ZAGS START NON-CON SERIES WITH COUGARS
- This is GU's first home game after starting the season with 21 road games. GU has the tenth latest home opener in Division 1 baseball
-  Washington State is the most commonly played opponent in Gonzaga history, with this matchup marking the 316th meeting 
- These teams have been playing each other for well over a 
century, with the first documented meeting being played in 1911 
- Gonzaga tied the facility record for most runs scored by a team at Patterson Baseball Complex when they scored 22 runs in the April 9th, 2024 matchup against  Washington State

GU ENTERS WITH MOMENTUM
-The Zags have outhit their opponent in 11 of their last 12 games 
- GU has won 82.2% of games in which they outhit the other team (477-103-1) in the Mark Machtolf era
- Gonzaga has scored over five runs in seven straight games now
-GU has won 80.8% of games (422-100) under Machtolf in which they have scored six or more runs
- The team's 8.20 hits allowed per nine innings is 55th in Division 1
- Gonzaga's 9.9 strikeouts per 9 Innings Pitched ranks 57th overall in Division 1 baseball
- The Zags let their pitching staff work deep into games, with a pitcher throwing 100 or more pitches in a game 7 times this year. 
- A Gonzaga pitcher has tossed over ninety pitches in a game on 13 separate occasions already this year.

GONZAGA TAKES  TWO GAMES FROM  TOREROS  TO OPEN WCC PLAY
- The Zags picked up a huge series win in the first weekend of conference play, taking a series win and two victories from a trip to play San Diego
- Gonzaga rallied to take the lead on long balls in the final innings in both games 
- Ryder  Young hit a huge three run home run with two outs in the top of the ninth inning to give the Zags the lead (and eventual win) to secure Saturday's win
- Hudson Shupe hit a towering three run home run of this own on Sunday, giving the Zags the lead in a rally in the top of the eighth inning
- San Diego was the only team picked ahead of Gonzaga in the season preseason poll, putting the Zags ahead in the race for the top of  WCC Standings
-The race for the WCC Championship (and the NCAA postseason auto-bid) has potentially huge implications for the NCAA tournament: A WCC team has won a game in every NCAA tournament since 2008

ZAGS  TIE RECORDS IN SERIES SWEEP OF SYCAMORES
- Gonzaga tied a program record for runs scored in a single game in a huge 23-16 win over Indiana State on March 15th. GU trailed by a score of 16-12 heading into the ninth inning before rallying to tie the game. The Zags then scored seven runs in the tenth inning to win
- The Zags hit seven home runs in the game, the second highest single game total in modern program history and the most in a game since 2010
- GU also drew 12  walks, the third most walks drawn by the Zags in a game since 2017
- The game, played in nearly 40 mile per hour winds, featured a remarkable 12 home runs
- This finished Gonzaga's first sweep of the year,  with the Zags beat the Sycamores by a score of 7-4 in the first two games of the series. 

SUPERB STUFF FROM SANCHEZ
- Starting shortstop Ricky Sanchez was a key part of that explosion of offense, tying a program record in hits in a single game with a 5 for 6 day at the plate
-Sanchez hit three home runs, including a grand slam, to tie a school record for the most single game home runs by a Zag
- His nine RBIs were the most by a Zag in a single game in the past decade, coming just short of Darin Holcomb's record setting performance of 10 RBIs  in a game on March 4, 2006 against Chicago State
- Sanchez finished the game with four runs. He was named the WCC Player of the Week for his performance. 

MACHTOLF CLOSES IN ON GONZAGA RECORD
- Gonzaga Head Coach Mark Machtolf currently has 632 career wins, ranking second in all time program history behind Steve Hertz, who holds the high mark with 637.
- Coach Machtolf brings a .541 win percentage into his 23rd season at the helm in 2026, the third-highest in Gonzaga history.
-Machtolf is the all time leader among active WCC coaches in career wins. He holds more than double the career  WCC wins of every other active head coach in the league.

ZAGS IN  THE PROS 
-Five Zags appeared in an MLB game last season, with  Troy Johnston making his major league debut in July. Johnston is the 31st Zag to make it to  The Show. 
-Eli Morgan signed with the Kansas City Royals and Marco Gonzales signed with the Padres in respective offseason moves
- Alek Jacob (Padres) and Casey Legumina (Mariners) appeared in the bullpens of their 
respective MLB teams
- Jacob  was a key part of the bullpen for the Italian team that made a run to the semifinals of the  World Baseball Classic. 
- Payton Graham is the most recent Zag to be drafted, selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 7th round of the 2025 draft.
-Gonzaga has had a player selected in every full draft since 1999