EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Gonzaga baseball was defeated by SIU Edwardsville after a late home run from Mack Mitchell propelled the Cougars to a 5-4 win on Wednesday at Roy E. Lee Field at Simmons Baseball Complex.
 
Jace Phelan put Gonzaga (3-11) on the board early in the second inning with a 422-foot blast to centerfield for his second home run of the season. SIUE (4-13) responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning on a home run of their own before taking advantage of a wild pitch to take a 2-1 lead. The Cougars added a third run in the bottom of the fourth on a home run from Daniel Gierer.
 
The Zags tied the game in the top of the fifth on back-to-back hits from Jordan Hamberg and Josh Hankins. Hamberg sent a ball down the right field line for an RBI triple before Hankins brought him home on an RBI single to right.
 
Gage Mestas picked up his second hit of the game with an infield single in the top of the sixth to give Gonzaga a 4-3 edge, scoring Sam Stem who motored all the way around from second on the play. SIUE was able to answer quickly in the bottom of the sixth after taking advantage of a GU error, tying the game once again at 4-4.
 
The score remained tied until Mack Mitchell's go-ahead, and eventually game-winning home run in the bottom of the eighth. Duncan McLaughlin entered in the top of the ninth and successfully retired the top of the Gonzaga order to close the door and earn the save for the Cougars.
 
QUICK STATS
Gage Mestas continued his hot hitting for Gonzaga, racking up his third multi-hit outing in the last four games. In those four games, Mestas is batting .538 with three RBIs and three runs scored. His on-base streak is now at six entering this weekend's series.
 
UP NEXT
Gonzaga will continue their four-game road trip in the Midwest with the first of a three-game series at Wichita State on Friday. First pitch is set for 4pm PST. Follow @ZagBaseball on social media for all the latest updates, and check gozags.com for results and streaming information.