- Gonzaga opens a crucial West Coast Conference series at San Diego this weekend, starting on Friday at 6pm.

- San Diego (27-12, 11-4 WCC) is one game back of Gonzaga (17-20, 12-3 WCC) in the conference standings.

- The Zags defeated Washington State 6-4 in midweek action on the road, scoring four runs in the ninth to break a 2-2 tie.

- Gonzaga is coming off a big 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.

- Last week, Gonzaga's seven-game win streak was snapped at #16 Oregon. The Ducks prevailed 14-9 on Tuesday in Eugene.

- 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.

- Payton Graham was named the WCC Pitcher of the Week after an impressive outing on Friday against Portland in a 2-1 win.

SCOUTING THE TOREROS

- San Diego is coming off a midweek win at home against San Diego State, using a five-run first inning to defeat SDSU 11-2.

- USD swept Pepperdine on the road last weekend, winning 11-5 and 4-2 before a 7-0, three-hit shutout completed the sweep.

- San Diego's .295 batting average is second in the WCC, leading the conference in hits (425) and runs batted in (275).

- Jakob Christian leads the WCC in slugging (.830) and home runs (19), is fifth in batting avg. (.363) and second in RBI (47).

- San Diego leads the WCC in team ERA (4.51), strikeouts (427), opposing batting average (.241) and hits allowed (low - 330).

- Josh Randall is eighth in the conference in ERA (3.73), third in opposing batting average (.215), and fifth in strikeouts (60).

ON DECK

- Gonzaga will stop in Seattle on Tuesday to take on Washington at Husky Ballpark.

ZAGS COMPLETE SEASON SWEEP OF WASHINGTON STATE

- Gonzaga defeated Washington State 6-4 on the road on Tuesday, their first win at Bailey-Brayton Field since April 13, 2021.

- Tied entering the ninth inning, Gonzaga scored four runs before shutting down a WSU rally to hang on for the two-run win.

- In their two meetings in 2024, Gonzaga outscored Washington State 28-11 while outhitting them 29-12.

- In Tuesday's win, Tommy Eisenstat extended his hit streak to 11 games.

EISENSTAT, GRAHAM NOTCH WEST COAST CONFERENCE WEEKLY HONORS

- Tommy Eisenstat was named WCC Player of the Week and Payton Graham was named WCC Pitcher of the Week on Monday.

- 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.

- 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.

- 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 Apr. 19, 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

- Payton Knowles has the fourth-highest batting average in the West Coast Conference (.350).

- Justin Feld is third in the WCC in ERA (3.00), ninth in opposing batting average (.247), and third in earned runs allowed (14).

- Liam Paddack is fourth in the WCC in opp. batting average (.218), fourth in strikeouts (61), and ninth in innings pitched (47.2).

- Erik Hoffberg is tied for second in the WCC in saves with 4, while Daniel Sotelo is tied for fifth with 3.

- As a team, Gonzaga is tied for second in fielding percentage (.974) with the second-lowest error total (33) on the 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).

- All three GU starters (Justin Feld, Liam Paddack, Miles Gosztola) earned wins, each pitching at least six shutout innings.

- 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

- 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.