SPOKANE, Wash. – Less than a day after defeating Pacific in Stockton, Gonzaga returned home to face No. 7 Oregon State on Monday at Patterson Baseball Complex and Coach Steve Hertz Field, the first trip to Spokane for the Beavers since 2008.
Gonzaga (19-25) trailed by as many as nine to Oregon State (36-12) but found themselves within a run at the end of the seventh inning thanks to an eight-run frame. The Beavers answered quickly with five runs in the eighth and two in the ninth to pull away for good.
Oregon State took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, but the Zags answered in the bottom half with two runs of their own. That didn't last long as OSU picked up three runs in the third, one in the fourth, and four in the fifth to expand their lead, despite single runs from Gonzaga in the fourth and fifth.
The score remained 9-4 in favor of Oregon State until a four-run top of the seventh looked to put the game out of reach. However, Gonzaga took their turn right away, plating eight runs in the bottom of the seventh on RBI hits from
Vincent Temesvary,
Josh Hankins, and
Max Coupe and a pinch-hit, three-run home run from
Sam Stem to bring the Zags within one (13-12).
Travis Bazzana and the Oregon State offense could not be slowed, as a five-run eighth and a two-run ninth put the game back out of reach. The Beavers surrendered one run in the ninth but would hang on for the 20-13 win. Bazzana finished 3-for-5 on the day with two home runs and two walks. He is now tied for second in the nation with 26 long balls on the season.
For Gonzaga,
Max Coupe and
Josh Hankins each produced three-hit games, while
Sam Stem picked up a pair of hits off the bench.
UP NEXT
Gonzaga will be off for eight days before welcoming Southern California on May 14. The Zags will wrap their regular season next weekend at home against Pepperdine. Follow @ZagBaseball on social media for all the latest updates, and check gozags.com for results and streaming information.
