Gonzaga (20-30) vs. San Diego (37-13)
THURSDAY, MAY 23 | 3 P.M. | LAS VEGAS BALLPARK | LAS VEGAS NEVADA
- Gonzaga will face top-seeded San Diego in the Second Round of the WCC Tournament on Thursday at 3pm.
- The Zags are coming off a 9-4 win in the play-in round against Santa Clara on Wednesday at Las Vegas Ballpark.
- Gonzaga snapped a five-game losing streak with their win over Santa Clara, posting 14 hits to power past the Broncos.
- Earlier this season, the Toreros swept Gonzaga at Fowler Park in San Diego, 5-4, 14-2, 19-0.
- GU and USD will face off in the WCC Tournament for just the third time. San Diego holds the 2-0 series lead.
- With a win, Gonzaga would advance to the semifinals of the tournament and face either Saint Mary's or Portland Friday.
- If the Zags lose, they will move into the loser-out portion of the bracket and face the loser of Portland/Saint Mary's.
- Since the tournament format began in 2013, Gonzaga has appeared in all but one West Coast Conference Tournament.
- GU is coming off a tough final weekend of the regular season, falling victim to a sweep by Pepperdine, 5-15, 8-10, 6-7.
- In games two and three against the Waves, Gonzaga rallied late but fell just short, losing by a combined three runs.
- Despite the Pepperdine sweep over GU, the Bulldogs finished with a winning WCC record for the eighth straight season.
SCOUTING THE TOREROS
- San Diego is making their third straight WCC Tournament appearance and fifth overall, earning the top-seed in Las Vegas.
- The top-seeded Toreros have won two West Coast Conference Tournament championships: 2013 and 2022.
- San Diego has not played since May 12, when they completed the sweep of San Francisco on the road, 2-1, 9-0, 7-2.
- USD finished the regular season with a .304 team batting average, the 38th-highest mark in NCAA Division-I this season.
- The Toreros nearly swept the West Coast Conference end-of-season awards, winning all but Pitcher of the Year nods.
- Jakob Christian (Player of the Year) finished the season with the second- highest batting average in the WCC (.362).
ON DECK
- Whether they win or lose, Gonzaga will play on Friday at a time to be determined, depending on a win or loss.
AVENGING LAST SEASON
- Gonzaga avenged last year's season-ending loss to Santa Clara by knocking out the Broncos with a 9-4 win on Wednesday.
- The Zags used a five-run fourth and seven strong innings from
Justin Feld to pull away from Santa Clara midway through.
- GU's five through nine hitters batted a combined 8-for-18 with two runs batted in and six runs scored in the win.
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Payton Graham shut the door on the Broncos with two innings of one-hit, two-strikeout baseball.
ZAGS TO MAKE SEVENTH STRAIGHT WCC TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE
- Gonzaga will make their seventh straight WCC Tournament appearance, securing the fourth seed.
- GU's seven straight tournament appearances is the longest active streak in the WCC ahead of Portland and San Diego (3).
- The Zags will open their 2024 WCC Tournament run in an elimination game against Santa Clara on Wednesday at 7:05pm.
- With a win, Gonzaga would advance to the double elimination portion of the tournament, facing San Diego or Portland.
- Since the new format began in 2013, the Zags have appeared in nine of the ten postseason conference tournaments.
SIX BULLDOGS EARN ALL-WCC NODS
- In addition,
Miles Gosztola, Hoffberg, and Knowles were each named to the All-WCC Freshman Team.
- Gonzaga's six different All-WCC athletes are the most since 2022, when eight different Zags earned all-conference nods.
EISENSTAT, RATFIELD LEAD FIVE WCC ALL-ACADEMIC HONORS
- Eisenstat, an Environmental Studies major with a 3.86 cumulative GPA, led GU in numerous offensive categories this season.
- Ratfield, a Political Science major with a 3.82 cumulative GPA, was the heart of the Zags' battery, starting in 47 of 49 games.
- In addition,
Hank Dunn,
Tyler Griggs, and
Sam Stem were each named WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention.
GONZAGA DROPS FIFTH STRAIGHT, FALLS VICTIM TO SWEEP BY PEPPERDINE
- After an 11-2 start at home this season, Gonzaga lost five in a row and finished with an 11-7 home record.
- On May 6, the Zags fell to #7 Oregon State 20-13 in a high-scoring affair that saw eight combined home runs.
- After an eight-day hiatus, Gonzaga welcomed USC to Spokane for the first time, falling 15-3 on May 14.
- In their final West Coast Conference series of the season, GU was swept by Pepperdine by scores of 15-5, 10-8, and 7-6.
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).
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.
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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