Gonzaga Hosts San Diego in Crucial WCC Series This Weekend

Friday, April 25

Spokane, Wash.

6 p.m.

Gonzaga University

San Diego

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Photo by: Landon Shigeta

Gonzaga Hosts San Diego in Crucial WCC Series This Weekend

4/24/2025 9:35:00 AM | Baseball

Gonzaga Notes San Diego Notes

The first-place Bulldogs and second-place Toreros will battle for first place in the West Coast Conference

- Gonzaga returns home to face second-place San Diego in a huge WCC series.

- The Bulldogs (10-2) and Toreros (9-3) are separated by just one game.

- Gonzaga is off to their best start in WCC play in program history (10-2).

- Earlier this week, the Zags dropped two tough battles at No. 3 Oregon State.

- San Diego has won nine consecutive games, including eight in WCC play.

- USD finished 41-15 in 2024, falling out of the Santa Barbara Regional round.

- GU is 6-0 in WCC play at home with sweeps over Pacific and San Francisco.

- GU pitching leads the WCC in ERA (5.34), saves (11), hits allowed (301), runs allowed (209), opposing batting average (.250) and hits per 9.0 IP (8.42).

- Gonzaga's 1.46 WHIP leads the WCC and ranks 73rd in NCAA Division-I.

- The Bulldogs' .977 fielding percentage is first in the WCC and 33rd in D-I.

- 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.

- In the West Coast Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, GU 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, Justin Feld were named 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 Zags 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 six All-WCC honorees from 2024: Tommy Eisenstat, Justin Feld, Miles Gosztola, Erik Hoffberg, Payton Knowles, and Vincent Temesvary.

SCOUTING THE TOREROS

- San Diego is riding a nine-game win streak after sweeping Portland and defeating San Diego State last weekend.

- After a 1-3 start to WCC play, the Toreros have won eight straight, including sweeps of Saint Mary's and Portland.

- WCC Player of the Week Jack Gurevitch leads the team (2nd in WCC) in both batting average (.370) and hits (57).

- Friday starter and WCC Pitcher of the Week Logan Reddemann leads the WCC in ERA (1.86) and opp. average (.202).

- Two-way player Austin Smith leads the Toreros with 36 RBI, also picking up a team-high three saves this season.

- Through 39 games, San Diego is batting .266 and is averaging 5.6 runs per game and 8.8 hits per game.

- Toreros pitching owns a 6.74 ERA (7th in WCC), striking out 352 and walking 111 over 332.2 innings pitched.

- In 2024, USD finished 41-15, falling out of the postseason to host Santa Barbara in the NCAA Regional round.

1 VS. 2

- First-place Gonzaga will host second-place San Diego in a crucial West Coast Conference series this weekend.

- Gonzaga (18-17, 10-2 WCC) holds a one-game lead over San Diego (14-24, 9-3) midway through conference play.

- The Toreros are coming off a three-game sweep at Portland, who previously sat in second place behind the Zags.

TOUGH REMAINING WCC SCHEDULE

- Halfway through West Coast Conference play, Gonzaga is 10-2 with sweeps over Pacific and San Francisco.

- Gonzaga also earned series wins on the road at Pepperdine and Santa Clara.

- The Bulldogs' remaining WCC slate includes the remaining four teams currently in the top five of the standings.

- The Zags will face San Diego and Saint Mary's at home and will travel to Loyola Marymount and Portland.

- The West Coast Conference Tournament will be played at Las Vegas Ballpark, home to the AAA Aviators (OAK).

- The top two seeds in the WCC Tournament receive a bye, while the remaining four face off in two play-in games.

ZAGS/COUGS ROUND THREE ON DECK

- Gonzaga will travel to Pullman for the second time this season, facing Washington State Tuesday at 6:05 p.m.

- The Bulldogs and Cougars have split the first two meetings, each team winning on the road.

- GU stymed the WSU offense March 25 for a 4-1 win, and WSU completed a comeback April 1, 7-6 (10 inn).

RINGING THE BELL

- Mikey Bell had his home run streak snapped at five games on April 18 at Southern California.

- Over the last 15 games, Bell is slashing .509/.585/1.019 with 7 home runs, 19 RBI, 14 runs and 54 total bases.

ZAGS TURNING IT AROUND

- After a 2-12 start to the 2025 season, Gonzaga has won 16 out of its last 23 games to get back to .500.

- The Bulldogs have strung together three separate win streaks of four or more during that stretch.

- GU began their run with a three-game sweep at Washington and a midweek win at Seattle U.

- Gonzaga has won five out their last six series, including sweeps over Washington, Pacific, and San Francisco.

ZAGS CONTINUE HOT WCC START, CLINCH SERIES OVER SANTA CLARA

- After back-to-back WCC sweeps, Gonzaga won their series over Santa Clara to improve to 10-2 in WCC play.

- The Bulldogs won the first two games before dropping a heartbreaker in game three.

- Mikey Bell was 7-for-12 in the series, extending his home run streak to four games after one in each contest.

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

- Mikey Bell was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week on April 7.

- Bell batted 7-for-9 (.778) performance in Gonzaga's sweep of San Francisco, where he compiled a 2.068 OPS.

- In game one of the series, Bell was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI and a run scored.

- In game two, he picked up two more hits in a 2-for-3 outing, adding two runs and an RBI.

- In game three, Bell was 3-for-3 with a home run and a go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning.

BULLDOGS SWEEP SECOND-STRAIGHT WCC HOME SERIES

- Gonzaga's bats remained hot against San Francisco as they picked up their second straight WCC sweep Apr. 4-6.

- Despite trailing in games one and three, the Bulldogs battled back for two-run wins in each.

- In game two, the Zags put up 14 runs to earn the mercy rule win, their second of the season.

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, Hankins batted 10-for-16 (.625), adding a line of 6 R, 3 RBI, 3 2B, 1 HR, 2 SB, and a 1.632 OPS.

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

- In Friday's 8-1 win over Pacific, Hankins went 2-for-2 and clubbed his first home run of the season.

- In game two, Hankins went 3-for-5 before extending his hit streak to eight games in game three, adding a hit.

GONZAGA SWEEPS PACIFIC

- Gonzaga completed the three-game sweep of Pacific March 28-30 in their first WCC home series of the season.

- 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 off the Bulldogs.

ZAGS TAKE ROUND ONE OVER WAZZU

- In their first of four midweek meetings this season, Gonzaga defeated Washington State 4-1 on March 25.

- 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.

BULLDOGS OPEN WCC PLAY WITH SERIES WIN OVER PEPPERDINE

- After dropping the WCC opener at Pepperdine, Gonzaga battled back to win the series March 21-23 in Malibu.

- Sam Stem lifted a go-ahead home run in the tenth inning in game two despite entering late as a pinch-runner.

- Gonzaga's pitching staff combined for a 2.33 ERA in the series win, with the Waves batting .186 off of GU.

GONZAGA COMPLETES 4-0 WEEKEND IN SEATTLE

- After a stretch of eight consecutive losses, Gonzaga bounced back with a 4-0 weekend in Seattle March 14-17.

- The Bulldogs earned their first-ever road sweep of Washington at Husky Ballpark before defeating Seattle U.

- Gonzaga had not faced the Huskies in a three game series at Husky Ballpark prior to that series in March.

- The Zags completed the weekend with a revenge win over Seattle U, who defeated the Bulldogs March 5.

MACHTOLF NOTCHES 600TH CAREER WIN

- Gonzaga Head Coach Mark Machtolf earned his 600th career win on March 14, a 4-3 victory over Washington.

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

- Machtolf's win total ranks second in program history behind Steve Hertz, who holds the high mark with 637.

- Machtolf brings a .543 win percentage into his 22nd season in 2025, the third-highest in Gonzaga history.

BUCKLEY MAKES HISTORY AT BAYLOR

- C Ethan Buckley made Division-I history on Feb. 23 at Baylor when he entered the game for the Bulldogs.

- Buckley, a native of Cape Town, South Africa, is the first 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 at the D-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 was the first on the team to hit a home run.

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

- Exaclty one year prior, Shupe hit the first pitch of the season out to right field at UCLA on Feb. 16, 2024.

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 received 44 points, resulting in a tie for third with Santa Clara. Five points separated 2nd/5th place.

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

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 GU's leading returner in seven pitching categories and one of five All-WCC Honorable Mentions in 2024.

- 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.

-GoZags.com-