SPOKANE, Wash. – A first-frame five-spot ignited a high-octane rivalry win for Gonzaga Baseball in a midweek matchup with Washington State Tuesday, with the Bulldogs (7-12, 3-0 WCC) plating runs in six of the next seven innings to stay ahead of the Cougars (14-6, 3-3 Pac-12) for a 12-7 finish – the Zags' fourth straight victory and sixth in their last seven.
With the win, the Zags are 13-3 against Washington State since 2016 and are winners of seven of their last eight meetings with their in-state rivals.
"Quality midweek win against a regional rival," said GU Head Coach
Mark Machtolf. "Our offense did a great job of immediately putting the pressure on them early in the game.
"I thought Deschryver gave us a really good start. Time to enjoy this one tonight and back to the prep for Pepperdine this weekend."
Sam Stem and
Brian Kalmer both slammed no-doubters and five different Zags finished with multiple hits to lead a 15-hit effort, the fourth time in the last five games that GU has picked up at least 13. Over their last nine outings, the Bulldogs are averaging 12.2 knocks a game. Stem drove in a career-high four runs and scored two more with his second home run of the year as his only hit,
Connor Coballes went 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBI and Kalmer (3-for-5, 3 R, 2 RBI) smacked his eighth homer of the season to go with a triple, while
Enzo Apodaca (2 R),
Savier Pinales (2 RBI) and
Dylan Johnson (2 R) all added two knocks a piece.
Brock Bozett extended his hit streak to seven games since returning to the starting lineup, picking up two RBI along the way.
RHP Nate Deschryver posted his most complete start of the season, going 4 ⅔ innings while holding the Cougars to three earned runs on six hits, striking out four. The redshirt freshman walked four, but stranded five WSU runners on base during his time on the mound.
GU pitched the rest of the game by committee, with
Everett Swaim (1.0 IP),
Kai Francis (0.1 IP),
Jack Moffitt (1.0 IP) and
Bradley Mullan (2.0 IP) keeping the Cougs out of reach over the final five frames despite WSU plating a run in each. Mullan weathered a solo homer and a triple in the final frame, but struck out three in the ninth to end the game. Since moving into the closer role in his last 4 appearances, Mullan has posted a 1.69 ERA and 1-0 record to go with 11 K (10.2 IP).
The Zags now carry their four-game win streak to Malibu, Calif. this weekend for a three-game West Coast Conference series with Pepperdine (5-13, 0-3 WCC) March 24-26.
ALL-TIME SERIES
- Of the 12 current Pac-12 institutions, GU has faced Washington State the most, with an 89-127 all-time record in the series. Since 2016, GU is 13-3 against the Cougars – they've faced each other multiple times in each season since 2000.
- Since 2003, the series is tied up at 32-32 --
Mark Machtolf is 98-29 against the Cougars in his 20 years as GU Head Coach.
ZAGS SWINGING HOT BATS
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Savier Pinales is batting .500 over his last four, extending his on-base streak to 11 games tonight after returning to the lineup following an 0-for-16 start to the season. He's racked up 17 hits in those 11 games, six of them extra-base hits.
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Connor Coballes has gotten on base in nine straight games and scored at least one run in each while striking out only three times in that span. He ranks No. 26 among the toughest batters to strike out in the nation. After hitting just one double in the 2022 season, he has hit 4 through 18 games in 2023.
- After not appearing in the Zags' home-opening series against UC Irvine, Bozett has played his way back into the lineup with a seven-game hit streak, including back-to-back three-hit performances against the Gophers on March 15 and the Dons on March 17 with multiple runs in both games. Bozett has gotten on base 18 times in the 11 games he's started.
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Brian Kalmer, the Zags' batting average leader and most proficient slugger (.370, .778) has driven in a team-leading nine runs on 11 hits over his last six appearances, with a team-high eight homers on the season.
THE ACTION
Deschryver struck out the first batter he faced, but was tagged for a single from Cam Magee and doubles from Jacob McKeon and Sam Brown to plate the first two runs of the game for the Cougars before he induced a popup and a grounder in succession to get out of the frame.
But the top of GU's order was just as effective from the get-go, with six consecutive batters getting aboard safely to open the bottom of the frame – Coballes connected on a single and Apodaca doubled before Kalmer drove in the Zags' first run with a drive through the gaps. Kalmer's RBI made it six straight games that he's driven in at least one run – his eighth in that span. Stem kept it going with a walk to load the bases with nobody out, and Bozett followed with a RBI single to tie things up and keep the bases juiced.
GU plated three runs in the next two at-bats to jump out to a 5-2 lead, with Pinales smacking a double to bring in two more and extend his on-base streak to 11 games, and Eisenstat producing an RBI grounder to put GU up 3.
With run support in hand, Deschryver tightened things up in the second, keeping WSU hitless with his second K of the day as well as a foulout and a routine grounder.
The Zags kept swinging in the second, plating two more runs thanks to a two-run bomb from Stem after Apodaca provided the Zags' second double of the day. WSU turned to RHP Spencer Jones to take the mound in response, and he struck out Pinales swinging to end the threat.
After another hitless frame from Deschryver in the third, GU kept on rolling, despite more resistance from Jones on the mound. After Johnson connected on an infield single and moved to second on a balk, Coballes connected on his second hit of the day to extend the lead to six.
After Kalmer got things going in the fourth with a deep triple to center field that nearly soared out of the park, Stem provided his third RBI of the day with a sac fly to put GU up 9-2. After Wazzu got back on the board with a double from Brown that scored McKeon from first, Swaim took the mound in relief for the first time since his scoreless five-frame start against Minnesota last Wednesday. With two outs on the board, Swaim ended the inning with a fly ball to maintain the Zags' lead.
RHP Cam Liss entered the game in the sixth, keeping GU off the board for the first time thanks to a leadoff K and a double play grounder after Eisenstat singled.
WSU got back another run thanks to a solo shot from Max Hartman, and after Swaim got into a two-out jam with runners at the corners, Francis entered the game and induced a first-pitch fly ball to keep things moving.
Another leadoff single from Coballes and a HBP from Apodaca put two aboard to open the seventh, with both runners advancing to third and second on a wild pitch with Kalmer at the plate. After Kalmer struck out on a 10-pitch at-bat that saw him foul off six, Stem came through yet again – this time with another RBI grounder – to get GU back on the board.
Entering the game in the seventh, Moffitt struck out two while allowing another WSU run on a sacrifice fly, ending the inning with the second. GU got two runners aboard in the bottom of the frame, with Johnson hit by a pitch and Samperi walked, and Coballes connected on his fourth base knock of the day to extend GU's lead back to six.
Mullan took over after a leadoff walk, letting another run across on a sac fly after runners moved to second and third but keeping things difficult after that. The 6-2 lefty struck out Brown looking for the second out and stranded a runner on third with a fly ball.
The Zags maintained their offensive momentum with a soaring moonshot for Kalmer's eight homer of the year – his third hit of the day and the Zags' 14th – to put GU up 12-6. Pinales followed with a triple, but another grounder from Eisenstat kept him from reaching home.
With Wazzu down to just three outs, another Cougars solo homer cut the deficit back to five, but Mullan got the outs he needed without any further damage, striking out three batters to put the finishing touches on the rivalry win.
PLAY OF THE GAME
UP NEXT / FOLLOW THE GAME
The Bulldogs (7-12, 3-0 WCC) resume WCC play with a three-game road series with Pepperdine (5-13, 0-3 WCC) in Malibu, Calif. March 24-26, with the series opener Friday set for 6 p.m. Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @ZagBaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.
