SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — No. 15/17 Gonzaga found itself in a back-and-forth game two with San Francisco at Benedetti Diamond and came one strike away from forcing extra innings before a ninth-frame walkoff homer from the Dons turned a tie game into a 14-11 loss.
The series is now tied up, with a rubber match set for Sunday at 1 p.m.
Savier Pinales (2 runs, 2 RBI) and Tyler Rando (1 run, 2 RBI) both finished with three knocks apiece and three other Zags got two each to lead a 14-hit day for GU, with both Pinales and Ezra Samperi (3 runs, 1 RBI) slamming home runs. Six different GU batters drove in at least one run, and Cade McGee (1 hit) drew a team-high three walks.
RHP Trystan Vrieling struck out nine in a five-frame start while being tagged for seven earned runs on six hits, and relievers Michael Spellacy (1 K, 1 ER), Brody Jessee (3 ER) and Alec Gomez (2 K, 3 ER) combined to throw the rest of the game.
The Action
The top of GU's lineup went to work again to start the top of the first, with Connor Coballes (2 hits, 2 runs, 1 RBI) and Rando singling and succession and McGee drawing a walk to load the bases for the sixth time this series. Sterling capitalized in the next at-bat with a sac fly to plate Coballes and take a 1-0 lead before another flyout from Kramer ended the inning with the other two runners stranded.
The Dons got two back in the bottom of that frame, with Luke Keaschall doubling to lead off and then Harris Williams III slamming USF's first homer of the series to get them both across and take a 2-1 advantage.
Coballes, Rando and McGee provided another big opportunity again in the third, singling in succession to load the bases without any outs on the board. But after another flyout from Sterling didn't yield a run, Kramer hit into a double play that ended the frame with all runners stranded and the score unchanged.
After a scoreless bottom of the frame, the Zags made sure not to squander another big chance in the top of the fourth, breaking the game open with five unanswered runs. After a single from Jack Machtolf (1 hit, 1 run), a walk from Samperi and a HBP from Pinales loaded the bases for the second consecutive frame, a deep single to center field from Apodaca evened the score before a pair of errors yielded three unearned runs in succession to put the score at 5-2 with no outs on the board. A double-play groundout from Sterling in the next at-bat plated the fifth run of the frame before Kramer flew out to end the inning.
A solo homer from Keaschall in the bottom of the fifth cut the lead to three, but the Bulldogs found a response in the top of the sixth. After Enzo Apodaca (2 hits, 2 runs, 1 RBI) led off the frame with a single and stole second, Rando doubled to bring him across and bring the Bulldogs back up by four. McGee was hit by a pitch in the ensuing at-bat and both he and Rando advanced on a wild pitch, with Sterling getting his second RBI of the day with another sac fly that extended the lead to 8-3.
But the Dons kept battling, putting up five runs of their own in the bottom of the frame after a pair of walks and another homer — this time from Brandon Greim — that scored three runs and a pair of bases-loaded walks that churned out the fourth and fifth after Spellacy entered the game in relief.
The Bulldogs countered with a momentum-swinging homer of their own in the top of the seventh, with Pinales slamming a two-run no-doubter that scored himself and Samperi to retake the lead. But an RBI double from Mario DeMera and an RBI single from Lane Oliphant in the eighth yielded three runs to put the Dons ahead 11-10 before Gomez entered the game, inducing a flyout and a groundout to end the frame and give the Bulldogs one more chance to respond.
After Stephen Lund was thrown out at first to start the frame, Samperi came through yet again, slamming his second homer in as many games to tie the game for the fourth time. Pinales followed up with a single in the next at-bat, but a pair of flyouts from Apodaca and Coballes meant that the Bulldogs would have to force extra innings to clinch the series.
Keaschall singled to start the frame and stole second, and Gomez struck out Williams III and Gabe Giosso in succession before Demera fouled off four straight pitches and slammed the game-winning homer on a 3-2 count.
Series at a Glance
Despite the loss, GU holds a 37-36-1 advantage in the all-time series. The Bulldogs' loss in 2021's series finale snapped a record run of five straight wins over USF — the two teams were tied up all-time prior.
USF's last win before 2021 came in 2018, a 3-0 shutout at Benedetti Diamond in San Francisco. The two teams also have a rare tie on their record — a 2-2 final that took place in the finale of a three-game road series in 2010.
Up Next / Follow the Game
GU can go for a series win in Sunday's rubber match, set for a 1 p.m. start. RHP Owen Wild is the Zags' probable starter on the mound, set to match up against Dons RHP Jesse Barron. Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @zagbaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.
