Gonzaga (19-27, 14-7 WCC) vs. Pepperdine (12-37, 6-15 WCC)
THURSDAY, MAY 16 | 6 P.M. | PATTERSON BASEBALL COMPLEX AND COACH STEVE HERTZ FIELD | SPOKANE
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FRIDAY, MAY 17 | 6 P.M. | PATTERSON BASEBALL COMPLEX AND COACH STEVE HERTZ FIELD | SPOKANE
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SATURDAY, MAY 18 | 1 P.M. | PATTERSON BASEBALL COMPLEX AND COACH STEVE HERTZ FIELD | SPOKANE
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LEADING OFF
- Gonzaga hosts Pepperdine in their final three games of the 2024 regular season this weekend.
- In Saturday's series finale, Gonzaga will honor five seniors prior to a 1pm first pitch at Patterson Baseball Complex.
- Gonzaga is coming off two midweek home losses (May 6 vs. #7 Oregon State, 13-20 and Tuesday vs. USC, 3-15).
- Gonzaga is locked into the West Coast Conference Tournament May 22-25, and can earn as high as the No. 3 seed.
- Since the WCC Tournament format began in 2013, Gonzaga has appeared in all but one of those tournaments.
- Gonzaga will make their seventh straight WCC Tournament appearance, the longest active streak in the conference.
- Gonzaga is coming off a series win at Pacific May 3-5, taking game one 11-7 before winning the rubber match 10-9.
- In Sunday's win at Pacific, Gonzaga erased a five-run deficit to complete the comeback win and take the series.
- Head Coach
Mark Machtolf has 596 career wins, needing four to eclipse the 600 mark.
SCOUTING THE WAVES
- Pepperdine is coming off a midweek 12-6 loss to Cal Poly in their final home game of the season on Tuesday.
- Pepperdine is hoping to snap a 16-game losing streak that dates back to April 12, last beating UCLA 10-2 on April 9.
- Pepperdine is on the edge of earning a bid to the WCC Tournament, currently sitting in seventh place in the conference.
- As a team, Pepperdine is sixth in the conference with a team batting average of .257 while eighth in team ERA (7.52).
- Connor Bradshaw leads the Waves and is 13th in the WCC with a .310 batting average, five home runs and 34 runs batted in.
- Pepperdine pitchers Nick Bonn and Matthew Boyer are tied for ninth in the WCC in innings pitched (64.0).
ON DECK
- Gonzaga will open their 2024 West Coast Conference Tournament slate on Wednesday in Las Vegas. Opponent TBD.
GONZAGA LOCKED IN FOR WCC TOURNAMENT
- For the seventh straight season, Gonzaga will make an apperance at the West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas.
- Since the tournament format began in 2013, Gonzaga has appeared in all but one of those tournaments.
- Of the nine WCC Tournaments since 2013 (no 2020 or 2021), Gonzaga's eight appearances are the most (LMU - 7).
WHERE WE CURRENTLY RANK IN THE WCC
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Justin Feld is eighth in the WCC in ERA (3.42), tenth in opposing batting average (.246), and second in earned runs allowed (19).
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Liam Paddack is sixth in the WCC in opp. batting average (.222) and sixth in strikeouts (70).
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Erik Hoffberg is tied for second in the WCC in saves with 5, while
Daniel Sotelo is tied for ninth with 3.
GU WINS RUBBER MATCH, TAKES SERIES AT PACIFIC
- After splitting the first two games, Gonzaga defeated Pacific on Sunday to earn the series win 11-7, 2-8, 10-9.
- On Friday, the Zags and Tigers traded offensive blows before GU pulled away, using three three-run innings to fuel their 11-7 win.
- In game two, Pacific took advantage of 11 walks from Gonzaga pitchers to earn an 8-2 win and knots the series at one.
- In the finale,Gonzaga trailed 8-3 after the third inning, but erased the five-run deficit to complete the comeback win.
FORMER ZAG HARRIS CALLED UP BY OAKLAND ATHLETICS, SHINES IN SECOND-CAREER GAME
- Former Gonzaga infielder Brett Harris was called up to the major leagues by the Oakland Athletics to make his debut on Friday.
- Harris becomes the 30th former Zag to make it to the big leagues and the 15th under Head Coach
Mark Machtolf.
- After going hitless on Friday, Harris hit two home runs for his first two MLB hits as Oakland dominated Miami 20-4.
- Harris is the second GU alum in the 2021 draft to make his major league debut (Alek Jacob - San Diego Padres on Jul. 14, 2023).
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.
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 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.
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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.
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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.
- 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
- 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.
- In the final two games of the USF series, GU recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time since April of 2021.
- The lone San Francisco run came on a home run in the ninth inning of game one on Friday.
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