Friday, May 3
Stockton, Calif.
6 p.m.
Gonzaga University
at
Pacific
Baseball Travels to Pacific This Weekend
5/1/2024 12:38:00 PM | Baseball
The Zags have won the previous ten meetings against the Tigers dating back to 2019
Gonzaga (17-24, 12-6 WCC) at Pacific (8-26, 3-12 WCC)
FRIDAY, MAY 3 | 6 P.M. | KLEIN FAMILY FIELD | STOCKTON
LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
RH Justin Feld (3-1, 3.28 ERA) vs. RH Ethan Shaver (2-5, 9.06 ERA)
SATURDAY, MAY 4 | 5 P.M. | KLEIN FAMILY FIELD | STOCKTON LH Liam Paddack (3-5, 5.05 ERA) vs. RH Jakob Guardado / LH Josh Souza
SUNDAY, MAY 5 | 1 P.M. | KLEIN FAMILY FIELD | STOCKTON TBD vs. LH Josh Souza / RH Bryce Cruz
LEADING OFF
FRIDAY, MAY 3 | 6 P.M. | KLEIN FAMILY FIELD | STOCKTON
LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
RH Justin Feld (3-1, 3.28 ERA) vs. RH Ethan Shaver (2-5, 9.06 ERA)
SATURDAY, MAY 4 | 5 P.M. | KLEIN FAMILY FIELD | STOCKTON LH Liam Paddack (3-5, 5.05 ERA) vs. RH Jakob Guardado / LH Josh Souza
SUNDAY, MAY 5 | 1 P.M. | KLEIN FAMILY FIELD | STOCKTON TBD vs. LH Josh Souza / RH Bryce Cruz
LEADING OFF
- Gonzaga wraps up their final road trip of the 2023 season with a three-game series at Pacific starting on Friday at 6pm.
- The Zags are 36-8 all-time against the Tigers and have won the previous ten meetings, dating back to the 2019 season.
- Gonzaga is currently second in the WCC standings, looking to solidify a top-two seed at the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas.
- Gonzaga dropped a midweek game at Washington, 8-2 on Tuesday. An eight-run Husky first inning fueled the UW victory.
- GU is coming off a rough weekend at San Diego, where they were swept 4-5, 2-14, 0-19 by the Toreros.
- Last week, Gonzaga completed their season sweep of Washington State in Pullman, pulling out the 6-4 win.
- In their win over WSU, Matthew Mueller threw a strong five and one-third innings, allowing just two runs on two hits.
- Justin Feld is third in the West Coast Conference in ERA (3.28) with a 2.12 ERA in WCC play, the lowest in the conference.
- Over his last five appearances, Payton Graham has combined for 13.2 innings, allowing just three runs on eight hits while striking out 15 and walking just two.
- True freshman Payton Knowles leads Gonzaga with a .333 batting average, including .375 in West Coast Conference play.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
- Pacific is coming off a midweek loss at CSU Bakersfield on Tuesday, where the Roadrunners grabbed an 11-1 win at home.
- Last weekend, Pacific lost two out of three at San Francisco. After a 12-7 win in game one, the Tigers dropped 5-7 and 1-10 losses.
- As a team, Pacific is slashing .213/.330/.321 with 26 home runs and 170 runs batted in.
- Jack Metcho is second in the West Coast Conference in walks with 28 while leading the WCC in triples with four.
- Pacific holds a team ERA of 9.03 with 231 strikeouts and an opposing batting average of .332.
- Ethan Shaver leads the Tigers with 34 batters struck out. 15 of those 34 are strikeouts looking, the eighth-most in the WCC.
ON DECK
ON DECK
- The Zags will return home for a quick turnaround on May 6 against Oregon State. First pitch is set for 12pm.
ZAGS STUMBLE AT SAN DIEGO
ZAGS STUMBLE AT SAN DIEGO
- Gonzaga was swept over the weekend at San Diego, dropping a one-run game on Friday before a couple of lopsided losses.
- On Friday, the Zags led 3-0 early, but USD battled back to tie before taking a 5-4 lead in the eighth inning.
- On Saturday and Sunday, San Diego was firing on all cylinders, outscoring Gonzaga 33-2 to earn the series sweep.
- Gonzaga's 19-run defeat is the most under Machtolf, and the highest since 2010.
WHERE WE CURRENTLY RANK IN THE WCC
WHERE WE CURRENTLY RANK IN THE WCC
- Payton Knowles is sixth in the WCC in batting average (.333) leading all freshman in the conference.
- Justin Feld is fourth in the WCC in ERA (3.28), tenth in opposing batting average (.253), and third in earned runs allowed (17).
- Liam Paddack is fourth in the WCC in opp. batting average (.220), sixth in strikeouts (64), and tenth in innings pitched (51.2).
- Erik Hoffberg is tied for second in the WCC in saves with 4, while Daniel Sotelo is tied for sixth with 3.
GONZAGA COMPLETES SEASON SWEEP OF WASHINGTON STATE
GONZAGA COMPLETES SEASON SWEEP OF WASHINGTON STATE
- Gonzaga defeated Washington State 6-4 on the road on Apr. 23, 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 the win, Tommy Eisenstat extended his hit streak to 11 games.
EISENSTAT, GRAHAM NOTCH WEST COAST CONFERENCE WEEKLY HONORS
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 Apr. 22.
- Eisenstat continued his hot hitting against Oregon and Portland, extending his hit streak to ten games. Between Apr. 9 and 22, 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
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
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.
ZAGS SWEEP SAN FRANCISCO ON THE ROAD
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
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.
MACHTOLF NOTCHES 300TH WEST COAST CONFERENCE WIN
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.
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