WACO, Texas – Hudson Shupe picked up three hits for the second time in four games, but Gonzaga could not muster up enough offense to overcome strong Baylor pitching on Friday at Baylor Ballpark, falling 4-0 in the first of three games on the weekend.
 
Baylor (5-0) used a quality start from Ethan Calder (W, 2-0) and two relief innings from Stefan Stahl (S, 1) to earn the win over Gonzaga (1-3) on Friday.
 
A pitcher's duel ensued early in the opener, with just one run coming across through the first six innings of play. GU starter Gabe Brabec (L, 0-1) was strong in his debut, throwing five-plus innings and allowing just one run on three hits and striking out seven. Baylor's lone run off of Brabec touched home in the second after a leadoff walk came around to score on a single from Pearson Riebock.
 
After a 13-strikeout performance in his season debut, Calder struck out only two Gonzaga hitters on Friday but needed just 82 pitches to work seven scoreless innings. Three of Calder's four hits allowed came off the bat of Shupe and only one GU runner advanced into scoring position.
 
Trailing 1-0 entering the seventh, Gonzaga threatened with a leadoff single from Tommy Eisenstat, followed by a one-out single from Shupe. Calder worked around the traffic with a pair of ground balls to keep the Bears lead intact.
 
After chasing Brabec in the sixth, Baylor was able to add a pair of insurance runs in the seventh before scoring their fourth and final run in the eighth.
 
UP NEXT
Gonzaga will look to even the series on Saturday at 12 p.m. PST. Game two will stream on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at www.gozags.com.