Baseball Travels to Santa Clara for Weekend WCC Series

Friday, April 11

Santa Clara, Calif.

6 p.m.

Gonzaga University

Santa Clara

Baseball Travels to Santa Clara for Weekend WCC Series

4/10/2025 2:45:00 PM | Baseball

Gonzaga Notes Santa Clara Notes

The Zags look to continue their hot start to West Coast Conference play

- Gonzaga hits the road this weekend to face eighth-place Santa Clara down in The Bay.

- The Bulldogs are off to their best start in WCC play in program history (8-1).

- Last weekend, the Zags swept San Francisco at home (9-7, 14-1 (7), 6-4).

- In games one and three, GU trailed early but rallied late to earn 9-7 and 6-4 wins.

- Gonzaga has won 13 of their last 15 games, including nine of their last ten.

- GU has won 12 of the last 16 meetings with Santa Clara, including four straight.

- Mikey Bell was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week on Monday.

- The Bulldogs' .979 fielding percentage leads the WCC and ranks 23rd in the NCAA.

- Gonzaga's infield has turned 25 double plays this season (2nd in WCC, 57th in NCAA).

- The Zags own a 1.42 WHIP, leading the WCC and ranking 64th in NCAA Division-I.

- Santa Clara dropped 2-out-of-3 against Pepperdine last weekend (5-6, 8-13, 4-3).

- In 2024, SCU went 26-26 (12-12 WCC) and finished fifth in the WCC standings.

- Mark Machtolf earned his 600th career win on March 14 at Washington, becoming just the second coach in Gonzaga and WCC history to reach that mark. Steve Hertz owns the all-time GU record with 637 career wins.

- In the West Coast Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, Gonzaga was picked to finish third behind San Diego and Portland. Just five points are what separated Portland (2nd), Gonzaga (t-3rd), Santa Clara (t-3rd), and Saint Mary's (5th).

- Tommy Eisenstat and Justin Feld were selected to the All-WCC Preseason team.

- Gonzaga is coming off a 21-32 (14-10 in WCC play) season and a third-place finish at the West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas in 2024.

- This season, the Bulldogs return five of their starting eight position players, two of their three regular rotation starters, and three of their high-leverage bullpen arms. Six of Gonzaga's top seven hitters from 2024 also return this season.

- Gonzaga returns all six All-WCC honorees from 2024: Tommy Eisenstat, Justin Feld, Miles Gosztola, Erik Hoffberg, Payton Knowles, and Vincent Temesvary.

SCOUTING THE BRONCOS

- Santa Clara dropped two out of three against Pepperdine last weekend and are currently in eighth place in the WCC.

- Dylan Joyce's .315 batting average, 28 runs batted in, 34 hits, and five home runs lead the Broncos.

- Saturday starter Max Bayles is second on the team in ERA (3.29). He leads the WCC in K/9 (15.03), #5 in NCAA.

- Through 29 games, Santa Clara is batting .245 and is averaging 5.1 runs per game and 7.9 hits per game.

- The Broncos pitching staff has combined for a 5.41 ERA, striking out 246 batters over 248.0 innings pitched.

- In 2024, Santa Clara finished with a 26-26 overall record, including a 12-12 record in WCC play (fifth place).

HOFFBERG PUNCHES OUT TEN IN SERIES FINALE

- Erik Hoffberg recorded a career-high ten strikeouts in relief on Sunday to earn the winning decision as the Bulldogs completed the sweep of San Francisco in comeback fashion.

- Hoffberg nearly matched a career-high in innings pitched, throwing 5.1 IP of shutout baseball.

SHUUUUPE

- Hudson Shupe continues to lead GU on offense and ranks among the best in the nation in numerous categories.

- Shupe is listed as the 19th toughest batter to strike out, touting a K% of 6.7% (1 strikeout every 14.9 at bats).

- Shupe's 46 hits lead the WCC and rank 94th in the nation, while his 1.59 hits/game ranks 43rd (leads WCC).

- Shupe's .387 average is second in the WCC and 95th in the country.

- Shupe leads the WCC with 87 assists and is second in fielding double plays (21).

BELL EARNS GONZAGA'S SECOND STRAIGHT WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOD

- Mikey Bell was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week on Monday.

- Bell batted 8-for-13 across four games last week, including a 7-for-9 (.778) performance in Gonzaga's sweep of San Francisco, where he compiled a 2.068 OPS.

- On Friday, Bell was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI and a run scored.

- On Saturday, he picked up two more hits in a 2-for-3 outing, adding two runs and an RBI before capping it off with a 3-for-3 day on Sunday, clubbing a home run and driving in the go-ahead run with a single in the bottom of the seventh inning.

HOT START TO WCC PLAY

- Gonzaga completed its second consecutive West Coast Conference series sweep last weekend.

- After sweeping the Pacific Tigers March 28-30, the Zags swept San Francisco at home (9-7, 14-1 (1), 6-4).

- Gonzaga is 8-1 to open WCC play, their best start in program history, sitting in first place by one game.

- The Bulldogs are hitting .326 as a team in WCC play, the highest average among the nine member schools.

- As a team, GU is leading the conference in runs (70), hits (99), OBP (.411), and stolen bases (16) in WCC play.

NINE OF TEN, THIRTEEN OF FIFTEEN

- Gonzaga has now won 13 of their last 15 games, including wins in nine of their last ten.

- During those 15 games, the Zags are batting .310 while averaging 7.4 runs per game and 10.9 hits per game.

- Gonzaga pitching has collected a 3.27 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP in that stretch, while opponents are hitting .202.

- The Bulldog offense has recorded 10+ hits in each of their last eight games.

GOOD THINGS COME IN PAIRS

- Gonzaga's defense has turned 25 double plays this season, ranking second in the WCC and 57th in NCAA D-I.

- The Bulldogs' 0.86 double plays per game also ranks second in the WCC and 33rd in NCAA Division-I.

NEARLY FLAWLESS DEFENSE

- GU's .979 fielding percentage ranks 23rd in the nation.

HANKINS TABBED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

- Josh Hankins was named WCC Player of the Week on March 31, the first weekly award for Gonzaga this season.

- In four games last week, Josh Hankins batted 10-for-16 (.625) with six runs scored, three RBI, three doubles, a home run, and two stolen bases, combining for a 1.632 OPS.

- In Tuesday's win over Washington State, Hankins went 4-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI.

- In Friday's 8-1 win over Pacific, he went 2-for-2 and clubbed his first home run of the season before a 3-for-5 performance on Saturday.

- In the finale, Hankins extended his hit streak to eight games, adding two runs scored with a hit.

BULLDOGS SWEEP TIGERS

- Gonzaga completed the three-game sweep of Pacific last weekend, defeating the Tigers 8-1, 13-4, and 10-0 (7).

- During that series, GU batted .370 and recorded a team OPS of 1.090 with a perfect 9-for-9 on stolen bases.

- The pitching staff combined for a 1.80 ERA with the Tigers hitting just .140.

ZAGS TAKE ROUND ONE OVER WAZZU

- In their first of four midweek meetings this season, Gonzaga defeated Washington State 4-1 on Tuesday.

- Gabe Brabec threw 6.2 strong innings, surrendering WSU's only run in the bottom of the first inning.

- Kai Francis earned his first career save, pitching 2.1 perfect innings while striking out two.

- Josh Hankins continued his hot hitting, bumping his average up to .244 after a 4-for-5 performance Tuesday.

MACHTOLF ECLIPSES 600, THEN 601, 602, 603

- After an eight-game losing skid that kept Gonzaga Head Coach Mark Machtolf at 599 career wins, the Bulldogs held on for a 4-3 win over Washington on March 14 despite a late ninth-inning rally by the Huskies.

- Machtolf becomes the second coach in Gonzaga and West Coast Conference history to eclipse 600 wins.

- His win total ranks second in GU history behind Steve Hertz, who holds the high mark with 637.

- GU caught a stride after Machtolf's 600th win, rattling off wins in their next three games to open a four-game streak heading into West Coast Conference play.

BUCKLEY MAKES HISTORY AT BAYLOR

- Ethan Buckley, a native of Cape Town, South Africa, made history on Feb. 23 at Baylor by becoming the first ever South African native to play NCAA Division-I baseball.

- While others have played Major League Baseball, Buckley is now the first South African to play collegiately at the Division-I level.

- Buckley transferred to Gonzaga last fall from Linn-Benton Community College.

SHUPE FIRST TO HOMER AGAIN

- For the second straight season, INF Hudson Shupe hit the first Gonzaga home run of the year.

- On Feb. 16, Shupe hit a one-out solo home run at UC Davis to break the ice for the Zags.

- In 2024, Shupe hit the first pitch of the season out to right field at UCLA, also on Feb. 16.

ZAGS PICKED THIRD IN WCC PRESEASON POLL

- Gonzaga was picked to finish third in the West Coast Conference Preseason Poll on Feb. 6.

- The Zags accumulated 44 points, resulting in a tie for third with Santa Clara.

- San Diego topped the Preseason Poll with 64 points and eight first-place votes.

- Just five points separated the poll's second-place and fifth-place teams.

PAIR OF ZAGS PICKED PRESEASON ALL-WCC

- Tommy Eisenstat and Justin Feld were selected to the West Coast Conference Preseason Team on Feb. 6.

- Eisenstat led the Bulldogs in seven offensive categories in 2024: avg (.301), runs (34), hits (58), and RBI (30).

- Eisenstat also earned West Coast Conference Honorable Mention with one WCC Player of the Week honor.

- Feld is Gonzaga's leading returner in seven pitching categories.

- Amongst WCC ranks, Feld's 4.16 was tenth last season while allowing the fourth-fewest total earned runs (29). - Feld struck out 62 batters over 62.2 IP, averaging just under nine strikeouts per nine and was the second of five Bulldogs to earn All-WCC Honorable Mention in 2024.

-GoZags.com-