Baseball Travels to Loyola Marymount This Weekend

Friday, May 2

Los Angeles, Calif.

6 p.m.

Gonzaga University

Loyola Marymount

Baseball Travels to Loyola Marymount This Weekend

5/1/2025 1:03:00 PM | Baseball

Gonzaga Notes

The first-place Bulldogs and fourth-place Lions will square off in another critical WCC series

- Gonzaga travels to Los Angeles for another big WCC series this weekend.

- The Zags and fourth-place LMU battle at the top of the conference standings.

- Gonzaga swept Loyola Marymount in Spokane last season, 8-6, 7-6, 10-5.

- The Lions are coming off a series loss at Saint Mary's last weekend.

- Gonzaga dropped two of three to San Diego at home and are tied for first.

- The Lions finished 24-30 in 2024 and 9-15 in WCC play (seventh place).

- Max Coupe tied the Patterson Complex home run record with three Sunday.

- GU pitching is allowing 8.66 hits per 9.0 IP, is 1st in the WCC (59th in D-I).

- Gonzaga's 1.49 WHIP leads the WCC and ranks 79th in NCAA Division-I.

- The Bulldogs' .978 fielding percentage is first in the WCC and 28th 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 LIONS

- Loyola Marymount dropped two out of three at Saint Mary's last weekend, winning the middle game of the series.

- The Lions utilized a three-run home run in the top of the ninth to steal a win in the second game on Saturday.

- INF Cam Hassert leads the LMU offense with a .348 batting average, driving in 27 on 57 hits (11 extra base hits).

- 1B Beau Ankeney leads the Lions in home runs (13), RBI (48), runs (50), hits (63), and OPS (1.065).

- Through 45 games, Loyola Marymount is batting .278 and is averaging 7.0 runs per game and 9.5 hits per game.

- Lions pitching owns a 5.83 ERA (3rd in WCC), striking out 402 and walking 252 over 392.1 innings pitched.

- In 2024, LMU finished 24-30 with a 9-15 record in West Coast Conference play.

TOUGH REMAINING WCC SCHEDULE

- Gonzaga's second half of their WCC slate includes 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.

SENIOR WEEKEND ON DECK

- GU will return home for senior weekend May 9-11, hosting Saint Mary's in yet another big WCC series.

- The Bulldogs and Gaels will each look to secure their spots in the West Coast Conference Tournament.

- Saint Mary's took two out of three from Gonzaga last spring in Moraga.

BULLDOGS AVENGE EXTRA-INNING LOSS TO WASHINGTON STATE

- Gonzaga avenged their 7-6 extra-inning loss to Washington State on Apr. 1, defeating the Cougs on Tuesday.

- The Zags earned their own 7-6 extra-inning win in Pullman, scoring the winning run in the top of the tenth.

- Max Coupe laid down a suicide squeeze bunt to bring home Mikey Bell, the go-ahead run in the tenth.

COUPE MATCHES PATTERSON HOME RUN RECORD

- Max Coupe matched a Patterson Baseball Complex record on Apr. 27 against San Diego with three home runs.

- On a 3-for-3, 4 RBI, 4 R afternoon, Coupe became the first Bulldog with a three-homer game since 2023.

- Coupe's feat is the first done by a player at Patterson Baseball Complex since 2009 (Ryan Wiegand vs. LMU).

ZAGS TURNING IT AROUND

- After a 2-12 start to the 2025 season, Gonzaga won their next 16 out of 19 to get back above .500.

- The Bulldogs 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 won five out their next 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-