SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga Baseball plated the first run of the game and went hit-for-hit with Washington State in midweek action at Patterson Baseball Complex Tuesday night but couldn't fully capitalize on a crucial bases-loaded situation in the eighth en route to a 4-2 loss.
The Bulldogs (13-20, 9-6 WCC) picked up eight hits and drew three walks, but eight GU runners were stranded on base – including three in the eighth – to keep them from getting back in the game as WSU tied up the season series at a game apiece. The two squads will face each other one more time on May 2 at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman.
Sam Stem's three-hit night with a run and RBI paced GU's lineup, with
Savier Pinales adding two hits of his own and
Brian Kalmer,
Tommy Eisenstat and
Dylan Johnson picking up one each.
RHP Nate Deschryver was tagged for the loss despite a solid four-inning start that saw him hold Wazzu to three runs – two of which were sacrifice outs – on five hits. He struck out two and walked one in that span. RHP
Payton Graham (3.0 IP, 1H 1 R, 4 K, 2 BB) allowed one unearned run in the fifth but didn't allow a hit the rest of the way, with LHP
Bradley Mullan (2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 K, 1 BB) tossed two more scoreless frames to close.
The Bulldogs return to WCC play this weekend with a crucial road series at second-place Portland (20-16, 9-6 WCC).
THE ACTION
Deschryver tossed a hitless first despite a walk, generating a flyout and a grounder that Pinales,
Connor Coballes and Kalmer turned into an inning-ending double play. After three Zags grounded out in succession to keep GU off the board in the next frame, Deschryver struck out the next two he faced before
Dylan Johnson snagged a flyout deep in right to end another scoreless inning.
Stem broke up the Zags' slow start with a leadoff single in the second, and Eisenstat followed with a right-field base knock that got Stem to third with nobody out. Pinales grounded into a double play in the next at-bat, but Stem reached home on the play for the first run of the game.
E Hainline doubled in leadoff to set up the Cougs' response in the third, moving to third on a grounder to first and scoring on another to tie things up. Jonah Advincula kept things going with a single that got him all the way to third on an error, but he was stranded there after
Mason Marenco corralled a grounder from Jacob McKeon.
Wazzu plated two runs in the fourth on a sac fly from Cam Magee and a double from Hainline to take a 3-1 lead, and another double play nullified a single from Kalmer to keep things unchanged heading into the fifth, when Graham took the mound in relief.
Graham struck out McKeon swinging for the first out, but another sacrifice play brought in the fourth run for the Cougars before he could end the frame with another punchout.
After a scoreless top of the sixth that included Graham's third K of the day and ended with Hainline caught stealing third, the freshman righty kept rolling in the seventh, inducing a pair of grounders before closing things out with his fourth strikeout of the outing.
After the Zags loaded the bases with nobody out in the eighth to cue a pitching change, Stem drew a walk from reliever McKabe Cottrell to put GU's first run on the board since the second before Cottrell produced three outs in succession – including a fielder's choice that put Apodaca out at home – to strand all three runners. Cottrell struck out Marenco and completed a 1-2-3 inning in the ninth to end the game and tie the season series at a game apiece.
UP NEXT / FOLLOW THE GAME
Gonzaga's WCC series at Portland is set for a 6 p.m. start on Friday. Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @ZagBaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.
