SPOKANE, Wash.- Gonzaga Baseball (28-16, 16-4 WCC), rallied behind a great bullpen effort to get a 7-6 win over Santa Clara (17-28, 6-14 WCC) on Saturday.
Landon Hood struck out all seven batters that he faced in the final innings, throwing a perfect 2.1 innings to secure his fourth save of the season. Gonzaga pitchers combined for 16 strikeouts today, as Karsten Sweum threw an additional eight strikeouts.
The Zags scored four runs in the first inning, as GU batters put up six hits in the inning while every man in the lineup came to the plate in the frame. A leadoff single by Ricky Sanchez turned into the first run of the game, while a three run home run to left field by Noah Meffert added to the Gonzaga scoring in the first. Gonzaga is now 18-3 in games in which they score first. The bulldogs are 12-1 where they score a run in the first inning of a game.
Santa Clara took the lead in the second inning behind five runs, following up a three run home run with an inside the park home run to jump out to the lead. Ryder Young tied the game in the fifth inning with his team leading 11th home run of the year, a solo shot to left field. Maddox Haley came around to score after working a walk, giving Gonzaga a lead that would last exactly a half inning until the Broncos tied it again on a triple.
The Zags would score their seventh run in the sixth inning, with Tommy Eisenstat coming around to score what would end up being the winning run after he got on base with his second double of the night. Gonzaga has now scored six or more runs in 23 of their last 29 games. Hood's sensational outing closed out the win for the Zags, adding another seven strikeouts to bring his season total to 59 punchouts. Sweum's eight additional strikeouts bring his season total to 84, tying for the most of any pitcher in the WCC.
The Zags will look to secure their eighth straight weekend series win on Sunday when they face Santa Clara at 1pm.
