SAN DIEGO, Calif. — No. 10 Gonzaga clinched its second straight West coast Conference title with an 8-4 win in its opener with second–place San Diego on Friday, jumping ahead with a four-run sixth while RHP Gabriel Hughes stifled a response in a career-high eight frames on the mound.

The Bulldogs (33-14, 19-6 WCC) clinched the conference title in similar fashion last season, taking the first game from USD in their final weekend series of the season to secure the regular season crown. This time, they'll have two chances tomorrow to break the program record for single-season WCC wins with 20 and complete a conference slate that never saw them lose a weekend series.

Hughes outlasted Toreros starter Brycen Mautz in a duel of highly-touted Friday night starters, who the Zags racked up eight hits on before his departure from the game with one out on the board in the sixth. The 6'4" righthandernearly  threw a complete game, going 8 2/3 innings while striking out nine and gaining steam late to shut down a Toreros lineup that was poised to respond to a four-run outburst from the Zags in the sixth. RHP Michael Spellacy came in to get the final out, inducing a grounder to first to seal the WCC title.

Dylan Johnson (one RBI, one run) went 3-for-3 and Shea Kramer (two runs) went 3-for-5 to lead a 14-hit night for the Bulldogs, with Enzo Apodaca and Grayson Sterling (two hits, one run) driving a pair of runs apiece. Ezra Samperi slammed his third homer of the year to knot up the game early in the fifth.

Hughes moved up to frouth on the all-time list for single season strikeouts, reaching 124  on the season. He picked up five of them  over his final two frames on the mound, holding USD hitless through the seventh and eighth.

The Action

Toreros starter Brycen Mautz got off to a hot start in the top of the first, striking out his first two and inducing a grounder to first to retire the lineup in order. But Hughes responded in kind, inducing a pair of grounders and a lineout for a 1-2-3 inning of his own.

The Zags got some traction in the next inning  after Cade McGee led off the frame with a base knock that paved the way for Kramer to reach on a fielder's choice and advance to scoring position on a grounder. Connor Coballes followed up with a two-out base knock to center field that got Kramer home for a 1-0 lead.

Hughes tossed his first two K's of the game in another scoreless bottom of the inning soon after and Dylan Johnson made it consecutive leadoff singles with his first knock of the game in the third, but Pinales grounded into a double play that ended the frame.

The Toreros retook the lead with a pair of runs scored on a two-out triple from Kevin Sim  that Apodaca narrowly kept from becoming a three-run homer, deflecting the drive off his glove on the reach. Hughes induced a grounder to end the inning without any further damage, with work still left to do at the plate.

Samperi's solo shot in the top of the fifth energized the Bulldogs' bats with one out on the board, with Johnson following up with his second single of the night and Apodaca pushing him to second after being hit by a pitch. But Mautz got out of the jam just as Hughes did the inning prior, striking out two straight to close.

Hughes responded by retiring all three batters in succession in the bottom of the frame, and the Zags got to work again in the sixth, plating four runs to change the complexion of the game entirely.

Kramer got on base for the third time of the game with a one-out single to set up a Zags rally, with Sterling picking up his first base hit of the night to cue Mautz' departure from the game with another runner in scoring position. Coballes to load the bases and bring up Samperi, who connected on a fielder's-choice knock that got Coballes out at home but allowed him to reach first and reshuffle the bases.

USD switched to another reliever in Ian Churchill, who hit Johnson with the first pitch he threw to push out the Zags' first run of the frame before Coballes scored the second on a passed ball that moved Samperi and Johnson up. Apodaca came out of a seven-pitch at-bat with an RBI base knock that cleared the bases and made it a 6-2 ballgame, and Pinales kept it going with a single of his own to follow before the Toreros could finally get the third out.

A solo homer from Caleb Ricketts, a triple from Jack Costello and a sac fly from Codty Jefferis cut the lead to two in the bottom of the frame, but Hughes induced another groundout and ended the inning with runners stranded on first and second and the lead still intact.

Churchill settled in after the four-run outburst, striking out the side in the top of the seventh before Hughes threw his second 1-2-3 frame of the day, striking out his first two batters with seven pitches before generating a popup.

Johnson got his third double in a scoreless eighth before Hughes continued to pick up steam, striking out the side  to reach nine on the night and record his second consecutive hitless frame. 

The Zags regained control with two more insurance runs after McGee and Kramer connected on back-to-back two-out base hits in the ninth and Sterling scored them both with a double that went deep down the left field line to bring the lead back to four with three outs left to secure a WCC regular season championship.

Hughes came out yet again for the final inning, inducing a pair of groundouts on flashy plays from Pinales at second, but exited to bring in closer Spellacy for the final out.  A routine play to first got the final out to cue the celebration.

Play of the Game

Up Next / Follow the Game

Saturday's doubleheader will begin at noon PST, with RHP Trystan Vrieling (4-2, 73.1 IP, 99 K, 3.68 ERA) set to start against RHP Ryan Kysar (3-0, 44.0 IP, 43 K, 4.70 ERA) in game one and RHP Will Kempner (0-1, 22.2 IP, 23 K, 1.19 ERA) against a to-be-determined thrower for the Toreros. Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @zagbaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.