SPOKANE, Wash.- Gonzaga Baseball (27-16, 15-4 WCC), dropped the series opener on Friday night to Santa Clara (17-27, 6-13 WCC) by a final score of 5-3.
Hudson Shupe tied a program record for walks drawn in a single game, taking a free pass four times. Garrett Gores was solid in relief for the Zags, tossing for 3.2 scoreless innings on a season high 58 pitches to save the bullpen for the rest of the series. The Zags had two solo home runs but were otherwise unable to string together much offense against a solid Santa Clara pitching staff.
Santa Clara opened the scoring in the first inning after getting runners in scoring position via two straight walks and driving in the lead man on a ground ball. They added another two runs in the second after Thomas Ferroggiaro hit a two run home run to extend the lead for the Broncos. Shupe scored a run in the fourth, converting a walk into a run thanks to back to back GU singles.
Santa Clara added another two runs in the top of the sixth, driving in two more runs on an RBI single. The Zags got solo home runs from Jacob Wrubleski and Ryder Young but were unable to add any more runs to cut into the final score.
Gonzaga will return to play Santa Clara again on Saturday, with first pitch set for 6pm.
