Gonzaga (18-19, 10-2 WCC) vs. San Diego (15-24, 9-3 WCC)
FRIDAY, APRIL 25 | 6 P.M. | PATTERSON BASEBALL COMPLEX & COACH STEVE HERTZ FIELD | SPOKANE
SATURDAY, APRIL 26 | 6 P.M. | PATTERSON BASEBALL COMPLEX & COACH STEVE HERTZ FIELD | SPOKANE
SUNDAY, APRIL 27 | 1 P.M. | PATTERSON BASEBALL COMPLEX & COACH STEVE HERTZ FIELD | SPOKANE
- 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.
- 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).
- 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
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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.
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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
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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.Â
- In game one of the series, Bell was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI and a run scored.Â
- 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
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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.
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Gabe Brabec threw 6.2 strong innings, surrendering WSU's only run in the bottom of the first inning.
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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.
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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
- 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.
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