SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga picked up their third-straight series win at home after defeating Santa Clara 3-2 Saturday evening at Patterson Baseball Complex and Coach Steve Hertz Field. The Zags plated three runs in the bottom of the second as both teams went scoreless over the final seven frames in a pitcher's duel in game two.
Gonzaga (9-18, 6-2 WCC) is now 7-1 at home this season after securing the series win over Santa Clara (15-13, 3-5 WCC).
Just as they did on Friday, Santa Clara took a 1-0 lead after the second batter of the game lifted a solo home run out to left field. On Saturday, it was Jordan Lewis who took Paddack deep on 3-1 fastball that caught the inner half of the plate.
A fielder's choice in the second gave the Broncos their second run of the game, but the Zags offense responded promptly in the bottom half of the inning. Three straight singles from
Max Coupe,
Donovan Ratfield, and
Josh Hankins put GU on the board as Coupe motored home on Hankins' line drive into center field.
Santa Clara recorded two quick outs after Hankins' single and looked to escape with just the one run allowed. However, back-to-back singles from
Payton Knowles and
Vincent Temesvary plated two more runs to give Gonzaga the 3-2 lead, a score that would hold for the remainder of the game.
Liam Paddack (W, 2-3) made the start for the Zags on Saturday, pitching 5 1/3 innings while scattering two runs on four hits with five strikeouts.
Payton Graham relieved Paddack in the sixth after a one-out walk, but a lineout and a strikeout quickly closed the book on Paddack's night.
Graham would complete the seventh and eighth innings with strikeouts before exiting in the ninth with one out.
Daniel Sotelo entered and induced a quick popup before the Zags went back to the bullpen and
Erik Hoffberg (S, 3), who completed the four-out save just one game earlier.
Hoffberg was quick to get the final out on Saturday, striking out Santa Clara's Dylan Joyce to earn his second consecutive save and give Gonzaga the 3-2 victory.
UP NEXT
The Zags look to win their seventh-straight home game and pick up their second West Coast Conference sweep of the season on Sunday at 12pm. Follow @ZagBaseball on social media for all the latest updates, and check gozags.com for results and streaming information.
