No. 10 Gonzaga baseball heads to San Diego, Calif. this weekend with a West Coast Conference regular season title on the line against the second-place Toreros (31-16, 16-8).

The Bulldogs (32-14, 18-6) sit two games ahead of USD in the conference standings, needing only one win to clinch their second consecutive WCC regular season crown as well as a No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. A series win would complete a conference slate for GU in which the Bulldogs never lost a weekend series.
 

LEADING OFF

- No. 10 Gonzaga enters the final weekend of the regular season with a West Coast Conference series at San Diego, which is receiving votes in the national rankings and currently second place in the league standings.

- The Zags need one win over USD to clinch their second straight regular season conference title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament May 24-27 in Stockton, Calif.

- GU has won all eight of its West Coast Conference series this season, most recently taking two of three versus Santa Clara over the weekend (W, 3-2 | W, 5-3 | W, 4-1). Gonzaga has never won every WCC series in a season since joining the league in 1996. The Bulldogs have only lost one weekend series this season, dropping a pair of games to Long Beach State on the road in March.

- Tyler Rando was named the WCC Player of the Week after batting .467 in three starts last weekend.

- The Bulldogs are 22nd in the country with four shutouts and 12th with 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings. They lead the WCC in both of those stat categories. GU is 21st in ERA (3.90) and Fielding Percentage (.978).

- Gabriel Hughes is seventh in the nation with 115 strikeouts, while Trystan Vrieling is 22nd with 99. They are first and fourth in the WCC in that stat category. Michael Spellacy is 15th in the country with 10 saves.

- The Bulldogs' No. 10 ranking is the highest under Mark Machtolf's 19 seasons at the helm.

- GU boasts three wins over Top-5 teams this season, going 4-1 versus Top-10 competition, including a 13-6 victory at No. 2 Oregon State on April 18. That win at OSU was the highest-ranked foe the Zags have ever beat.

- The Zags are 28th in the RPI with a 12-8 record versus Quads 1 and 2 (4-5 in Quad 1) and an 18-8 road record. GU's non-conference strength of schedule ranks as the seventh most difficult in the nation.

- Gonzaga's 18 road wins are the eighth-most in the nation. Eastern Illinois leads the country with 25.

PROBABLE STARTERS

Friday, May 20  |  6 p.m.

RHP Gabriel Hughes (7-1, 77.1 IP, 115 K, 2.44 ERA) vs. LHP Brycen Mautz (8-1, 73.0 IP, 106 K, 3.82 ERA) 

Saturday, May 21  |  1 p.m.

RHP Trystan Vrieling (4-2, 73.1 IP, 99 K, 3.68 ERA) vs. RHP Ryan Kysar (3-0, 44.0 IP, 43 K, 4.70 ERA)

Saturday, May 21 |  Doubleheader

RHP Will Kempner (0-1, 22.2 IP, 23 K, 1.19 ERA) vs. TBA
 

SERIES AT A GLANCE

- The Toreros have a 51-41-1 edge in the series, and the teams have split the last 10 meetings. 

- USD won last season's series in Spokane (0-10, 9-0, and 10-2). 

- Gonzaga has won the last two series in San Diego, taking two of three in 2016 and 2018.
 

LAST TIME OUT

- Gonzaga held Oregon off the board in every inning but the first and ninth in its midweek matchup Tuesday, but ultimately fell 5-4 on a ninth-inning walkoff double after seizing the lead for the first time in the eighth.

- Shea Krarmer drove in all four of the Zags' runs, while Grayson Sterling and Savier Pinales both finished with two hits apiece. Bradley Mullan struck out six and held the Ducks hitless through four innings.
 

THE THIRTY-WIN CLUB

- Gonzaga reached its 12th 30-win season under Mark Machtolf over the weekend against Santa Clara. Prior to Machtolf as the head coach, the Bulldogs reached the 30-win plateau 14 times.

- The Zags have reached 30 wins in six of the last seven seasons, with the exception coming in the shortened 2020 season that was cancelled after just 16 games.

- GU's record for most West Coast Conference wins in a season is 20, going 20-7 in 2017 and last season.
 

ON DECK

- The Zags travel to the 2022 West Coast Conference Championships in Stockton, Calif., May 26-28. The top six teams in the league standings advance to the tournament, with the top two seeds having first round byes.