Gonzaga (20-21, 11-4 WCC) at Loyola Marymount (23-22, 10-8 WCC)
FRIDAY, MAY 2 | 6 P.M. | PAGE STADIUM | LOS ANGELES, CALIF.
SATURDAY, MAY 3 | 3 P.M. | PAGE STADIUM | LOS ANGELES, CALIF.
SUNDAY, MAY 4 | 1 P.M. | PAGE STADIUM | LOS ANGELES, CALIF.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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 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.
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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
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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.
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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.
-GoZags.com-
