LOS ANGELES – Gonzaga Baseball bounced back in a big way in the Bulldogs' West Coast Conference series finale with LMU Sunday afternoon, plating six runs on eight hits in the second and third innings to jump out to an early lead and never looking back en route to a 7-2 win.
The win snaps a four-game skid for the Bulldogs, lifting them to 13-19 overall and 9-6 in WCC play to remain in a tie for second place with Portland (19-16, 9-6 WCC) after the Pilots fell to San Diego in their series finale. The Lions (19-15, 12-3) still maintain a three-game lead in first place.
RHP
Jacob Rutherford and RHP
Ty Buckner combined to hold LMU to just two runs – one earned – on four hits, with Rutherford striking out six in a seven-frame start and Buckner ringing up three more over the final two innings. Rutherford earned the win for his efforts, moving him to 3-0 in appearances of record.
GU's bats took care of the rest, setting the tone early and maintaining pressure throughout the game despite eight runners stranded on base.
Mason Marenco's three-hit outing led a 12-hit day for the Bulldogs, with
Savier Pinales finishing with a team-high two RBI and two runs and
Sam Stem (2 R) adding a pair of base knocks of his own.
Connor Coballes (1 RBI),
Brian Kalmer (1 R),
Brock Bozett (1 RBI),
Tommy Eisenstat (1 R) and
Donovan Ratfield all picked up a hit each to round out a balanced offensive outing for the Zags.
Gonzaga now returns home for a nonconference midweek matchup with Washington State at Hertz Field and Patterson Baseball Complex on Tuesday, with first pitch set for 6 p.m.
SERIES AT A GLANCE
- With the win, the Zags are 44-40 against Loyola Marymount since 2000, and 35-31 against LMU under Head Coach
Mark Machtolf. Despite dropping the first two games of this weekend's series, GU has taken three of their last five against the Lions.
THE ACTION
The Bulldogs came up empty in the first but pounced on LMU starter Owen Hackman for six hits in the second, with Stem leading off the frame with a double and Bozett immediately following with a single that brought him home to put the first run on the board. Bozett was caught stealing second, but Eisenstat, Pinales and Ratfield all singled in succession to load the bases with one out and Marenco came through with yet another base knock to double the lead. Pinales scored from third on a foulout from Coballes in the next at-bat to make it a 3-0 advantage before Apodaca flew out to strand Ratfield on third.
The Zags put three more on the board in the next inning, with Kalmer hit by a pitch and Stem dropping another single before both advanced to third and second on a pinch-hit grounder from
Sam Canton. With two outs on the board, Pinales scorched a triple deep into center field to clear the bases — his second three-bagger and eighth extra base hit of the season – and scored on a throwing error that allowed Ratfield to get aboard for a 6-0 Zags lead. Ratfield reached third for the second inning in a row after advancing on a wild pitch and another throwing error, but was stranded by another flyout – this time from Coballes.
Rutherford followed up with another clean frame, allowing a leadoff single from Cole Roberts but inducing a double play and striking out Khadim Diaw to keep things moving. After the Zags were retired in order in the fourth and fifth, he responded in kind, retiring the next six batters he faced in succession on just 13 pitches.
Marenco's second single of the day got some traffic back on the bases in the sixth, and Coballes put the Zags in a threatening position again with a right-field double. A sac fly from Apodaca got Marenco across in exchange for the second out before Kalmer struck out to end the inning.
Meanwhile, Rutherford remained efficient, retiring two more in succession on six pitches before Coballes snagged a popup to strand Diaw – who became the first LMU base runner since the third after Rutherford walked him – on first.
RHP Chaz McRoberts took the mound in relief for the Lions in the seventh, striking out
Sam Canton looking and inducing a pair of grounders for a 1-2-3 inning, and the Lions finally put a run on the board in the bottom of the inning after an RBI grounder got Diego Baquiero across from third. Rutherford responded with his sixth strikeout of the day and second of the inning to minimize the damage.
Marenco connected on his third base knock of the game in the top of the eighth but the Zags' advance was halted yet again, with Buckner taking the mound in the next frame. Buckner walked Brett Zimmerman to open things, but induced three outs in succession to keep LMU from capitalizing.
Kalmer smacked a double to right center in the ninth and reached third on a flyout from Stem, but was kept from reaching home after Canton drew a walk and Eisenstat struck out to end the threat. With the Lions down to their final three outs, Buckner got into a jam thanks to some free passes – another leadoff walk, an error and a wild pitch allowed Jared Thomas to reach third and score on a sac fly from Connor Blough and Buckner walked his third batter of the day in the next at-bat to put runners at the corners with one out on the board. But the graduate righty responded with back-to-back strikeouts to ensure the Lions wouldn't get any closer to put the finishing touches on the win.
PLAY OF THE GAME
UP NEXT / FOLLOW THE ACTION
Gonzaga hosts Washington State (21-12, 7-9 Pac-12) for midweek nonconference action at Hertz Field and Patterson Baseball Complex on April 18, set for a 6 p.m. start. Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @ZagBaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.
