SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga Baseball plated the first run of the second game of its West Coast Conference series with Saint Mary's Saturday thanks to a towering solo homer from
Brian Kalmer and went hit-for-hit with the Gaels (19-21, 13-10 WCC) but didn't score again the rest of the way en route to a 7-1 loss.
The Bulldogs (17-27, 13-10) matched SMC's six-hit night with six different Zags picking up a knock each – Kalmer,
Connor Coballes,
Enzo Apodaca,
Sam Stem,
Dylan Johnson and
Savier Pinales – but Kalmer scored GU's only run with his first-frame solo shot.
RHP Nathan Deschryver (4-5) was tagged for the loss after giving up four earned runs on two hits in four innings on the mound, striking out one and walking four. RHP
Jack Moffitt (3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K) and LHP
Matthew Mueller (1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) closed out the rest of the game.
THE ACTION
Despite hitting SMC leadoff batter Gavin Napier with the first pitch he threw and walking Christian Almanza, Deschryver managed to toss a scoreless first thanks to a foulout and an inning-ending strikeout on Nathan Chong. In nine starts, Deschryver averages 1.25 walks in his first inning on the mound with multiple walks in four starts, but opponents only average 0.33 runs in those frames.
Kalmer put GU on the board in the next frame with a towering solo homer – his 13th of the year – but the Gaels put up five runs over the next four frames to take the lead while GU was held scoreless in that span.
After entering in the fifth, Moffitt managed to keep the Gaels from plating a run in back-to-back innings for the first time all game, but exited the game with two out on the board and two Gaels runners on base after SMC put up two more on three hits in the eighth to extend the lead to 7-1.
Mueller took over from there, ending the inning without further damage thanks to a play at the plate from Samperi after an error from Stem in the outfield sent Eddie Madrigal towards home. He kept SMC off the board the rest of the way, but the Zags didn't score again despite getting two runners aboard with one out in the final frame.
UP NEXT / FOLLOW THE ACTION
Sunday's finale is set for a 1 p.m. start, with RHP
Jacob Rutherford (4.73 ERA, 3-0, 59.0 IP, 53 K) set to start on the mound against Gaels LHP Garret Plata (3.55 ERA, 2-0, 12.2 IP, 8 K). Live stats and streaming options are available on GoZags.com — follow @ZagBaseball on Instagram and Twitter for live updates, highlights and more.
