STOCKTON, Calif.- Gonzaga Baseball (11-12) beat Pacific (9-16) with yet another exciting ninth inning home run leading them to a 7-6 victory on Friday night.
Jacob Wrubleski broke a deadlocked game in the top of the ninth inning, sending a huge home run out of the stadium to put the Zags in front and eventually win the game. Gonzaga has now hit a home run to take the lead in the final two innings in each of their last three WCC games.
Gonzaga hit four home runs in the game, extending their streak of games with a home to eight. The Zags outhit the Tigers 14-10, having now outhit their opponent in 13 of their last 14 games.
GU got on the board first to open the matchup, plating two runs in the top of the second inning. A sequence of four straight baserunners (split across two walks and two runs) loaded the bases to set up an RBI for both Hudson Shupe and Wrubleski to give the Zags the first two runs.
Pacific jumped out to a lead in the bottom of the frame, taking advantage of three straight walks to load the bases to start the innings. The Tigers scored four runners on a single and a fielder's choice in the ensuing at bats. Landon Hood worked out the jam with two straight ground balls and a strikeout to limit the damage.
Maddox Haley continued his hot streak by hitting another homer, scorching a ball out of the park in left field in the fourth inning. Haley has a home run in three of the past four games. He has gone 14 for 19 at the plate in that span.
The Zags left the bases loaded in the top of the fourth, striking out twice to end the scoring chance. Ryder Young tied the score the following inning when he hit a home run to left field.
Young hit his second home run in as many innings in the sixth, hitting yet another dinger to left field to give the Zags a homer in three straight innings. Young now leads the Zags with six home runs on the season. This was his sixth game in a row with an RBI. Hudson Shupe came around to score after a double in the seventh inning, extending the Bulldog lead to 6-4 heading into the final nine outs.
Pacific scored a run and loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth before opting for a sacrifice fly, tying the game before Zach Bowman got a groundout to escape the jam and set up the ninth inning.
Wrubleski's clutch home run gave the Zags the one run lead heading into the bottom of the ninth. Bowman then got three straight outs to close out the win. He gave up only two hits across 1.2 scoreless innings while closing out the game.
Gonzaga has won three straight WCC contests and will look to extend the streak when they return to play Pacific at 3pm on Saturday.