SPOKANE, Wash. – In another battle between Gonzaga and Portland, the Pilots emerged with the 4-3 win in game two on Saturday at Patterson Baseball Complex and Coach Steve Hertz Field. An intense ninth inning came to a close with the tying run caught out at home.
 
Gonzaga (15-20, 11-3 WCC) will settle for tying the Patterson Complex record as their nine-game home win streak was snapped on Saturday. Meanwhile, Portland (23-13, 9-2 WCC) reclaims the West Coast Conference lead with the win. The Zags and Pilots will duke it out in Sunday's rubber match to take sole possession of the lead in the standings.
 
Portland scored twice in the top of the first to put immediate pressure on the Bulldogs. Evan Scavotto singled home Jake Holcroft and an errant throw by Gonzaga starter Liam Paddack (L, 3-4) brought home the second run of the inning in unearned fashion. The Pilots added a run in the fourth in fifth innings to take a 4-0 lead at the midway point.
 
The Zags cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out, two-run single by Sam Stem. Portland starter Carter Gaston (W, 7-1) escaped to leave two runners on with a strikeout to end the Gonzaga threat.
 
Michael Cunneely relieved Paddack in the sixth and finished the remaining four and two-thirds innings, allowing no runs on just three hits while striking out three. His scoreless outing allowed Gonzaga to build traction for their eventual ninth-inning rally.
 
Payton Knowles led off the ninth with a quick single, and Vincent Temesvary followed with a double that kissed the right field line to put runners on second and third with nobody out. An Eisenstat walk loaded the bases, but Portland closer Tanner Douglas responded with two quick outs.
 
Kevin Spear, Gonzaga's last hope, hit a high chopper to Portland second baseman Ben Patacsil to leg out an infield single and allow Knowles to score, but a heads up play from Patacsil caught pinch runner Hank Dunn rounding third and threw him out at home to extinguish the GU rally.
 
Despite outhitting Portland 13-9, Gonzaga's three runs were not enough to top the Pilots on Saturday.
 
UP NEXT
The Zags will get another chance to win the series on Sunday at 1pm and reclaim the West Coast Conference lead they took on Friday. Follow @ZagBaseball on social media for all the latest updates, and check gozags.com for tickets, results, and streaming information.