Friday, April 10
Spokane, WA
6 p.m.
Gonzaga University
vs
Portland
Gonzaga Baseball welcomes Portland Pilots for Weekend Series
4/9/2026 3:50:00 PM | Baseball
PREVIEWING PIVOTAL MATCHUP WITH PORTLAND
-The series between GU and Portland could potentially be key to the race for the WCC regular season title, with both teams tied for second at 6-3
- Both teams have ranked wins this year, with Portland beating #7 Oregon State and defeating #21 Oregon twice, while Gonzaga beat #16 Oklahoma
-Portland has been powered by a fantastic pitching staff, with their 3.28 ERA ranking fourth overall in Division 1 baseball.
- The Pilots allow 7.84 hits per 9 IP, the 33rd lowest D1 rate. They also have a 1.29 WHIP, the 28th best in the nation
DOING DAMAGE WITH DOUBLES
-That staff will clash with Gonzaga's recent explosion of offense.The Zags are 25th nationally in Doubles per Game with 2.23
- Gonzaga has 69 doubles this year, with 13 players logging a double
- Ryder Young (11), Mikey Bell (10), and Maddox Haley (10) each have hit double digits in doubles already
BEEN BUSY IN THE BATTER'S BOX
-GU has 319 hits on the year, which ranks 66th overall in Division 1 baseball
-Gonzaga has hit 37 home runs, leading the WCC and the 83rd overall total in D1
-The Bulldogs use Sacrifice Flys more effectively than most other teams, with their 23 sacrifices marking the ninth most in the nation
-The Zags have a .292 batting average as a team, the 70th best average among all division one teams
-GU's .462 Slugging Percentage ranks 81st overall nationally
HITTING A STRIDE AT THE PLATE
- Gonzaga is currently on a run of 13 wins in their last 17 games played, led by consistent areas of sucess in batting
- Zags have outhit their opponent in 19 of their last 22 games GU has won 82.5% of games in which they outhit the other team (485-103-1) under Machtolf
- Gonzaga has scored at least six runs in 16 of their last 20 games Gonzaga wins 81% of games (430-100) under Machtolf in which they have scored six or more runs
-There have been five different Zags with a multi-home run game this season
-Three different Zags have had a five hit game this year, with Ricky Sanchez, Maddox Haley, and Ryder Young all tying the program high for hits in a single game
- Gonzaga has gotten an extra base hit from 13 different batters
ZAGS GOT DEFENSE
-The Bulldog's 8.12 hits allowed per nine innings is the 41st best rate in Division 1
- Gonzaga's 9.6 strikeouts 9 Innings Pitched ranks 61st in D1 - GU's 1.45 WHIP is also good for 67th overall nationally
- A combined staff 5.26 ERA ranks as the 101st best in college baseball
-The team's .974 fielding percentage is 71st best in the country
-The Zags let their pitching staff work deep into games, with a pitcher throwing 100 or more pitches 10 times in a game this season.
-A Gonzaga pitcher has tossed over ninety pitches in a game on 17 separate occasions already this year
MACHTOLF SETS GONZAGA RECORD
- Gonzaga Head Coach Mark Machtolf secured his 638th career win on Saturday, April 4th, setting the GU record for career head coach wins
-Machtolf passed Steve Hertz for the career wins record, overtaking the coach that gave Machtolf a start in coaching as a hitting coach in 1987 after his graduation from Stanford
-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, while Brett Harris played third base for the Athletics
- Troy Johnston (Rockies) and Casey Legumina (Mariners) are both currently on major league rosters for the 2026 season
- Alek 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
-The series between GU and Portland could potentially be key to the race for the WCC regular season title, with both teams tied for second at 6-3
- Both teams have ranked wins this year, with Portland beating #7 Oregon State and defeating #21 Oregon twice, while Gonzaga beat #16 Oklahoma
-Portland has been powered by a fantastic pitching staff, with their 3.28 ERA ranking fourth overall in Division 1 baseball.
- The Pilots allow 7.84 hits per 9 IP, the 33rd lowest D1 rate. They also have a 1.29 WHIP, the 28th best in the nation
DOING DAMAGE WITH DOUBLES
-That staff will clash with Gonzaga's recent explosion of offense.The Zags are 25th nationally in Doubles per Game with 2.23
- Gonzaga has 69 doubles this year, with 13 players logging a double
- Ryder Young (11), Mikey Bell (10), and Maddox Haley (10) each have hit double digits in doubles already
BEEN BUSY IN THE BATTER'S BOX
-GU has 319 hits on the year, which ranks 66th overall in Division 1 baseball
-Gonzaga has hit 37 home runs, leading the WCC and the 83rd overall total in D1
-The Bulldogs use Sacrifice Flys more effectively than most other teams, with their 23 sacrifices marking the ninth most in the nation
-The Zags have a .292 batting average as a team, the 70th best average among all division one teams
-GU's .462 Slugging Percentage ranks 81st overall nationally
HITTING A STRIDE AT THE PLATE
- Gonzaga is currently on a run of 13 wins in their last 17 games played, led by consistent areas of sucess in batting
- Zags have outhit their opponent in 19 of their last 22 games GU has won 82.5% of games in which they outhit the other team (485-103-1) under Machtolf
- Gonzaga has scored at least six runs in 16 of their last 20 games Gonzaga wins 81% of games (430-100) under Machtolf in which they have scored six or more runs
-There have been five different Zags with a multi-home run game this season
-Three different Zags have had a five hit game this year, with Ricky Sanchez, Maddox Haley, and Ryder Young all tying the program high for hits in a single game
- Gonzaga has gotten an extra base hit from 13 different batters
ZAGS GOT DEFENSE
-The Bulldog's 8.12 hits allowed per nine innings is the 41st best rate in Division 1
- Gonzaga's 9.6 strikeouts 9 Innings Pitched ranks 61st in D1 - GU's 1.45 WHIP is also good for 67th overall nationally
- A combined staff 5.26 ERA ranks as the 101st best in college baseball
-The team's .974 fielding percentage is 71st best in the country
-The Zags let their pitching staff work deep into games, with a pitcher throwing 100 or more pitches 10 times in a game this season.
-A Gonzaga pitcher has tossed over ninety pitches in a game on 17 separate occasions already this year
MACHTOLF SETS GONZAGA RECORD
- Gonzaga Head Coach Mark Machtolf secured his 638th career win on Saturday, April 4th, setting the GU record for career head coach wins
-Machtolf passed Steve Hertz for the career wins record, overtaking the coach that gave Machtolf a start in coaching as a hitting coach in 1987 after his graduation from Stanford
-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, while Brett Harris played third base for the Athletics
- Troy Johnston (Rockies) and Casey Legumina (Mariners) are both currently on major league rosters for the 2026 season
- Alek 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
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF/OF
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