Gonzaga Baseball Sweeps Portland, Pushes Winning Streak to Seven
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Gonzaga Bulldogs third baseman Mikey Bell motions to his dugout after hitting a double against the Portland Pilots at Steve Hertz Field at the Patterson Baseball Complex. Credit: Gonzaga Athletics [/caption]
Boasting the sixth-best ERA in all of college baseball entering Friday’s action, the Portland Pilots (20-13, 6-6 WCC) were riding high into a three-game set with Gonzaga baseball at the Patterson Baseball Complex.
So it only made sense for the Bulldogs (20-14, 9-3 WCC) to continue to swing hot bats, as they scored double-digit runs in each of the series’ three games to sweep Portland out of Spokane and move into a first-place tie atop the conference.
It was the Zags’ pitching staff that stood out more over the weekend, even with a near-complete collapse by the bullpen in the series finale. GU third baseman Mikey Bell notched a couple of five-hit days during the set, earning some hardware after his monstrous week at the dish. And southpaw starter Karsten Sweum set some new personal bests on the mound as he emptied the clip in an outstanding effort. With the continuous strong contributions on both sides of the ball, especially by the offense, the Bulldogs extended their winning streak to seven games.
Game 1: Gonzaga wins 12-6
In the series opener, the Zags tallied at least one run in six of their eight trips to the plate, smacking the ball all around the yard during the win. Every hitter in the order had at least one knock, highlighted by Bell’s 5-for-6 day at the dish. He singled back up the box in the first, then came around to score on a Maddox Haley sacrifice fly later in the inning.
Portland would take one of its two leads in the series the following frame, as lefty Leo Cote cranked a Justin Feld fastball the other way, pushing it over the left field wall for a two-run shot.
Ricky Sánchez and Bell laced back-to-back doubles to kick off the third, tying the game before Haley’s RBI groundout plated Bell again. Leading off the fourth was Noah Meffert, who crushed a triple off the top of the wall in right-center before scoring on a hard grounder by Tommy Eisenstat that the second baseman couldn’t handle. The next three runs came on RBI singles, as Bell and Ryder Young stroked back-to-back run-scoring hits in the fourth, and Jacob Wrubleski did the same with two outs in the fifth to make it 7-2 GU.
Feld ran into trouble in the fifth himself, loading the bases with two down. But he got out of the jam on a 3-2 fastball perfectly dotted up and away. After allowing a couple of singles in the sixth, Feld was lifted for Erik Hoffberg after 5 1/3 innings of work. Those two inherited runners did score on a sharp groundball past a diving Sánchez, making Feld’s final line less pretty. The senior right-hander allowed seven hits and walked five, but also struck out five and kept his perfect record intact, moving to 4-0 on the season.
Meffert doubled home a run in the bottom half to get one back, then the Bulldogs blew it open in the eighth. With the bases loaded, Eisenstat rocketed a pitch down the first-base line for a two-run two-bagger. Then after a pitching change, Bo Shinkle blooped one into shallow center to chase home two more runs.
Hoffberg allowed a couple of runs in the ninth, one of which came on a leadoff solo shot, but he finished the job to lock up his second save.
Game 2: Gonzaga wins 11-3
Saturday was a day for the southpaws, as the aforementioned Sweum improved to 4-1 and the three lefties in the back half of the lineup – Eisenstat, Shinkle, and Hudson Shupe – all logged multi-hit games.
In the second inning, Shupe lined one into the left-center gap. The centerfielder attempted to cut the ball off but misplayed it and went sprawling, while the ball rolled to the wall. Shupe ended up at third, and Meffert, who singled beforehand, scored easily. Shupe would come home one batter later on a groundout from Jacob Wrubleski.
The next batter, Eisenstat, beat out a slow chopper between a shifted second baseman and shortstop. Then Shinkle grooved a middle-middle heater over the fence in right-center for his first home run of the season, capping the Zags’ four-run frame.
On the other side, Sweum was cooking through the first four innings, as he racked up seven strikeouts within the first 16 batters he faced. The Pilots drew blood in the fifth though, plating two doubles, with one of them being unearned after a Sánchez error. A 1-2-3 sixth from Sweum, with him eclipsing the 100-pitch seemingly ended his day, but head coach Mark Machtolf sent him back out for the seventh.
After a soft single and a one-out walk, Sweum was finally pulled, but not before setting new career highs in pitches thrown (119) and strikeouts (11) as he worked around five walks and hits apiece. Fellow lefty Zach Bowman came out of the bullpen to get the final run of the inning, but not prior to an RBI single that cut the score to 4-3.
GU loaded the bags with two outs in the bottom half, needing some insurance. Haley struck a hot shot to shortstop that the defender couldn’t pick on the short hop, bringing two runs around. Then Meffert pulled a spinner just over the third baseman’s head and down the line for a run-scoring double later. Two wild pitches later, they each scored to open the lead up to 9-3.
The Bulldogs filled the pillows again in the eighth, this time with none out, setting the table for Bell. Drilling an up-and-in fastball that one-hopped off the wall, Bell drove in two more runs with a two-bagger.
The combination of Bowman and Jared Glenn kept Portland’s bats quiet for the remainder of the game, as they allowed just four baserunners in the final three frames while a late rain shower poured down in the ninth.
Game 3: Gonzaga wins 12-11
The series finale was a rollercoaster, as what once felt like a comfortable GU win turned into a nail-biting finish.
The Pilots nearly got out of a bases loaded pickle in the first, but Shupe was hit by a pitch with two outs to force a run home. Eisenstat stayed hot leading off the next inning, as he towered a high fastball deep into right-center. The ball bounced off the wall and past the leaping centerfielder, who lost his glove as the ball rolled into no-man’s land in center field. Racing around the bases was Eisenstat, hitting a stand-up inside-the-parker to ignite the home crowd.
Three straight singles followed Eisenstat’s trip around the bases, then Meffert came through with another knock later on to make it 4-0.
Finbar O’Brien got the start for the Bulldogs, and he labored through an abbreviated outing. Even though he only allowed one run, the fashion in which the Pilots scored was a microcosm of O’Brien’s day on the bump. It was plated on a wild pitch in the third, as the righty walked six in 3 1/3 innings despite striking out six.
A lackluster day from its starter wasn’t particularly difficult to stomach for the Zags’ offense, however. In the fourth, after a Sánchez leadoff double, Bell unloaded on a center-cut offering to straightaway center that still might not have landed. The next batter was Young, who introduced the new reliever on the mound with another no-doubt blast, this time pulling a cement-mixing slider over the wall in left. For good measure, Shupe crushed an inside pitch way over the right-field wall two batters later for another solo shot to make it 8-1.
In the sixth, Portland benefited from Bell going the short way with the bases loaded and two out, as his throw pulled Shupe off the second base bag. Gonzaga proceeded to get the run back in the bottom half on an RBI groundout by Young.
Then the momentum swung. Mickey McClaskey ran into trouble after walking three men around a double, with the Pilots cutting the score to 9-4. Garrett Gores came on in relief, but he didn’t ease the situation, walking another batter before allowing a two-run double and an RBI single. Then the crushing blow was thrown, as Cole Katayama-Stall clobbered a ball to right with runners at the corners. It landed over the fence and just out of Meffert’s reach as the Pilots erased a seven-run deficit and led 10-9 at that point after an eight-run inning.
But like much of what GU has done all year, they rallied. Bell struck a game-tying single to left with the bases juiced in the bottom of the seventh. Then with two down, Haley pulled another base hit through the left side to score two more and put the Zags back in front.
Gores put up a zero in the eighth, paving the way for Bowman to shut the door. But of course, the final three outs didn’t come easy, as more rain poured down in the final frame once again. A Portland single with two out and two on scored a run, then Bowman walked the next man to build the suspense to the utmost degree. Managing to get a 1-1 fastball in just enough during a lefty-lefty matchup, Bowman induced a lazy fly ball to left as the Bulldogs held on for the victory and the sweep.
On Deck
Bell went 11-for-16 with five extra base hits in the three games, recording a nation-high 16 hits over the last week. He was named WCC Player of the Week for his performance, while also being selected to the Baseball America National Team of the Week. Gonzaga’s man at the hot corner is now hitting .331 with a 1.005 OPS on the year.
The Zags will travel to Moraga next weekend for a series with Saint Mary’s, which is one game behind them in the WCC standings. Leading the conference in each of the triple slash categories, the Gaels bring punch with the bats as well, so these two teams could be in store for fireworks.
