SPOKANE, Wash. — No. 10 Gonzaga has the No. 1 seed in next week's upcoming West Coast Conference Tournament at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton, Calif., set to return to action on Thursday at 3 p.m. against the lowest-seeded opponent to come out of Wednesday's opening round action.
The Bulldogs (34-15, 20-7 WCC) clinched their second straight WCC Regular Season title and fifth in the last six seasons with a win in their opener against San Diego on Friday, going on to win the series finale on Saturday and finish the season with a program-best 20 wins in conference play. They — along with No. 2 seed Portland (31-21, 17-10) — get a bye on Wednesday while seeds Nos. 3-6 get going.
Wednesday's single-elimination play-in matchups include No. 3 seed San Diego (32-18, 17-10) vs No. 6 seed San Francisco (28-28, 14-13) and No. 4 BYU (33-20, 16-11) vs No. 5 seed LMU (19-32-1, 14-13). The Zags will face the lowest-advancing seed of those matchups at 3 p.m. on Thursday, with the highest seed facing Portland at 7 p.m.
The rest of the bracket is double-elimination — GU needs to win three games to claim a WCC Tournament championship and automatic NCAA Tournament bid, but need to win out if they drop a game in the process.
LEADING OFF
- No. 10 Gonzaga is the top seed at the 2022 West Coast Conference Championships and open the tournament at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton, Calif., Thursday at 3 p.m. The Bulldogs will face the lowest advancing seed from the first two games of the tournament.
- The Zags clinched their second straight regular season conference title and the sixth in program history. GU has won either the WCC's regular season or tournament title in five of the last six seasons.
- Mark Machtolf was named the WCC Coach of the Year, while Connor Coballes and Cade McGee were named the league's Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
- Gonzaga won all nine of its West Coast Conference series this season. It marks the first time the Bulldogs have ever won every WCC series in a season since joining the league in 1996. The Zags lost only one weekend series this season, dropping a pair of games to Long Beach State on the road in March.
- GU matched its record for most West Coast Conference wins in a season at 20. The Bulldogs were 20-7 in WCC play in 2017 and last season.
- The Bulldogs are 13th in the country with five shutouts and 12th with 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings. They lead the WCC in both of those stat categories. GU is 16th in the nation in Earned Run Average (3.90) and 19th in Fielding Percentage (.979).
- Gabriel Hughes is fifth in the nation with 124 strikeouts, while Trystan Vrieling is 29th with 99. They are first and fifth in the WCC in that stat category. Michael Spellacy is 15th in the country with 11 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, the highest-ranked foe the Zags have ever beat.
- The Zags are 27th in the RPI with a 14-9 record versus Quads 1 and 2 (4-5 in Quad 1) and an 20-9 road record. GU's non-conference strength of schedule ranks as the 15th most difficult in the nation.
- Gonzaga's 20 road wins are the fifth-most in the nation. Eastern Illinois leads the country with 25.
BULLDOGS IN THE WCC TOURNAMENT
- Gonzaga is 9-10 all-time in the West Coast Conference Championships since the tournament went to a double-elimination format in 2013. The Bulldogs made three appearances in the WCC Championship series (2009, 2007, 2001) that were held from 1999 to 2009. GU went 4-4 in those appearances, sweeping Loyola Marymount in Spokane in the 2009 series.
- Including this season, the Zags have appeared in seven of the eight WCC Tournaments since 2013, only missing the event in 2015. GU is the lone program in the conference to appear in the last five WCC Tournaments. The Bulldogs' seven WCC Tournament berths are the most in the league. (LMU, BYU at 6)
- Second-seeded Gonzaga won the 2018 West Coast Conference Tournament Championships, going 3-0 in the event and beating top-seeded Pepperdine 17-2 in the finals. The Bulldogs scored a program-record 34 runs during that title run.
- GU has been the top seed in the WCC Tournament twice (2017 and 2013), going 2-4 in those events. The Zags were the second seed twice (2019, 2018) and the third seed twice (2016, 2014) as well.
- Gonzaga is 3-3 all-time in its first game at the WCC Tournament, winning three of the last four.
- The Bulldogs have appeared in three WCC Tournament finals (2016, 2017 and 2018).
ZAGS VERSUS OPENING GAME POSSIBLE OPPONENT
- With the new six-team format in the WCC Tournament, Gonzaga earned a bye and will await to see the results of Wednesday's two games for its first opponent. Seeds three through six play in two single elimination games Wednesday, before double-elimination play begins Thursday.
- Third-seeded San Diego faces sixth-seeded San Francisco to open the tournament, followed by fourth-seeded BYU and fifth-seeded Loyola Marymount.
- Gonzaga won two of three against all of those teams during the season, with the LMU series the only one in Spokane. The Zags won two of three versus second-seeded Portland in Spokane.
- The Bulldogs are 34-27 against BYU, winning five of the last six and seven of the last 10. GU has won two of the last five meetings in the WCC Tournament, including a 3-1 victory in the last event in 2019.
- GU is 46-47 versus Loyola Marymount all-time, winning three of the last four. The Bulldogs are 2-2 against the Lions in the WCC Tournament, defeating LMU in the 2018 opening game and once in 2017.
- Gonzaga is 49-48 against San Francisco all-time, winning seven of the last nine, including a five-game win streak from 2019-21. The Dons won the lone meeting in the WCC Tournament in 2013, 8-5, when USF was the fourth-seed and the Zags were the top-seed.
LAST TIME OUT
- Gonzaga put the run it needed on the board early and leaned on a dominant start from RHP William Kempner and three relievers to hold San Diego to just two hits in its regular season finale for a 1-0 shutout win Sunday.
- Kempner threw five scoreless frames in his third start since returning from injury, striking out eight in the process while keeping the best offensive team in the conference off the board.
- GU picked up 10 hits in the winning effort despite just plating the one run, getting a runner in scoring position in each of the final four innings. Tyler Rando led the charge, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run.
ON DECK
- With a victory Thursday, the Zags will face the Game 4 winner (Portland or second-lowest advancing team) Friday at 3:30 p.m. If Gonzaga were to fall in Game 3, they would face the non-advancing team from Game 4 (Portland or second-lowest advancing team) at noon on Friday.
ZAGS WRAP UP REGULAR SEASON TITLE IN SAN DIEGO
- Gonzaga needed one victory in the three-game regular season finale series at San Diego, and the Bulldogs picked up a pair of wins. GU took care of business winning the first game in the series, 8-4, on May 20.
- The Zags have won back-to-back conference titles for just the third time in program history and the first time as a member of the West Coast Conference.
- The Bulldogs have now shared or won outright six WCC regular season titles, including three of the last four.
BULLDOGS RACK UP ALL-WCC HONORS
- Mark Machtolf was named the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year, Connor Coballes was the WCC Defensive Player of the Year and Cade McGee earned Freshman of the Year honors.
- Machtolf earned the honor for the fifth time, and second straight season, and for the third time since 2017.
- Gabriel Hughes and Tyler Rando were tabbed First Team All-Conference, while Trystan Vrieling was second team.
- Enzo Apodaca, McGee, Savier Pinales, Ezra Samperi, Michael Spellacy and Owen Wild were all honorable mention.
- Apodaca and McGee were both on the West Coast Conference All-Freshman Team.
- All five major individual awards – along with the All-Conference Teams and the All-Freshman Team – were voted on solely by the league's 10 head coaches.
GONZAGA SWEEPS FINAL WEEKLY WCC AWARDS
- After clinching the WCC regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the WCC Tournament, Gonzaga swept the final WCC Baseball Player of the Week awards. Dylan Johnson earned WCC Player of the Week honors for the first time this season, while William Kempner was tabbed WCC Pitcher of the Week also for the first time this season.
- Johnson batted .625 with an on-base percentage of .750 in the three-game series against San Diego while leading the Bulldogs in hits (5). He got on base multiple times in each of GU's games against USD, drawing a team-high three walks.
- Kempner held the potent San Diego offense to one hit over five innings during Saturday's regular-season finale to get the win. He struck out eight and walked two in that span, bringing his season ERA down to 0.98 over 27.2 innings pitched - which currently stands as the third-lowest in a single season in program history.
HUGHES NAMED GOLDEN SPIKES SEMIFINALIST
- Gabriel Hughes was named as a Golden Spikes Semifinalist USA Baseball announced Monday.
- The award goes to the top amateur baseball player of the year. The 44th Golden Spikes Award will be presented on June 24 on ESPN. Twenty-six different universities are represented by the 31 semifinalists.
- Arkansas' Kevin Kopps took home the prestigious award most recently in 2021.
- Beginning with the announcement of the semifinalists, a ballot will be sent to a voting body consisting of baseball media members, select professional baseball personnel and USA Baseball staff, and the previous winners of the award, representing a group of more than 150 voters. As part of this selection process, all voters will be asked to choose three players from the list of semifinalists. On June 8, USA Baseball will announce the finalists, and voting for the winner will begin that same day.
- Fan voting will once again be a part of the Golden Spikes Award in 2022. Beginning with the semifinalist announcement and continuing through the finalist round voting deadline, fans from across the country will be able to vote for their favorite player on GoldenSpikesAward.com.
THE THIRTY-WIN CLUB
- Gonzaga reached its 12th 30-win season under Mark Machtolf 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.
RECORD WATCH
- Gonzaga's pitching staff shattered the record for single-season strikeouts over the weekend, now up to 522 on the season — the previous record was 501 in 2016.
- After his five-frame one-hit performance against USD, RHP Will Kempner's ERA sits at 0.98‚ the third-best single-season ERA in program history if the season ended today.
- Jacob Rutherford is holding opposing batters to a .152 batting average, which would stand as the lowest single-season opposing batting average by a GU pitcher in program history. Kempner's .183 would be third.
- Gabriel Hughes' 124 strikeouts are the third-most in program history, with at least two more starts left in his season. Michael Spellacy's 11 saves this season moved him up to No. 5 in the all-time list in both single season and career saves (14). He's thrown the fifth-most strikeouts in a single game (13) twice this season.
- The Bulldogs broke the single-game record for team strikeouts (19) in their series finale with Oklahoma State on March 7 and repeated the feat twice more this season, most recently doing so at home against Santa Clara on May 14. They also broke the record for single-game double plays (6) against Cal State Fullerton on April 2.
GO DJ, THAT'S OUR DJ
- Dylan Johnson rides the team's longest hitting streak and longest reached base streak.
- The junior has reached a base and has a hit in every game since the start of the series against Loyola Marymount in Spokane on April 29.
- During the 11-game streaks, Johnson is hitting a team-best .429 with a team-high 15 hits.
- The 11-game streaks lead the team, with Savier Pinales at 10 straight games reaching a base and Connor Coballes and Cade McGee next closest in hit streaks at three.
KEMPNER KEEPING IT DIFFICULT
- Since returning from injury, William Kempner has not allowed a run in three straight appearances on the mound on May 1, May 15 and May 21.
- Over those three appearances he has thrown 11.2 innings, allowing just five hits.
DIGGING INTO THE STATS
- Gonzaga is 25-0 this season when leading after the sixth inning, 24-2 when out-hitting its opponent, and 9-0 versus a left-handed starter.
- The Bulldogs have won 17 of the 18 games when they have scored at least six runs. GU is 25-2 when holding its foe to four or less runs.
HISTORY IN CORVALLIS
- On April 18, Gonzaga traded blows early with No. 2 Oregon State, but cruised to an 11-6 lead after a seven-run third frame and didn't look back en route to a 13-6 win — the highest-ranked opponent they've beaten in program history.
- Jake Rutherford and Nico Zeglin combined to hold the Beavers scoreless for seven consecutive innings, calming down a chaotic back-and-forth that saw 10 total runs scored by both teams in the span of an inning and a half.
- Rutherford put together the best performance of his career over four frames on the mound, striking out a career-high six while holding the Beavers to just one run in that span for his second win of the season. Zeglin earned the save with three frames of scoreless relief, striking out five more in the process.
SWEEPING IN STILLWATER
- In its first-ever sweep over a Top-10 team, GU knocked off No. 4 Oklahoma State 4-3 on March 4, 2-1 in the tenth inning on March 5 and 2-1 on March 6 in Stillwater, Okla.
- Thanks largely to dominant starts from starting pitchers Gabriel Hughes (7 IP, 3 ER, 1 BB, 11 K), William Kempner (6.1 IP, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K) and Tyrstan Vrieling (5 IP, 0 ER, 4 BB, 13 K) and shutdown infield defense that held the Cowboys to just five runs on 17 hits over the series.
- The Bulldogs never trailed in any game of the three-game road series.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES / SEASON-OPENING NOTES
- The Zags return 24 players from 2021 (42 on roster).
- GU was selected as the preseason West Coast Conference favorite by the league's 10 head coaches. GU earned nine of 10 first-place votes.
- Catcher Stephen Lund and pitchers Gabriel Hughes, Trystan Vrieling and William Kempner were named to the Preseason All-WCC Squad.
- Gabriel Hughes and William Kempner made Prospects Live's Preseason All-America list in January as a first-team starting pitcher and second-team reliever.
- Hughes, who was one of five starting throwers on PL's First Team, was also projected to take home West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year honors by Collegiate Baseball News earlier in the month and is on the 55-man Golden Spikes Award Watchlist. The 6'4 righty also came in at No. 42 in MLB.com's 2022 Draft Prospect Rankings and No. 61 in a similar ranking by D1Baseball.com, the highest a GU player has been rated since Marco Gonzales in 2013.
QUICK FACTS ENTERING THE SEASON
- The Bulldogs have made two of the last three NCAA tournaments that have been held, and are nationally ranked in multiple polls for the second season in a row.
- Since 2016, GU boasts a 194-126 record, with four WCC titles (2016, 2017, 2018, 2021) and three NCAA Tournament appearances (2016, 2018, 2021). 19 former Zags have been selected in the MLB Draft since then, with four making their major league debuts during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. The Zags have a 101-76 record against WCC opponents in that span.
- Since 2019, Gonzaga scored 437 total runs against WCC opponents, which leads the conference. The Bulldogs have led the WCC four separate times in strikeouts since 2016, including Brandon Bailey's 125 strikeouts in 2016, which was tied-7th for the most in Div 1.
- In the past decade, 52 Zags have been selected All-WCC, with 11 earning WCC First-Team honors, ten making the WCC Second Team, and 19 honorable Mentions. In 2021, GU picked up a program-record nine All-WCC honors while taking three of the five major awards.
- Coach Machtolf has earned WCC Coach of the Year four times during his tenure at Gonzaga, including twice since 2017. In addition, GU has had two WCC Players of the Year, two WCC Defensive Players of the Year, and three WCC Pitchers of the Year in the past decade.
- GU has had five Collegiate Baseball All-American selections in the past decade, including two second-team and three third-team selections. Gonzaga has also had two Academic All-Americans and two Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American selections since 2011 to go with seven total All-West team selections, including Marco Gonzales' 2012 All-West Coast Player of the Year season.
