The fate of Gonzaga University baseball\u2019s regular season came down to the final pitch of its final game, as the Zags (26-25, 16-8 WCC) gritted out a 6-4 game three victory over the University of Portland (22-29, 13-11 WCC) on Saturday to maintain their one-game lead over Saint Mary\u2019s in the West Coast Conference standings.<\/p>\n
As the dust settled on the final weekend of conference play, GU\u2019s two wins against Portland were just enough to clinch second place in the conference standings \u2013 and therefore, a bye into the second round of the WCC championships. With everything still to play for on the final day, the Zags blasted two home runs and relied on a shutdown bullpen to win 6-4 at Portland.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a huge win today to secure that second seed,\u201d GU associate head coach Brandon Harmon said. \u201cGetting that bye is huge and hopefully gives us a clearer path to go win the tourney down in Las Vegas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Strong pitching was a theme of both of GU\u2019s wins this weekend, as games one and three against Portland played out similarly. In each contest, the Zags and Pilots wasted no time exchanging blows, with both teams scoring in the first inning and the games remaining close throughout. However, the strong GU pitching tipped both outings in the Zags’ favor, as Kai Francis and Erik Hoffberg impressed on the mound in both games.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I loved having the opportunity to pitch in those high leverage situations this weekend,” Francis said. “I felt that I did my job, and there’s no better feeling than putting up zeros on their scoreboard.”<\/p>\n
After a slow start to the year, Francis (2-1, team-leading 3.28 ERA) has evolved into one of GU\u2019s most trusted relievers. The longtime Zag stalked the mound for 3.0 innings in both games \u2013 giving up only one baserunner in a shutout performance in game one while picking up his second win of the season in the regular season finale.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s having a really special senior year,\u201d Harmon said. \u201cI\u2019m about as proud of Kai Francis as a coach can be. He went from having not much of a role to start the year to giving us two huge outings this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Hoffberg\u2019s two ninth inning performances have only solidified his case as the Zags\u2019 No. 1 leverage guy heading into the postseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t say enough about Hoffberg,\u201d Harmon said. \u201cHe came in for both wins and slammed the door. Knowing you have him to finish things out is a huge weapon for us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Francis and Hoffberg will continue to be key from the GU bullpen heading into the double-elimination conference tournament bracket. Plus, no opponent of GU in this postseason will take great pleasure in seeing Mikey Bell on the Zags’ batting order. The right fielder wreaked havoc on the conference this season, collecting a hit in 29 of the last 30 games for the Zags dating back to March 23.<\/p>\n
Bell, the Zags’ leader in batting average (.365), doubles (16), home runs (11) and RBIs (44), was the standout GU batter across both games against Portland, picking up two runs and an RBI on a 2-for-3 performance on Thursday before smacking his 11th home run of the season in Saturday\u2019s first inning to score two.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMikey really set the tone in game three with the big first inning home run,\u201d Harmon said. \u201cWe had a lot of big contributions this weekend, but Bell and [Ty] Yukumoto really carried us offensively.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell was heavily involved in Friday\u2019s game as well (2-for-5, one run, two RBIs), but a monster nine-run seventh inning from the Pilots proved costly, and the Zags fell 12-5 in the outlier game on the weekend despite being up 4-0 early.<\/p>\n
The WCC championships tee off on Wednesday, but the Zags\u2019 No. 2 seed will see them take the diamond on Thursday at 6:05 p.m., facing the highest seed remaining from Wednesday\u2019s first round (No. 3 Saint Mary\u2019s versus No. 6 San Francisco, or No. 4 LMU versus No. 5 Portland).<\/p>\n
“I can\u2019t wait to head down to Vegas and see what this team can do,” Francis said. “We are all gas, no brakes.”<\/p>\n