Gonzaga (23-24) vs. Washington State (18-32)
TUESDAY, MAY 13 | 6 P.M. | PATTERSON BASEBALL COMPLEX AND COACH STEVE HERTZ FIELD | SPOKANE, WASH.
Despite an early 7-0 deficit, Gonzaga battled back with an eight-run third inning to take an 8-7 lead over Saint Mary's.
Rece Schuerman and
Sam Stem each clubbed home runs in the big inning.
Erik Hoffberg threw six and a third innings in relief with eight strikeouts, but allowed six runs on nine hits, including four Gael home runs. The Bulldogs trailed 12-9 entering the bottom of the ninth, but strung together a two-out rally that plated two runs and put the tying run in scoring position. Saint Mary's would hang on for the 12-11 win to take the final two games and secure a crucial West Coast Conference series over Gonzaga. Each of the three games were decided by one run and included ninth-inning rallies from the Bulldogs, who walked-off with game one before falling short in games two and three.
Â
QUICK HITTERS
•
Tommy Eisenstat leads the Bulldogs with a .462 batting average and 1.346 OPS in three games versus Washington State this season, recording a pair of doubles, a home run, and three runs scored.
• Probable starter
Michael Cunneely is 0-0 with a 7.94 ERA in three career games against Washington State. On April 29, Cunneely threw four-plus innings in Gonzaga's 7-6 extra-inning win over the Cougars in Pullman.
• Gonzaga has punched their ticket to the West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas for the eighth-straight season (leads WCC). Since moving to a tournament format in 2013, the Bulldogs lead all WCC teams with ten appearances.
•
Sam Stem is batting 8-for-18 (.444) in has last four games with three home runs and nine runs batted in.
• Over his last 23 games,
Mikey Bell is slashing .489/.574/.889 (1.463 OPS) with eight home runs and 29 runs batted in, riding an 11-game hit streak.
•
Erik Hoffberg ranks second in the West Coast Conference in ERA (4.21), saves (5), and strikeouts per 9.0 IP (11.75).
• Gonzaga's 5.67 team ERA ranks first in the West Coast Conference, also leading the league in hits allowed per 9.0 IP (9.12). The pitching staff also holds a 1.50 WHIP and walks just 4.43 batters per 9.0 IP, ranking second in the WCC in each category.
• The Bulldogs set a new season-high with 17 hits in Friday's 9-8 walkoff win over Saint Mary's. Their previous high of 15 occurred twice (4/1 vs. Washington State and 4/4 vs. San Francisco).
• GU's 40 hits in their series with Saint Mary's is also a season high, just two more than their 38 in a series sweep of San Francisco April 4-6.
Â
-GoZags.com-
