SPOKANE, Wash- Gonzaga Baseball (18-14, 7-3 WCC) had another explosion of offense to defeat Portland (20-11, 6-4 WCC) 12-6 at home on Friday night.

The Zags had 18 hits, using their fifth straight game with double digit hits to extend their five game winning streak. GU has now outhit their opponent in 20 of their last 23 games.

Mikey Bell led the charge with five hits, tying the program record for hits in a single game. Bell is now the fourth Zag to record five hits in a game this season. Every single GU batter had a hit and six Bulldogs had a multi-hit game.

Bell got the Zags on the board in the first inning, using a single to get on base before Maddox Haley drove him in on a sacrifice fly. The Pilots got two runs back in the second on a home run by Leo Cote. The Zags took the lead back in the following inning as Bell scored again, driving in Ricky Sanchez with an RBI double before coming around to score on another RBI by Haley.

GU continued to build momentum by scoring a run in the following three innings, adding three runs in the fourth inning after a leadoff triple by Noah Meffert. Gonzaga scored another run in the fifth inning on an RBI single from Jacob Wrubleski, while Meffert doubled in the sixth to score another run. Portland got two runs back in the sixth to cut into the deficit before the Zags scored four more runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach. A run of six straight baserunners, spread across four hits and two walks, worked to extend the scoring parade. Eight different Gonzaga batters scored a run tonight, with seven Zags getting credit for an RBI.

This win ties Gonzaga for the lead of the WCC Standings. A crowd of 1,176 fans came out to support the Zags as they extended their recent hot stretch, picking up 14 wins in their last 17 games played. Gonzaga will look to continue to play an exciting brand of baseball when they return to Patterson Baseball Complex for Saturday's 6pm rematch with Portland.