Gonzaga (1-5) at Austin Peay (7-1)
MONDAY, FEB. 26 | 10Â A.M. | RAYMOND C. HAND PARK | CLARKSVILLE
LHP Miles Gosztola (0-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. RHP Lyle Miller-Green (1-0, 3.60 ERA)
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LEADING OFF
- Gonzaga travels to Austin Peay State for a single-game matchup on Monday. First pitch is set for 10Â a.m. PST.
- Monday's stint at Austin Peay marks the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
- The Bulldogs are coming off a come-from-behind 9-8 win at No. 6 Vanderbilt on Sunday.
Jordan Hamberg hit a go-ahead grand slam in the top of the seventh to cap off an eight-run inning for the Zags.
- Hamberg's two hits on Sunday extended his on-base streak to ten games.
- Gonzaga's win on Sunday snapped a 12-game losing streak dating back to 2023. GU also snapped a 15-game losing streak to ranked teams on the road and marked their highest-ranked win since 2022 when they defeated No. 2 Oregon State in Corvallis.
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Peyton Miller is leading Gonzaga's offense with a .350 batting average (min. 10 plate appearances), riding a four-game hitting streak.
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ON DECK
-Â After their single-game stint at Austin Peay on Monday, Gonzaga will head to Provo, Utah next to face BYU in a non-conference series for the first time since the Cougars joined the Big-12. The series opens on Thursday, Feb. 29.
SCOUTING THE GOVERNORS
- Austin Peay is riding a seven-game win streak after picking up a series sweep over Maryland Eastern Shore this weekend. The Governors secured the three wins after outscoring the Hawks 39-8. Last week, Austin Peay swept Mississippi State on Tuesday and Wednesday with 3-2 and 13-10 wins.
- As a team, Austin Peay is batting .367 with 19 home runs and 80 runs batted in. Four of Austin Peay's batters (minimum 15 plate appearances) are batting over .400, led by John Bay (.515/.568/1.091) and Jon Jon Gazdar (.500/.553/.706).
- Austin Peay's pitching staff is sporting a 4.63 ERA with 93 strikeouts over 46 walks. Andrew Devine leads the Governors with a 2-0 record in his first two starts this season. The Governors are holding opponents to just a .193 batting average.
ZAGS UPSET NO. 6 VANDERBILT IN SERIES FINALE
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Jordan Hamberg lifted a seventh-inning grand slam to propel Gonzaga to a 9-8 victory in game three on Sunday. The Bulldogs put up eight runs in the inning after taking advantage of two Commodore errors.
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Daniel Sotelo shut the door on the Zags' comeback win with three innings, giving up just one run on three hits, striking out two and walking none.
- Gonzaga's bullpen combined for eight innings, surrenduring just three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and four walks in Sunday's series finale.
- Gonzaga's win marks their highest-ranked win since 2022 when they defeated No. 2 Oregon State in Corvallis.
BULLDOGS PICKED SIXTH IN WCC
- Gonzaga was slated sixth in the West Coast Conference's preseason poll for the 2024 season. Receiving 37 points, the Zags were one point behind LMU and Saint Mary's, who were tied for fourth place. 2023 WCC Tournament Champion Santa Clara was selected to capture the 2024 crown, receiving 58 points and five first place votes. San Diego and Portland weren't far behind, each receiving 54 points.
- The WCC preseason poll and team were selected solely by a vote of the conference's nine head coaches. Coaches cannot vote for their own teams and student-athletes.
ABOUT THE 2024 SCHEDULE
- Gonzaga's 50-game spring slate includes 18 games at Patterson Baseball Complex and Coach Steve Hertz Field and eight games against teams who participated in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. 12 of the 21 GU opponents in 2024 finished in the Top 150 in the NCAA's RPI rankings from last season.
- Three of Gonzaga's 2024 opponents appeared in the D1 Baseball preseason Top 25. UCLA opens the season at No. 22. Gonzaga's next opponent, Vanderbilt, begins in the Top Ten at No. 6 while regional foe Oregon State is ranked at No. 7.
MACHTOLF EYES 600TH WIN IN 2024
Â- Gonzaga Head Coach
Mark Machtolf enters his 21st season at the helm for the Bulldogs, currently holding 577 career wins since taking the reigns in the fall of 2003.
- Machtolf is just 23 wins from eclipsing 600. He currently holds the second-most wins in program history behind Steve Hertz, who has 637 (24 seasons, 1978, 1981-2003). Machtolf's .551 win percentage is third-highest in Gonzaga history behind Larry Koentopp's (1970-77) .677 and Jim Lawler's (1979-80) .667.
- Throughout his 20-year tenure, Machtolf has won 30 games in 13 of those seasons. One of those other seven was the 2020 season that was cut short by Covid.
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NEW FACES ON THE ROSTER
- Gonzaga's 2024 roster includes 14 incoming transfers and 16 freshman.
- Among the transfers are former Coppin State teammates
Jordan Hamberg and
Josh Hankins. Hamberg, a two-way senior, earned All-HBCU Freshman of the Year in 2021 and twice was the John Olerud Award Two-Way National Player of the Year Finalist in 2022 and 2023. Hamberg owns a career .337/.456/.561 slash with 34 multi-hit games while recording seven 10+ strikeout outings on the mound.
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Hudson Shupe, an in-state native and transfer from Seattle University, batted .333 with 72 hits in his freshman season with the Redhawks. Hailing from Hanford High School in West Richland, Shupe earned a pair of MCC honors his junior and senior seasons.
- Other notable NCAA transfers on Gonzaga's 2024 roster include
Peyton Miller - a sophomore infielder from Pacific,
Vincent Temesvary - a junior outfielder from CSU Dominguez Hills, and
Jace Phelan - a redshirt junior from Washington State and Spokane-area native.
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