SAN DIEGO, Calif. – In a back-and-forth battle to open a big West Coast Conference series, San Diego came out on top after scoring the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth to defeat Gonzaga 5-4 at Fowler Park.
 
With the win, San Diego (28-12, 12-4 WCC) moves into a tie for first place in the West Coast Conference with Gonzaga (17-21, 12-4 WCC).
 
The Zags scored three unearned runs in the top of the first after taking advantage of a two-out Torero error. Tommy Eisenstat reached base on the error, paving the way for a Jordan Hamberg RBI single and Josh Hankins RBI double before the third run came home on a wild pitch.
 
Gonzaga held the 3-0 thanks to three scoreless frames from starter Justin Feld to open the game. However, USD came alive in the fourth with three solo home runs to knot the score at three.
 
Vincent Temesvary put GU back on top immediately in the top of the fifth, sending the first pitch of the inning out to left to give the Zags the 4-3 edge.
 
A San Diego unearned run in the bottom of the sixth brought the score to a 4-4 off Payton Graham (L, 1-4), who entered for Feld in the fifth before working three and one-third innings. The Toreros would take the lead in the eighth on a two-out single and a close play at home plate.
 
San Diego's bullpen shut down the Zag offense, completing four hitless innings while striking out six and walking just one.
 
UP NEXT
Gonzaga and San Diego will battle it out again in game two on Saturday, with the first pitch slated for 5:00pm. Follow @ZagBaseball on social media for all the latest updates, and check gozags.com for results and streaming information.