LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Gonzaga rallied for a crucial series win over Loyola Marymount on Sunday, scoring two runs in the eighth inning to tie the game and five runs in the tenth to secure the 9-7 win at Page Stadium.
 
Gonzaga (22-22, 13-5 WCC) remains firmly in second place in the West Coast Conference standings, holding a two-game lead over Portland after the Bulldogs' win over Loyola Marymount (24-24, 11-10 WCC) in the series finale.
 
The Lions broke a 2-2 tie in the fifth with a two-run home run from Nate Savoie, while reliever Jacob Hughes powered through the Zag lineup. Gonzaga came to life in the eighth, as RBI doubles from Jacob Wrubleski and Sam Stem brought the game to a 4-4 tie while Garrett Gores (W, 2-1) pushed the game to extra innings on the mound.
 
Luca DiPaolo led off the opening frame in extras with a pinch-hit solo home run, the first for GU of the series. Three batters later, Stem pummeled his second home run of the season, a two-run shot to put the Zags up 7-4.
 
Gonzaga wasn't done yet. A walk, a single, and a balk put a pair of runners back in scoring position for Mikey Bell, who towered a two-run double to deep center field to cushion the lead.
 
Bell's double would make the difference in the end, as a three-run home run for LMU made it 9-7 in the bottom of the tenth. Despite the homer, Gores was able to finish his third inning in relief, completing the Bulldogs' comeback that secured a big series win.
 
Stem finished 2-for-5 in game three, driving in four and scoring once. He finished the weekend with seven runs batted in to lead the team. Bell added a pair of hits in a 2-for-5 effort on Sunday, concluding a 6-for-13 weekend.
 
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Gonzaga will look straight ahead towards senior weekend, preparing to host Saint Mary's May 9-11 at Patterson Baseball Complex and Coach Steve Hertz Field. The Gaels sit three games back of the Bulldogs in the West Coast Conference standings, making the series even more crucial for a top two seed at the WCC Tournament.