SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Gonzaga's pitching was masterful for the second day in a row against San Francisco on Saturday at Benedetti Diamond.
Liam Paddack pitched seven scoreless innings while scattering three hits and striking out a season-high ten batters while
Michael Cunneely and
Daniel Sotelo successfully completed Gonzaga's first shutout win of the Sseason.
Gonzaga (13-18, 9-2 WCC) has now won six-straight games for the first time since March of 2022 after defeating San Francisco (17-18, 1-7 WCC) 8-0 on Saturday. Paddack (W, 3-3) earned his third win of the season in dominant fashion, while Sotelo (S, 3) picked up his third save of the season after entering in the eighth with the tying run on deck and Gonzaga leading 4-0.
The Zags struck first in the top of the second after
Max Coupe punched a one-out double down the right field line, giving way for a
Payton Knowles RBI single to make it 1-0 Gonzaga.
Paddack only ever needed that one run, lasting a season-high seven shutout innings and becoming the first GU pitcher to notch ten strikeouts this season. The Bulldogs finally provided some more insurance for Paddack in the seventh, posting three runs on three hits to extend the lead to 4-0.
Cunneely relieved Paddack in the eighth, and after putting some traffic on base, gave way to Sotelo with two outs in the inning. Sotelo quickly escaped with a strikeout to end the frame, allowing Gonzaga to add more insurance in the top of the ninth.
A two-run triple from
Tommy Eisenstat highlighted the four-run ninth for the Bulldogs, before a pair of sacrifice flies from
Hudson Shupe and
Josh Hankins made it 8-0 Gonzaga. Sotelo surrendered a single in the final half-inning but made quick work of the Dons to secure the series win.
UP NEXT
Gonzaga will look to pick up their third West Coast Conference sweep of the season and first road sweep since 2022 on Sunday, with the first pitch set for 12pm. Follow @ZagBaseball on social media for all the latest updates, and check gozags.com for results and streaming information.
