SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga Baseball opens West Coast Conference play at home this weekend with a three-game series against San Francisco at Coach Steve Hertz Field at Patterson Baseball Complex March 17-19, with the defending WCC Regular Season champions looking to build some momentum heading into the heart of the 2023 schedule.

The Bulldogs are 3-12 overall but 2-2 in their last four games, looking to bounce back after a grueling 15-game stretch to open the season that included four multi-game series against Top-60 RPI opponents – Texas Tech, Grand Canyon, Tennessee, UC Irvine – with three on the road. 

Meanwhile, the Dons (9-4) have won three straight, including a series win at home against Yale and a 14-8 win over No. 20 Washington State in Pullman on Wednesday. They're averaging 10.7 hits per game and 10.3 runs per game during that streak, with Harris Williams III, Mario DeMera and Christian Stapleton all batting above .300. USF played all of its first 12 games in the state of California and 10 at home, compiling an 8-2 record at Benedetti Diamond.

Over the last four games, the Zags have gotten solid starts on the mound from Owen Wild, Jacob Rutherford, Matthew Mueller and Everett Swaim in each  — no starter in the last two series gave up more than three runs, with all four lasting at least five frames.  In the Zags' first 11 games, starting pitchers carried a combined ERA of 6.90. In the last four games, starting pitchers have a 2.63 ERA, holding opponents to 1.75 runs on average in their time on the mound. Rutherford held an Irvine lineup that was averaging 11.1 runs and 11.7 hits per game over its last seven to just two earned runs on six hits, and Mueller and Swaim combined to throw nine scoreless frames in a pair of midweek starts against Minnesota.

Brian Kalmer has continued to power the middle of the order for the Zags, batting .435 over his last five games while driving in 10 runs. Four other Zags have homered to put GU at 14 on the season – Enzo Apodaca, Dylan Johnson, Sam Stem and Donovan Ratfield. Apodaca has produced as well after moving to the No. 2 spot on the lineup, batting .348 in the same span and .444 with runners on base. 

Last season, Head Coach Mark Machtolf's Bulldogs earned a program-best No. 10 ranking and their second straight year with a win in the NCAA Tournament  — the first time in program history the Zags have done so under the current format  — after appearing as a #2 seed in the 2022 Blacksburg Regional. The Bulldogs were eliminated by #3-seed Columbia in Game Three after rallying to eliminate #4-seed Wright State in Game Two. The Zags are defending WCC Regular Season Champions and repeat favorites for the second straight season, matching their best record in conference play (20-7) the past two seasons.

All three of Gonzaga's matchups with San Francisco will be streamed on Stadium via the WCC Network. Live stats for the games can be accessed by clicking on the live stats link located on the baseball schedule page on GoZags.com.

GONZAGA (3-12) VS. SAN FRANCISCO (9-4)
Patterson Baseball Complex | Spokane, Wash.
March 17, 6 p.m | Live Stats | Stream
March 18, 6 p.m. | Live Stats | Stream
March 19, 1 p.m. | Live Stats | Stream

PROBABLE STARTERS
Game 1
Gonzaga SP: RHP Owen Wild (22 IP, 0-2, 4.91 ERA, 27 K)
San Francisco SP: TBA
Game 2
Gonzaga SP: RHP Jacob Rutherford (23.1 IP, 2-0, 4.63 ERA, 19 K)
San Francisco SP: TBA
Game 3
Gonzaga SP: TBA
San Francisco SP: TBA

ALL-TIME SERIES
Gonzaga is 38-36 against the Dons since 2000, winning seven of the last ten matchups and three consecutive series. GU won the series 2-1 in their last meeting in 2022, winning 11-3 in the opener and 17-13 in the finale to seal the deal.

LAST TIME OUT
Gonzaga split its last series, 1-1 against Minnesota at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
After going seven consecutive frames without plating a run, Gonzaga Baseball exploded for four runs in the 15th inning to down the Gophers in game one, making sure that dominant outings from LHP Matthew Mueller, LHP Bradley Mullan and RHP Nathan Deschryver didn't go to waste in the Bulldogs' longest game since last May.
After a breakout start from Everett Swaim (5 IP, 0 ER, 8 K), GU plated seven runs in the seventh and eight frames to go up by three runs in the top of the eighth in its second game Wednesday, but a five-run response from the Gophers in the bottom of the frame undid the Bulldogs' work after the tying run was stranded in the final frame.

PITCHING OUTLOOK
Gonzaga's starting pitching depth has shown rapid improvement over the past two weeks, with no starter in the last two series giving up more than three runs and all four lasting at least five frames. 
R-Jr. RHP Jacob Rutherford moved into a Saturday starting role and has posted a 2.40 ERA in a pair of starts, including a complete game against UC Irvine on Sunday in which he held a lineup that was averaging 11.1 runs and 11.7 hits per game over its last seven to just two earned runs on six hits. 
Freshmen Matthew Mueller and Everett Swaim were both dominant in their first career starts against Minnesota March 14 and 15, with Mueller striking out nine over five frames of work while holding UM to two runs and Swaim holding them scoreless for five in the next game while striking out eight. 
Swaim is holding opposing batters to a team-best .136 average.
LHP Bradley Mullan has thrown 9.1 innings in two appearances over the last two series, posting a 0.96 ERA in that span while striking out seven.
Preseason All-American RHP Owen Wild continues to post solid starts, with 27 strikeouts across 22 innings of work. He held Irvine to three runs over five frames in his last start, striking out 3.

HEART OF THE LINEUP
The Zags' offense continues to hum along, with Brian Kalmer (.359), Tommy Eisenstat (.333) and Enzo Apodaca (.317) leading a lineup that has generated nine or more hits in four of its last five games. Apodaca has batted .444 over his last four games and leads the team in RBI with 32, and Kalmer leads the Zags in homers (7), hits (23) and slugging percentage (.797). Eisenstat played his way into the starting lineup with a 6-hit weekend in Phoenix Feb. 24-25, and has gotten on base in 11 of 13 appearances, going errorless in five games since moving into the starting first baseman spot.

QUICK HITS
Connor Coballes is also coming off a strong week, picking up hits in each of the Zags' last four games while only striking out once. Coballes ranks No. 23 among the toughest batters to strike out in the nation and two doubles against Minnesota, including one that drove in a pair of go-ahead runs in extra innings.
GU has also scored first in three of its last four games, with leadoff batters hitting for a .302 average.
A variety of outfielders have seen action, with Brock Bozett, Dylan Johnson, Logan Johnstone and Hank Dunn all getting starts alongside Enzo Apodaca and Sam Stem. Bozett batted .500 over the last two games after not appearing against UC Irvine, scoring three runs in the process. Johnson came through with a pinch-hit RBI single to lift the Zags to a 3-2 win over Irvine.

PINALES STAYS HOT
Since returning to the lineup, Pinales carries a seven-game on-base streak, with eight hits and four doubles in that span. The senior second baseman was 0-16 to start the season, and has batted .275 since while getting on base multiple times in three of his last five starts.

SEASON-OPENING NOTES / EARLY RETURNS
- Gonzaga was picked to win its third straight WCC Crown in the 2023 Coaches' Poll, receiving 6 of 10 first-place votes. San Diego, which won the 2023 WCC Tournament to get an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, earned the other four.
-A league-leading four Zags were named to the WCC Preseason Team, with Grayson Sterling, Savier Pinales, Cade McGee and Owen Wild all earning nods.
- GU is coming off a program-best No. 10 ranking and its second straight year with a win in the NCAA Tournament in 2022  — the first time in program history the Zags have done so since 1984 — after appearing as a #2 seed in the 2022 Blacksburg Regional. The Bulldogs were eliminated by #3-seed Columbia in Game Three after rallying to eliminate #4-seed Wright State in Game Two.
The Zags are defending WCC Regular Season Champions for the second straight season after winning their sixth WCC title in 2022, matching their best record in conference play (20-7) the past two seasons as well as cracking thirty wins for the sixth consecutive full season. Since 2016, GU has the most regular-season conference wins (112), the highest regular season conference winning percentage (.691), the most WCC Tourney appearances (5), Regular or Tournament Championships (5) and Regional appearances (4) among West Coast Conference teams.
- The Zags return 22 players from 2022 (38 on roster).
- Owen Wild was named a Preseason Second Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball News. GU was ranked No. 38 nationally in Collegiate Baseball's Preseason Poll, and received votes in the USA Today Preseason Coaches' Poll.

'MADE-FOR-RPI' SCHEDULE
- 13 of GU's 19 opponents in 2023 finished last season in the Top 150 in the NCAA's final RPI ranking, with two of those opponents  — Tennessee and Oregon State — finishing No. 1 and No. 2 in those final rankings before hosting NCAA Regionals. 
- After four games with the Raiders, GU faced Grand Canyon and Ohio State in Phoenix before hosting UC Irvine and heading to Minnesota for multiple games each before entering WCC play.
- Other highlights include a three-game series with 2022 College World Series Runner-Up Oklahoma in Spokane and a two-game midweek matchup with Oregon in Eugene.
- Zags will have a pair of crucial home series back-to-back with BYU (March 30-April 1) and 2022 WCC Tournament Champions and NCAA Regional qualifiers San Diego (April 6-8) coming to Patterson.
- A road trip to Corvallis, Ore. for two midweek games with Oregon State is up next on April 10-11, marking the 13th and 14th time they've squared off in the last five years. The Zags went 1-3 against the Beavs in 2022, dropping a pair of neutral site games in Surprise to start the year but splitting a pair on the road, with GU's 13-6 win becoming their highest-ranked win in history.

OWEN WILD NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
- Gonzaga RHP Owen Wild was named a Preseason Second Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, the outlet announced.
- The honor makes it back-to-back years that a GU pitcher picks up preseason All-America honors from the outlet after Gabriel Hughes did the same in 2022. 
Initially appearing as a reliever last spring before taking over as a starter in the absence of William Kempner due to injury, Wild gained momentum as the season went on, accumulating a 9-1 record to go with a team-best 3.03 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 16 appearances. Wild's breakout year culminated in an All-Blacksburg Regional Team nod after pitching six shutout innings of relief to help cue a Bulldogs rally in an NCAA Tournament game against Wright State, as well as All-WCC Tournament and All-WCC Honorable Mention honors.
-Wild's .900 career winning percentage entering 2023 is the highest of any GU pitcher with at least 10 games of record, and the fourth-highest in a single season.

RETURNER-FILLED LINEUP
- GU returns 5 of its top 6 hitters by average from last spring, led by 2022 Freshman All-American Cade McGee, Savier Pinales, Grayson Sterling, Enzo Apodaca and Ezra Samperi, who all started more than 30 games each last season.
- The Zags get back starters at every position except first base, including WCC Defensive Player of the Year Connor Coballes at shortstop, who finished the season ranked among the Top 50 in the nation's toughest to strike out and 130 assists to just 7 errors.
- DH Brian Kalmer, the 2022 NJCAA Player of the Year out of Wabash Valley, brings some power to the lineup to help replace the loss of 2022 All-WCC C/DH Tyler Rando to graduation. Kalmer batted .421 to go with 20 homers and 109 RBI against JuCo opponents in 2022.

2022 HIGHLIGHTS  
- The Zags' 37 wins matched the fifth-most in program history and are the most under Head Coach Mark Machtolf. The 37 victories are also the most in 32 years when GU won 37 games in 1990.
- The Bulldogs appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time in program history, and for the fourth time in the last six tournaments (2022, 2021, 2018, 2016).
- 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.
- The Bulldogs appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time in program history, and for the fourth time in the last six tournaments (2022, 2021, 2018, 2016).
- 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. Machtolf earned the honor for the fifth time, and second straight season, and for the third time since 2017. 
- Gonzaga won all nine of its West Coast Conference series  in 2022, finishing 20-7 in conference play. It marked 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, 2021, and 2022.
- The Bulldogs were 10th in the country with six shutouts and seventh with 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings. They led the WCC in both of those stat categories. GU was 15th in the nation in Earned Run Average (3.95) and 19th in Fielding Percentage (.979).
- The Bulldogs' No. 10 ranking was the highest under Mark Machtolf's 19 seasons at the helm.
- GU boasted three wins over Top-5 teams, 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 beaten. GU also swept No. 4/6 Oklahoma State in a three-game series in Stillwater.

30 WINS AGAIN IN 2022
Gonzaga surpassed 30 wins for the sixth straight full season and ninth time in the last 11 seasons in 2022, finishing the season with a 37-19 overall record. During head coach Mark Machtolf's now 20 years at the helm, GU has won at least 30 games 12 times.