SPOKANE, Wash. — After a series-tying loss to LMU in Game Two on Saturday, No. 11 Gonzaga baseball's bats heated up early and its defense held the Lions off late for a series-clinching 6-5 win.
The series win is the Zags' seventh-straight in West Coast Conference play, lifting them to 28-13 overall and 13-8 in conference play — still good for first place in the league standings.
In his big return from injury and his first start since March 5, RHP Will Kempner was solid through two scoreless frames on the mound to start the game, striking out three while holding the Lions hitless in that span. RHP
Owen Wild took over from there, throwing five more frames while notching a career-high 10 strikeouts and holding the Lions to four earned runs on nine hits without any walks.
"Proud of our group again, that was a tough battle for all 9 innings," said GU Head Coach
Mark Machtolf. "Not easy to win any series, and we're not going to take that for granted.
"Good to get Kempner back out there, and we look forward to continuing to battle with this group."
Assuming his closing role for the second time this series, RHP
Michael Spellacy picked up his tenth save of the season while keeping GU's lead intact in the ninth, striking out one in the process. Spellacy's 10 saves this season and 13 over his career now rank fifth and sixth all-time in program history, respectively.
The Action
The Zags got their first runner in scoring position in the bottom of the second after singles from Kramer, Sterling and Coballes loaded the bases with one out on the board.
Jack Machtolf deposited a two-RBI double just off the foul line in the next at-bat, and Apodaca followed up with a sac grounder that increased the lead to three.
Wild took over on the mound in the top of the next frame, getting a strikeout to end the frame after getting into a jam with runners on second and third.
After a scoreless third, GU made some inroads in the bottom of the fourth, plating three more runs with two outs. After Coballes and Machtolf got on base in succession, Apodaca picked up his second RBI — and eighth over the last four games — and Pinales followed with an RBI double to stretch the lead to 6-0.
An RBI single to center yielded the first two runs of the game for the Lions in the sith and a two-run homer got them within two in the eighth. Spellacy was tagged for one run in the final frame with two outs on the board, but kept the Bulldogs' lead intact by inducing a grounder to McGee that ended the game.
Play of the Game
Series at a Glance
With the 2-1 weekend, the Zags are now 42-38 against Loyola Marymount since 2000, and have won six of the last nine in Spokane in the series. Since 2000, GU is 25-12 at home against the Lions. The programs had not met in Spokane since 2018, with the previous six meetings taking place in Los Angeles.
Up Next / Follow the Game
The Zags play host to Washington (17-23, 7-16 Pac-12) in a midweek matchup on Monday at Patterson Baseball Complex. Starters are still 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.
