PORTLAND, Ore. – Owen Wild shut down Portland's bats after an early three-spot and Tommy Eisenstat and Ezra Samperi both slammed multi-run homers to cue a series-opening win for Gonzaga Baseball over the Pilots (20-17, 9-7 WCC) at Joe Etzel Field Friday night.

With the win, GU moves into sole possession of second place in the WCC standings behind LMU (20-16, 13-3).

Ezra Samperi led a 10-hit night for the Bulldogs (14-20, 10-6) with a 3-for-3 outing that saw him score three runs and drive in three more with an eighth-inning homer – his second of the season.

Tommy Eisenstat slammed his first career homer – a grand slam – in the fourth to put GU ahead by four, and Cade McGee drove in two runs on two singles. Connor Coballes (1 R), Brian Kalmer (1 R, 1 RBI), Savier Pinales (1 R) and Enzo Apodaca (2 R) all added a hit each.

Wild finished with eight strikeouts over his eight-frame performance, giving up three runs on four hits as UP jumped out to a 3-0 lead but holding the Pilots scoreless through the rest of his time on the mound, going without walking a single batter in that span. RHP Jack Moffitt (1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H) closed the game out with a 1-2-3 inning to slam the door on a UP comeback.

ALL-TIME SERIES AT A GLANCE
- With the win, Gonzaga leads the all-time series between the two teams 61-15 since 2000 and has won 24 of the last 26 meetings.
- In 2021, before sweeping the conference series in Portland, Zags won an earlier non-conference matchup against the PIlots in March at home, dropping the first game 2-0 before winning two straight to clinch the series. 
- Before dropping that 2-0 decision on March 5, 2021, GU had strung together 12 straight wins over the Pilots dating back to 2016. They're winners of seven consecutive series against UP.

THE ACTION
After UP jumped Wild in the first, GU cut the deficit two with an RBI single from McGee in the third that brought home Ezra Samperi, who singled for his first hit since April 1 before reaching scoring position on a groundout.

The Zags put up a six-spot in the fourth to take their first lead, with McGee connecting on another RBI single – this time with the bases loaded after two hits and an error – before Kalmer drew a bases-loaded walk to tie things up. With two outs on the board and the bases loaded, Eisenstat connected on his first career homer – the Zags' second grand slam in their last four games – to change the complexion of the game entirely.

UP got one back on a double from Briley Knight in the sixth, but GU blew things open with another multi-run homer – this time from Samperi – that put the game out of reach late. Wild solidified GU's lead with a 1-2-3 frame for his last inning on the mound, and Moffitt closed the game with another to seal the deal.

UP NEXT / FOLLOW THE ACTION
GU has a chance to win a crucial WCC series in Game Two, set for a 3 p.m. start with LHP Matthew Mueller (5.35 ERA, 2-1, 35.1 IP, 42 K) set to get the start on the mound against a to-be-determined UP thrower. Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @ZagBaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.