SPOKANE, Wash.- Gonzaga Baseball (35-17, 22-5 WCC) finished the final Gonzaga Athletics home event in the WCC with another win, defeating Seattle (18-31, 11-16 WCC) with a 16-13 win.
Gonzaga's 22 wins are the most by any team in the WCC in over two decades, with the mark clocking in as Pepperdine in 2003. The Zags finished the year with seven wins more than any other team in the WCC this season, taking the regular season title with them ahead of a move to the PAC-12 next year.
Today's game was a back and forth affair, with the Zags rallying in the eighth inning to log another win. Gonzaga had 17 hits today, scoring 16 runs on very timely hitting. Santa Clara originally scored two runs in the first inning on a home run to left field.
The Zags responded with a run in the bottom of the first, as Ricky Sanchez had a hit to leadoff and was driven in on an RBI by Mikey Bell. Bell had an exceptional day at the plate, driving in six runs, tied for the second most by a Zag at Patterson Baseball complex ever. Mikey Bell was also five for six, tying the program record for the most hits in a single game, the third time this season that he has done so.
Gonzaga added another two runs in the second inning as Hudson Shupe and Jacob Wrubleski were driven in on a single by Bo Shinkle. GU then expanded the lead with a run by Tommy Eisenstats after his double in the fourth inning. Seattle scored three runs on a home run in the top of the fifth inning.
The Bulldogs responded by exploding for six runs in the fifth inning, using three different two run home runs from Eisenstat, Bell and Noah Meffert to take back the lead. Seattle had five straight runners reach base safely in the top of the seventh while adding five runs of their own to take the lead, adding another run on a solo home run in the top of the eighth.
The Zags retook the lead once more on a big rally in the bottom of the eighth, scoring five runs thanks to a clutch RBI double by Bell. Brandon Cabrera and Peyton Miller had clutch pinch hitting at-bats in their final game at Patterson Baseball Complex on Senior Day, with each player scoring an RBI to give the Zags the lead and eventual win.
Gonzaga will take the first overall seed in to the WCC tournament, with their first game set for 2pm on Thursday in Scottsdale, Arizona. They will face the lowest advancing seed of the play in games, which will take place on Wednesday. Santa Clara (6th seed) will take on San Francisco (3rd seed), while Saint Mary's (5th seed) and Pepperdine (4th seed) meet in the later play-in game. The entirety of the tournament will be streamed on ESPN+, with the final being broadcast nationally on ESPNU
