SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga Baseball got back in the win column in Friday's West Coast Conference series opener against Pacific at Hertz Field and Patterson Baseball Complex, with a complete game from Owen Wild and back-to-back homers from Cade McGee and Brian Kalmer in the fifth igniting an 8-5 win.

Wild went past eight frames for the second start in a row, holding the Tigers to five runs – all on homers – while striking out nine. The junior righty threw 120 total pitches in the process, 79 of which were strikes.

McGee (2 RBI, 1 R) and Kalmer (2-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI) led an 11-hit night for GU with their fifth-inning no-doubters, with Kalmer's being his 12th of the season. Enzo Apodaca (1 R, 1 RBI) and Connor Coballes (1 R) both added two hits each, with Ezra Samperi driving in two runs with a double to lead three other Zags with a hit each.
The Zags have a chance to clinch the series in tomorrow's Game Two, set for a 6 p.m. start.

ALL-TIME SERIES AT A GLANCE
With the win, the Bulldogs are 23-6 against the Tigers since 2000 and 19-3 against them in conference matchups, having won seven straight in a streak that dates back to 2019. GU swept the last two series with the Tigers in Stockton and Spokane, respectively.

THE ACTION
After a scoreless first that saw Wild pick up his first two strikeouts of the day, the Tigers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after a homer from Chaz Myers cashed in runs for both himself and Jacob Weiss, who doubled in leadoff. In the next frame, Apodaca drew a two-out walk in the second to break up a streak of five empty-handed at bats to open the game, but Samperi struck out to keep GU from threatening further.

But Wild produced a 1-2-3 inning in the third, and the Zags got some traffic on the bases thanks to a pair of singles from Pinales and Coballes that put runners at the corners with one out. Coballes stole second with McGee at the plate, and Pinales got across on a thrown ball after a dropped a ball on a strikeout to put GU on the board. With two outs, Kalmer was intentionally walked to bring up Stem, but Stevens struck him out to end the inning and crack three K's on the day.

A pair of one-out doubles from Apodaca and Samperi brought in a tying run in the bottom of the fourth, but Samperi was thrown out at third for the second out and Pinales flew out to halt the advance. Wild kept things going with another scoreless frame in the fifth and Dunn made an impressive play in the outfield, diving to snag the fly ball and then gunning down the runner at first to end the inning.
The Zags blew things open with back-to-back homers from McGee and Kalmer that cued a four-run  fifth, with McGee driving in two runs before Kalmer's solo shot made it 5-2. Ratfield kept things going with a wall-grazing double in the next at-bat, and Apodaca smacked another deep drive to the left field foul line that forced an error and brought Ratfield home to make it 6-2.

UOP struck back with another two-run homer off Wild in the seventh to cut the deficit to two, but the Zags kept applying pressure late, loading the bases with one out after singles from Kalmer and Stem and another well-struck ball from Ratfield that generated an error. Apodaca made contact with a shallow grounder and beat out the play at first to bring in a seventh run, with Samperi flying out for the eighth before a liner kept things moving into the final two frames.

Coming out for an eighth inning on the mound for the second straight start, generating two routine plays for the first two outs before Apodaca ended the inning with an impressive catch against the wall on a deep drive.

Reliever Owen McWilliam took the mound in relief for the Tigers to open the eighth, keeping GU off the board despite a walk on McGee, and Wild took the mound yet again for the ninth. The junior righty opened with a routine grounder but gave up another homer from Tandy that cut the lead to three before Dunn tracked down a fly ball and Coballes coralled a grounder to end the game.

UP NEXT / FOLLOW THE ACTION
The Zags can go for the series win in Saturday's Game Two, set for a 6 p.m. start. RHP Nathan Deschryver (5.48 ERA, 3-4, 42.2 IP, 35 K) is set to get the start on the mound for the Zags against a  TBD Pacific starter. Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @ZagBaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.