hit and second RBI of the day! pic.twitter.com/qO36EU40KS
— Gonzaga Baseball (@ZagBaseball) April 3, 2022
 

Up Next/Follow the Game
The Zags' homestand continues on Tuesday with a midweek matchup against Washington State (9-17, 1-10 PAC-12). First pitch is set for 6 p.m., with starters on the mound to-be-determined. Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @zagbaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.