Gonzaga (1-9) vs. Minnesota (5-5)
THURSDAY, MAR. 7 | 3 P.M. | PATTERSON BASEBALL COMPLEX/COACH STEVE HERTZ FIELD | SPOKANE
RHP
Michael Cunneely (0-1, 4.50 ERA) vs. LHP Tucker Novotny (0-1, 4.91 ERA)
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FRIDAY, MAR. 8 | 3 P.M. |Â PATTERSON BASEBALL COMPLEX/COACH STEVE HERTZ FIELD | SPOKANE
LHP
Daniel Sotelo (0-1, 7.20 ERA) vs. RHP Will Semb (1-1, 4.30 ERA)
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SATURDAY, MAR. 9 | 1 P.M. |Â PATTERSON BASEBALL COMPLEX/COACH STEVE HERTZ FIELD | SPOKANE
TBD vs. LHP Connor Wietgrefe (1-0, 3.52 ERA)
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LEADING OFF
- Gonzaga welcomes Minnesota for a three-game series in their home opener of the 2024 season. First pitch times are 6 p.m., 6 p.m., and 1 p.m.
- Gonzaga will begin its 18th season at Patterson Baseball Complex and Coach Steve Hertz field this week. Since opening in 2007, the Zags have compiled a 202-111 (.645) record and 134-63 (.680) WCC record at home.
- Despite an 18-34 overall record in 2023, Gonzaga finished over .500 at home for the 13th straight season. GU has finished 16 out of 17 seasons with a Patterson record of .500 or better (6-14 during the 2010 season).
- Gonzaga and Minnesota are split at a 4-4 record in program history.
- In 2023, Gonzaga and Minnesota played two games at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, splitting the series by scores of 6-4 and 8-10. In the opener, Gonzaga and Minnesota battled for 15 innings before GU prevailed.
- Gonzaga is coming off a series at BYU, their first non-conference series since before the Cougars joined the West Coast Conference in 2012. BYU swept Gonzaga for the first time in the Machtolf era, 3-2, 11-2, and 6-4.
- Gonzaga won at No. 6 Vanderbilt on Feb. 25, their highest-ranked win since 2022, snapping a 15-game losing streak to road ranked opponents.
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Peyton Miller is riding an eight-game hit streak since Feb. 18 at UCLA. The sophomore and Pacific transfer has recorded hits in nine of Gonzaga's first ten games, hitting .289 and moving up to the top of the Zags' lineup.
BULLDOGS/GOLDEN GOPHERS SERIES HISTORY
- Gonzaga and Minnesota will meet for the 9th, 10th, and 11th times this weekend. This will be the first time the two teams play in Spokane.
- Last season, Gonzaga and Minnesota split a two-game series at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis that saw the first game play 15 innings. The Zags won that game 6-4 in what tied for the second-longest game in program history (16 innings, 3/25/17, Gonzaga vs. San Francisco - GU, 4-3).
- In 2019, Gonzaga and Minnesota faced off at the Sanderson Ford Classic in Surprise, Ariz. The Zags lost 5-8 and won 6-5 in those two meetings.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GOPHERS
- Minnesota is coming off of a 3-1 weekend in California that saw two games at Sacramento State and two against Pacific. After a 7-5 loss to Sac State on Friday, the Gophers picked up three straight wins: 7-4 over Sac State, and 15-3 and 12-5 wins over Pacific.
- As a team, Minnesota is slashing .264/.388/.447 through their first ten games this season, recording 11 home runs and 64 RBIs with 90 strikeouts to 64 walks.
- Kris Hokenson leads Minnesota with a .375/.487/.719 slash line (min. 10 PAs). The sophomore went 7-for-12 over the weekend with nine RBIs and two home runs and just two strikeouts.
- Minnesota currently holds a team ERA of 4.75 with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.0. Their pitching staff is holding opponents to a .237 average with a WHIP of 1.46.
- Justin Thorsteinson is currently fourth in the Big Ten with a 1.64 ERA and third with a .135 opposing batting average through four appearances out of the Minnesota bullpen.
- Will Semb and Tucker Novotny lead Minnesota with three starts each, combining for a 1-2 record and 4.56 ERA and 35 strikeouts over 14 walks.
ON DECK
- Gonzaga will travel to the midwest to face SIUE for the first time in program history on Wednesday.
- After their stop in Edwardsville, Gonzaga will take on Wichita State in a three-game series starting on March 15.
- The Zags open their West Coast Conference slate at home against Loyola Marymount March 22-24.
HOME SWEET HOME
- Gonzaga will open its 2024 home schedule with a .645 win percentage over 17 seasons at Patterson Baseball Complex and Coach Steve Hertz Field.
- Since its opening in 2007, the Zags are 202-111 with a WCC record of 134-63 (.680).
- Gonzaga has finished with a home win percentage of .500 or better in 16 out of 17 seasons since Patterson opened in 2007 and 13 straight seasons since 2010.
- In home opening games at Patterson, Gonzaga is 12-5 despite losing four straight home openers since 2020.
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 Feb. 25. 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 the series finale.
- Gonzaga's win marks their highest-ranked win since 2022 when they defeated No. 2 Oregon State in Corvallis.
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.
MACHTOLF EYES 600TH WIN IN 2024
Â- Gonzaga Head Coach
Mark Machtolf enters his 21st season at the helm for the Bulldogs, currently holding 578 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.
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 Mid Columbia Conference 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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