SPOKANE, Wash. – In a back-and-forth affair on Saturday at Patterson Baseball Complex and Coach Steve Hertz field, Gonzaga emerged victorious in walk-off fashion after
Hudson Shupe's third hit of the afternoon sailed over the right field wall for a 7-6 Bulldog win.
With the win, Gonzaga (5-14, 2-0 WCC) improved to 2-0 in West Coast Conference play and secured the series win over Loyola Marymount (11-12, 0-2 WCC). Shupe completed a 3-for-4 day, driving in four runs and scoring once.
The Zags took an early 2-0 lead after plating a run in each of the first two innings via RBI singles from
Vincent Temesvary and Shupe. LMU knotted the score in the fifth on a two-run home run from Diego Baqueiro, his third of the season.
The back-and-forth scoring began in the seventh when LMU scored on a bases loaded hit-by-pitch.
Garrett Gores entered to try and work out of the jam, doing just that by inducing a one-out, 1-2-3 double play.
Shupe responded once again for the Zags in the bottom of the frame, singling home
Sam Stem to bring the score to a 3-3 tie. LMU took the lead right back in the eighth after Baqueiro's two-run single put the Lions up 5-3.
In the bottom half of the inning,
Max Coupe knotted the score at five with a two-run shot the opposite way, a near exact replica of the home run he hit Friday evening in game one. LMU scored to take the lead in the top of the ninth, setting the stage for Gonzaga's third rally in as many innings.
The Bulldogs called on
Payton Knowles to pinch hit in the ninth, and after working a full count, he singled to right to put the tying run on first. Then, on a 1-2 count, Shupe lined a fastball down the right field line that just cleared the wall, sending Gonzaga players and fans into a frenzy.
Matthew Mueller (W, 2-0) was the winning pitcher for the Zags after entering in the top of the ninth to record the final out. Starter
Liam Paddack, despite the no-decision, worked five innings for GU while allowing just two runs on two hits and striking out a season-high eight batters.
UP NEXT
The Zags will pursue their first sweep of the season on Sunday, looking to open WCC play 3-0. First pitch is set for 12pm. Follow @ZagBaseball on social media for all the latest updates, and check gozags.com for results and streaming information.
