HONOLULU, Hawaii- Gonzaga Baseball (1-2) picked up the first win of the season on Sunday, beating Hawaii (2-1) by a score of 7-2 in a 12 inning classic. The Zags endured heavy winds and intermittent showers to pick up the win in extra innings, backed by two tremendous outings by young pitchers.
Sophomore left hander Karsten Sweum worked out of three separate jams of with two runners on base with less than two outs in three of his first four innings of work.
The Zags opened the scoring first, with Luca DiPaolo lacing a double off the wall in the third inning before Bo Shinkle drove him in on the very next pitch. After a successful challenge from Coach Mark Machtolf on an infield single with two outs, GU scored another run in the inning thanks to a Tommy Eisenstat RBI.
Hawaii got two runs back in the sixth, finally getting to Sweum to even the game. Sweum allowed only six baserunners across 5.2 innings of work. Landon Hood was lights out in his first collegiate appearance in relief, allowing a hit in his first at bat before retiring the next 12 batters he faced. Hawaii deployed the same two relief pitchers that effectively stymied the Zags in the Friday matchup to work in relief again for the fifth to eighth innings, as both pitching staffs went back and forth posting scoreless innings all the way for the next five innings.
The Zags broke through in the 12th inning, starting a rally with back to back singles by Rece Schuerman and Bo Shinkle. Noah Meffert then ripped an RBI double before an intentional walk of Mikey Bell loaded the bases. Eisenstat collected another RBI the painful way, driving in a runner with a hit by pitch. Hudson Shupe and Landon White also added additional runs as the Zags batted around in the top of the inning.
Hood locked down the win in the bottom of the 12th inning in similar dominant fashion with a three up-three down inning. Hood's final line in his first appearance of his freshman year was incredibly promising: 6.1 innings, only two baserunners (both getting on base via a single), eight strikeouts and no runs, and his first ever win. Hawaii had to use seven different pitchers in today's game, while the Zags only used two arms thanks to the great outings by Sweum and Hood.
The Zags will look to continue to build on their momentum from this win when they taking on Hawaii tomorrow in a Monday matinee at 3 pm pacific time.
