SPOKANE, Wash. – Trailing 5-3 heading into the seventh inning on Friday, Minnesota scored five runs over the final three frames to complete their 8-5 comeback win and send the series to a rubber match on Saturday at Patterson Baseball Complex and Coach Steve Hertz Field.
 
Gonzaga (2-10) was on the board early as back-to-back walks opened the bottom of the first inning. After a fielder's choice left runners on the corners, Jace Phelan took a fastball from Minnesota (6-6) starter Will Semb over the wall in right-center field to give GU a quick 3-0 lead. For Phelan, it was his first home run of the season.
 
Minnesota got on the board in the fourth after putting some traffic on the bases. GU starter Daniel Sotelo was able to limit the damage to just one run after picking up his sixth strikeout to end the inning.
 
Scoring picked up in the middle frames as Gonzaga plated one in the bottom of the fifth after a Minnesota error. The Gophers chased Sotelo in the top of the sixth before scoring twice to shrink the Bulldog lead to just one.
 
Vincent Temesvary got one back for the Zags with a loud home run to left in the bottom of the sixth. Minnesota once again answered with two in the top of the seventh to leave the score knotted at seven. The game would remain tied until the ninth inning when Ike Mezzenga gave the Gophers a 3-run lead with a homer to right-center field, one that would eventually even the series at one game each.
 
Despite the no decision, Sotelo completed five innings for Gonzaga, surrendering just two earned runs on three hits while striking out eight and walking two. None of the five Minnesota runs scored off of the GU bullpen were earned.
 
UP NEXT
Gonzaga and Minnesota will battle for the series Saturday at 1pm. Follow @ZagBaseball on social media for all the latest updates, and check gozags.com for results and streaming information.