SPOKANE, Wash. — For the first time this weekend, No. 10 Gonzaga didn't need a late rally for a 4-1 win over Santa Clara on Senior Day at Patterson Baseball Complex on Sunday, leaning on a 3-for-4 outing from Tyler Rando and combined dominance from RHP Will Kempner and Owen Wild that held the Broncos (24-25, 11-16 WCC) to just one run through nine.
The Bulldogs (32-13, 18-6) had already clinched the series with a pair of walkoff wins on Friday and Saturday, but Sunday's win secures their first WCC weekend series sweep since they took all three from Pacific March 18-20. More importantly, it keeps them two games ahead of second-place San Diego (31-16, 16-8), who they'll only need to beat once in next weekend's road series to clinch their second straight regular season conference title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament May 24-27 in Stockton, Calif.
In his second start since returning from injury, Kempner tossed 4 ⅔ frames of scoreless ball, being tagged for four hits while striking out eight and walking two. After entering the game for Kempner in the fifth, RHP Owen Wild retired 17 of the next 21 batters he faced over the final 4 ⅓, striking out seven in that span to earn his seventh win of the season.
One of eight GU seniors honored pregame, Rando connected on a pair of doubles and a home run that drove in three of GU's four runs, and he was the only Zag to record multiple hits in the winning effort. Enzo Apodaca (2 runs, 1 hit), Savier Pinales (1 hit, 1 RBI), Cade McGee and Dylan Johnson all added a knock apiece.
The Action
The Zags struck first for the first time this weekend when Pinales connected on an RBI single to plate Apodaca, who stole second and reached third in the two at-bats prior.
After Apodaca got it going for GU again when he led off the sixth with a single, Tyler Rando slammed his second two-run homer in the last 24 hours — and in nearly the same location — to score them both and extend the lead to 3-0. Rando delivered his third RBI of the day in the eighth to score Pinales all the way from first with his second double, and the Zags wouldn't relinquish their lead through the rest of nine.
Alex Lambeau's RBI double to left center in the top of the ninth broke up the shutout with one out on the board, but Wild induced a fly and struck out Coleman Brigman swinging to end the game with the sweep secured.
Play of the Game
Series at a Glance
With the win, the Zags have a 52-28 edge in the series since 2000, having won the last eight meetings and swept the last two series. The Zags swept last season's series in Santa Clara (2-0, 10-4 in 13 innings, and 5-2). Until this weekend, the programs had not met in Spokane since 2018, where GU has won each series since 2011.
Up Next / Follow the Game
The Zags head down to Eugene, Ore. on Tuesday for their final midweek matchup of the season with Oregon (31-21, 15-12 Pac-12). The Zags fell 5-9 to the Ducks in Spokane on March 22, but have a chance to even up the season series and snag a crucial Quad 1 win ahead of next weekend's WCC finale against San Diego. Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @zagbaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.
