SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga picked up their seventh straight win at Patterson Baseball Complex and Coach Steve Hertz Field after defeating Santa Clara 6-1 on Sunday. After dropping the second game to Minnesota on Mar. 8, the Zags have rattled off seven straight, including sweeps of West Coast Conference opponents Loyola Marymount and Santa Clara.
 
Gonzaga (10-18, 7-2 WCC) is 7-2 to open WCC play for the fourth straight season and has completed its seventh all-time sweep of Santa Clara (15-14, 3-6 WCC). The Zags are also 8-1 through their first nine home games for the first time since 2016.
 
Max Coupe ignited the offense in the second inning with a leadoff single before advancing to third on a screaming double into the right field corner by Jordan Hamberg. A Donovan Ratfield RBI groundout plated the first run for Gonzaga, but Santa Clara was able to escape with no more damage.
 
The Zags came right back in the third to put four runs on the board. Payton Knowles led off with a double, and Vincent Temesvary followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Jace Phelan singled to bring Knowles home before Hamberg unleashed for his second home run of the season, a three-run shot to right field, extending Gonzaga's lead to 5-0.
 
Santa Clara's lone run of the afternoon came in the fourth on a one-out RBI double that glanced off a diving Josh Hankins glove. The Zags got that run back in the fifth after Hamberg walked, advanced to second on a passed ball and scored on a single from Ratfield.
 
Miles Gosztola (W, 1-2) earned his first career win after pitching seven strong innings while allowing just one run on five hits, striking out a career-high nine batters and walking just one. Michael Cunneely relieved Gosztola in the eighth and completed two scoreless innings while picking up three strikeouts and allowing just one hit.
 
UP NEXT
Gonzaga will square off with Washington State on Tuesday at 6pm in their first home midweek game of the season. Follow @ZagBaseball on social media for all the latest updates, and check gozags.com for results and streaming information.