Gonzaga (16-20, 12-3 WCC) at Washington State (18-20, 7-14 Pac-12)
TUESDAY, APR. 23 | BAILEY-BRAYTON FIELD | PULLMAN
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LEADING OFF
- Gonzaga is coming off a crucial series win at home against Portland last weekend, taking the series 2-1, 3-4, 13-9.
- After a pair of pitcher's duels in the first two games, the Zags and Pilots combined for 22 runs and 28 hits in Sunday's finale.
- GU's 2-1 win against Portland on Friday matched the Patterson Complex record with their ninth-straight home win.
- With their series win over Portland, the Zags are now in sole possession of first place in the West Coast Conference.
- San Diego is one game back of Gonzaga in the WCC standings, as the two face off in a big series this weekend in San Diego.
- Last week, Gonzaga's seven-game win streak was snapped at #16 Oregon. The Ducks prevailed 14-9 on Tuesday in Eugene.
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Tommy Eisenstat was named WCC Player of the Week after an 8-for-17 week while extending his hit streak to ten games.
- In his last eight games, Eisenstat is 17-for-30 with seven multi-hit games, nine runs batted in and nine runs scored.
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Payton Graham was named the WCC Pitcher of the Week after an impressive outing on Friday against Portland in a 2-1 win.
- On April 9 against Washington State, the Zags rolled to a 22-7 win after scoring 14 runs in an hour-long first inning.
- Gonzaga is looking for its first win in Pullman since April 13, 2021.
SCOUTING THE COUGS
- Washington State is coming off a three-game series at No. 18 Arizona, where they were sweptÂ
- Last week, the Cougs earned a 6-4 win at Grand Canyon in a quick stop in Phoenix before taking on Arizona over the weekend.
- Washington State is currently tenth in the Pac-12 at 7-13 despite opening conference play 6-3.
- Washington State's .283 team batting average is sixth in the Pac-12. They are fourth in the conference in hits with 384.
- Cole Cramer has the fourth-highest batting average (.364) and the sixth-highest hit total (52) in the conference.
- Washington State's 5.80 team earned-run average is ninth in the Pac-12, led by Grant Taylor's 3.43.
- The Cougs have the second-highest fielding perctange (.974) and third-lowest error count (38) in the Pac-12.
ON DECK
- The Zags will continue their eight-game road trip with a big three-game series at San Diego starting on Friday.
- GU will stop in Seattle on April 30 to take on Washington at Husky Ballpark.
EISENSTAT, GRAHAM NOTCH WEST COAST CONFERENCE WEEKLY HONORS
- Eisenstat continued his hot hitting against Oregon and Portland, extending his hit streak to ten games. Between Apr. 9 and Monday, Eisenstat batted .567 (17-for-30) with nine runs batted in and nine runs scored. During those eight games, Eisenstat compiled seven multi-hit games, including six straight from Apr. 9 - Apr. 21.
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Payton Graham's lone appearance came in perhaps Gonzaga's highest-leverage situation in their series against Portland. Graham entered in Friday's game with a 1-1 tie with two outs in the sixth and the go-ahead run on first base, ending the threat immediately with a strikeout. He earned his first-career win while holding Portland scoreless over three and one-third innings as the Zags earned the 2-1 win.
GONZAGA WINS KEY SERIES OVER PORTLAND
- In a West Coast Conference series that pitted the top two teams in the standings, Gonzaga earned a big series win over Portland.
- On Friday,
Justin Feld battled Pilots starter Nick Brink in a hefty pitcher's duel. While Feld was unable to earn a decision, the Zags prevailed in a 2-1 win to hand Brink his second-straight losing decision.
Payton Graham entered in the sixth and shut down the Pilots over the final three and one-third innings to earn his first career win.
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Liam Paddack battled Carter Gaston on Saturday, with Gaston avenging Friday night's loss as Portland won 4-3 to even the series.
- What looked to continue on Sunday didn't happen, as the bats came alive for both teams in a 22-run, 28-hit combined outing. Trailing by as many as five early, Gonzaga rattled off eight unanswered runs to take a 9-6 lead before Portland eventually knotted the score once again. Four more unanswered runs for the Zags fueled the 13-9 win as
Treyson Peters locked down the Pilots to earn a four-inning save.
PROTECTING THE HOME TURF
- With their 2-1 win over Portland on Friday, Gonzaga tied the Patterson Complex record with their ninth straight win at home.
- Gonzaga is 8-1 at home to begin WCC play for the first time since joining the conference in 1996.
- Since the Patterson Complex opened in 2007, Gonzaga owns a .652 win percentage and a .689 WCC win percentage at home.
WHERE WE CURRENTLY RANK IN THE WCC
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Payton Knowles has the fourth-highest batting average in the West Coast Conference (.347).
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Jordan Hamberg is tenth in the West Coast Conference in on base percentage (.435).
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Justin Feld is third in the WCC in ERA (3.00), tenth in opposing batting average (.247), and third in earned runs allowed (14).
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Liam Paddack is fourth in the WCC in opp. batting average (.218), fourth in strikeouts (61), and ninth in innings pitched (47.2).
- As a team, Gonzaga is second in fielding percentage (.975) with the second-lowest error total with only 31 this season.
ZAGS SWEEP SAN FRANCISCO ON THE ROAD
- Gonzaga earned its third West Coast Conference sweep of the season after defeating San Francisco 2-1, 8-0, 3-0 on Apr. 12-14.
- The Zags opened WCC play 10-2 for the first time under
Mark Machtolf after sweeping back-to-back conference series.
- Gonzaga won seven straight games, sweeping Santa Clara, defeating Washington St. and sweeping San Francisco.
- In the final two games of the USF series, GU recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time since April of 2021.
- During that 2021 season, Gonzaga achieved the back-to-back shutout feat twice (9-0, 6-0 vs. Pacific and 9-0, 10-0 vs. WSU/PEP).
- The lone San Francisco run came on a home run in the ninth inning of game one on Friday.
PITCHING STAFF DOMINANCE ON THE HILLTOP
- Gonzaga's pitching combined to allow just one run in their series sweep over San Francisco last weekend.
- The Zags' starting pitchers combined for three shutout apperances of 20 1/3 total innings, nine hits allowed and 24 strikeouts.
- As a staff, Gonzaga struck out 30 San Francisco hitters in the series.
- The one allowed run is tied for the lowest in a three-game series under Head Coach
Mark Machtolf.
PADDACK EARNS WCC PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONOR
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Liam Paddack was named West Coast Conference pitcher of the week on Apr. 15, the second weekly honor for GU this season.
- At San Francisco on Saturday, Paddack threw seven shutout innings, scattering three hits and striking out a season-high ten.
- Paddack has recorded wins in his last two starts, comibining for 12 1/3 innings, allowing two runs and striking out 12.
MACHTOLF NOTCHES 300TH WEST COAST CONFERENCE WIN
- Head Coach
Mark Machtolf earned his 300th West Coast Conference win on April 14 at San Francisco.
- Machtolf becomes just the second coach in WCC history to reach 300 (Rich Hill, USF/USD).
- Now in his 21st season, Machtolf is the third-longest tenured WCC coach in history (Rich Hill, 28 yrs and Nino Giarratano, 24 yrs).
- Entering 2024, Machtolf's WCC win percentage (.613) is 12th all-time, yet he owns over 100 more wins than any of the other 11.
ZAGS FEELING 22
- Gonzaga more than doubled their season high run production in a 22-7 win over Washington State on Apr. 9.Â
- The Zags scored 14 runs in a 45-minute first inning, batting through their entire lineup before the first out was finally recorded.
- Gonzaga's 22 runs is the second-highest single game total under
Mark Machtolf (23 - 2010 vs. Utah Valley).
