SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga Baseball (12-17, 8-4 WCC) heads to Los Angeles this weekend for a three-game West Coast Conference series with first-place Loyola Marymount (17-14, 10-2 WCC).

The Bulldogs have a chance to move into sole possession of first place in the conference standings with a sweep, and would move to one game behind the Lions with a series win. GU is looking to get back into rhythm in conference play after the Zags' streak of 12 consecutive WCC series wins dating back to last season was snapped last weekend against San Diego at home.

All three games will be broadcast via the WCC Network on Stadium. Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @ZagBaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.

GONZAGA (11-14, 7-2 WCC) vs. LOYOLA MARYMOUNT (17-14, 10-2 WCC)
Page Baseball Stadium | Los Angeles, Calif.
April 14, 6 p.m | Live Stats | Stream
April 15, 6 p.m | Live Stats | Stream
April 16, 1 p.m | Live Stats | Stream

PROBABLE STARTERS
GAME ONE 
RHP Owen Wild (5.28 ERA, 2-4, 46 IP, 56 K) vs. LHP Diego Barrera (1.68 ERA, 5-1, 53.2 IP, 56 K)
GAME TWO 
LHP Matthew Mueller (4.45 ERA, 2-1, 30.1 IP, 34 K) vs. RHP Zach Kirby (4.40 ERA, 3-3, 45 IP, 47 K)
GAME THREE
TBA vs. RHP Owen Hackman (4.24 ERA, 2-1, 40.1 IP, 27 K)

SERIES AT A GLANCE
- The Zags are 43-38 against Loyola Marymount since 2000, but have won four of the last six in Spokane in the series. Since 2016, GU is 15-6 against LMU.
- Gonzaga is 34-29 against LMU under Mark Machtolf.
-After dropping a series in L.A. in 2021, GU took two of three from the Lions in Spokane in 2022 (5-3, 4-5, 6-5) and dominated LMU in the opening round of the WCC Tournament, 16-2.

WCC OUTLOOK
The Bulldogs (12-17, 8-4 WCC), sit in second place behind the Lions (17-14, 10-2) and just ahead of Portland (17-15, 7-5) and San Diego (14-16-1, 7-5).

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. 
Since 2016, GU has the most regular-season conference wins (115), 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.
- Four GU pitchers were selected in the 2022 MLB Draft -- Gabriel Hughes (10th overall), Trystan Vrieling, William Kempner and Brody Jessee.
-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.

LAST TIME OUT (Vs. San Diego)
- GU fell behind early and didn't put a run on the board until the eighth in its series opener with San Diego at Hertz Field and Patterson Baseball Complex on Thursday, falling 8-1.
- The Zags leaned on their infield and an impressive start from LHP Matthew Mueller to hold off a 10-hit night from San Diego and tie things up in game two, winning 3-2.
- Gonzaga Baseball fell behind early and couldn't keep pace with a 15-hit outing from San Diego in Saturday's West Coast Conference rubber match at Patterson Baseball Complex, with the Toreros winning 9-3 to clinch a series win.

ZAGS SWINGING HOT BATS
Sam Stem leads the lineup in average in conference play (.431) with five doubles, a league-leading three triples and a homer. Brian Kalmer is batting .415 against WCC opponents with a team-high 13 walks and 11 runs to go with 8 RBI. Donovan Ratfield (.353, 2 HR), Dylan Johnson (.333), Brock Bozett (.326) and Connor Coballes (.319) are all batting above .300 in conference play.
GU is averaging 10.3 hits a game in WCC action. Six different Zags have connected on multiple extra base hits in conference play.

WILD NAMED WCC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Wild, who was named a 2023 Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball in February, is the first Zag to pick up weekly honors from the league this season. GU had a player win Player or Pitcher of the Week seven times in the 2022 season, with five Pitchers of the Week.
Owen Wild's 12 strikeouts were one short of a career-best in seven innings of work during GU's 5-1 series-opening win over BYU last Thursday, holding the Cougars to one run and four hits to earn the win. 

MULLAN MOVES TO CLOSER ROLE
LHP Bradley Mullan pitched 13.2 innings over six closing appearances in the last two weeks, including a career-high six scoreless frames against Minnesota to help keep the Zags afloat in extra innings. He earned his first win of the season after closing out GU's series-sealing 8-7 win on Saturday, and struck out three in the final frame of GU's midweek win over Washington State, and picked up his first save in Friday's series-opening win against BYU.
In those six appearances Mullan touts a 2.63 ERA with 15 strikeouts. The Zags have won all six.

RUTHERFORD KEEPS ROLLING
- R-Jr. RHP Jacob Rutherford is 2-0 on the season, pitching his way into a Saturday starting role for the Zags and posting career-best numbers against high-caliber offenses in his first two starts. In his five starting appearances, Rutherford carries a 4.50 ERA with 23 punchouts over 28 innings of work.
- A week after posting career high in innings pitched (6.0) and strikeouts (6) against a loaded Tennessee lineup in his first career start on March 4, Rutherford bested both against an Anteaters offense that was averaging 11.1 runs and 11.7 hits per game over its last seven. The 6-1 righty held UCI to just two earned runs on six hits over a full nine innings while posting a new career high in strikeouts with seven, ending the game with six consecutive scoreless frames to put the Zags in position to go ahead late. He tossed four innings that ended without a UCI runner getting on base, only walking two batters in the entire outing.
- Prior to Rutherford's performance, the Zags hadn't gotten a complete game from a pitcher since 2021, when RHP Alek Jacob threw a nine-inning shutout against LSU in the NCAA Tournament.

'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, 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.

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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.