SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga Baseball 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.

Enzo Apodaca hit a solo home run – his second deep ball of the year – to lead a three hit effort for GU that also saw Brian Kalmer and Tommy Eisenstat connect on singles while five different Zags drew at least a walk each. RHP Owen Wild was tagged for the loss after giving up six earned runs on seven hits over a six-frame start, with the Toreros putting up an early four-spot before Wild managed to calm things down even as his pitch count neared triple digits. Wild struck out three and walked three.

RHP Kai Francis (3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 K) took over the rest of the way, allowing two more across but keeping things from getting too far out of hand late.

The Bulldogs (11-15, 7-3) have a chance to tie the series in tomorrow's game two, set for a 6 p.m. start.

THE ACTION
The Toreros loaded the bases with nobody out to start the game, with Wild walking James Arakawa before allowing a pair of singles from Justin Decrisio and Angelo Peraza – the second of which was a bunt. They rattled off four runs off of a pair of singles and a fielder's choice before Wild could muster a response, generating a fly ball that Apodaca corralled in deep center field and stranding two on with his first punchout of the day on Dustin Allen.

With the Zags looking to punch back quickly, Coballes got things going with a leadoff walk, but Apodaca, Kalmer and Sam Stem all struck out in succession with the deficit untouched.

Wild calmed things down in the second with a 1-2-3 inning, generating a lineout and a pair of deep flyouts to keep things moving. After the Zags came up empty in the bottom of the frame despite another runner getting aboard, Wild allowed a solo homer from Kevin Sim that extended the deficit to 5, but responded with three outs in succession to stanch the damage.

GU loaded the bases on a rally that began with three consecutive walks from Apodaca, Kalmer and Stem, but a liner from Brock Bozett was caught to end the frame with the Zags coming up empty yet again. Another solo shot – this time from Sim – extended USD's lead again, but Wild induced a pair of flyouts and rung up Jack Gurevitch swinging. He kept rolling in the fifth and six even as his pitch count neared triple digits, holding the Toreros hitless in that span.

Francis took over in the seventh, allowing another run after the Toreros jumped on him for a pair of singles to lead off the frame but striking out Sim looking and inducing two more outs with balls in play to end the frame. He made quicker work of the lineup in a scoreless seventh, with Pinales, Coballes and Eisenstat connecting for a double play to end the inning.

Apodaca got GU on the board with a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth – his second of the year – and Kalmer drew his second walk of the day with nobody out, but back-to-back K's from Stem and Bozett and a flyout from Pinales kept them from capitalizing. 

USD's third homer of the day made it a 9-1 ballgame in the top of the frame, and USD reliever Conner Thurman struck out the side swinging to end the game.

UP NEXT / FOLLOW THE GAME
GU has a chance to tie up the series in tomorrow's rematch, with LHP Matthew Mueller (5.24 ERA, 1-1, 22.1 IP, 30 K) set to get the start vs. USD RHP James Sashin (4.04 ERA, 2-1, 35.2 IP, 36 K). Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @ZagBaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.