Over the weekend, Gonzaga University\u2019s baseball team (3-7) traveled to Norman, OK for a three-game series against the No. 13 University of Oklahoma Sooners. After suffering losses in the first two matchups on Friday and Saturday, the Zags bounced back with a 7-1 win on Sunday, their first victory over a ranked opponent since 2024.<\/p>\n
The series-opener on Friday was a story of high-powered offenses. GU recorded 11 hits in 34 trips to the plate. Graduate shortstop Ricky S\u00e1nchez had a standout 3-for-4 performance, while reigning WCC Player of the Year Mikey Bell recorded a double and a home run in his four at-bats. Though the Zags filled up the hits column, the Sooners dominated the overall scoresheet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Sooners racked up 10 hits, including homers from Brendan Brock and Dayton Tockey, as well as six stolen bases, three of which came from center fielder Jason Walk. The Zags pitching room certainly did not do themselves any favors, giving up 12 walks in Friday’s game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Four of those walks came in the first inning, where the Sooners built an early 6-0 lead. Although the Zags responded with three of their own in the top of the third, Oklahoma pulled out a double play to escape a bases-loaded jam in the fourth, and that play flipped the game’s momentum. The Sooners stretched the lead to nine by the bottom of the sixth, and the game ended with a final score of 14-4.<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s matchup told a similar story, as the Sooners were up 7-1 by the end of the fourth inning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
GU left fielder Ryder Young logged a hit in the second inning, and although senior catcher Luca DiPaolo brought him home with a sacrifice fly, that would be GU\u2019s only success from the batter\u2019s box, due in large to a stellar pitching performance from Oklahoma\u2019s LJ Mercurius.<\/p>\n
Mercurius pitched all seven innings for the Sooners, and he nearly tossed a perfect game. The right-handed UNLV transfer finished with nine strikeouts and allowed just one hit and one walk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While Mercurius led the way defensively, Oklahoma\u2019s offense was just as sharp. The Sooners amassed 15 hits, including home runs from Camden Johnson, Trey Gambill and Nolan Stevens, en route to an 11-1 mercy rule after seven innings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite ten-run losses in their first two games, the Zags finished the series strong with a 7-1 victory on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n
After a slow start to the game, Bell homered in the third to establish a 2-0 lead for the Zags. Brock responded with a home run of his own in the sixth to halve the deficit for the Sooners, and the game remained within one run until the ninth inning.<\/p>\n
In the top of the ninth, the Zags exploded for four hits and five runs, and freshman pitcher Landon Hood preserved the win with three strikeouts to end the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite throwing just three innings, Hood made his mark on the game with seven strikeouts and zero hits allowed, and his efforts earned him the title of WCC Freshman of the Week for the second time this season. Hood took over for sophomore Karsten Sweum, who also tallied seven strikeouts during Sunday\u2019s game and whose performance merited WCC Pitcher of the Week honors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Zags\u2019 victory over the Sooners is their first ranked win since they beat No. 6 Vanderbilt in the 2024 season, and GU will look to carry its momentum into this weekend\u2019s series against the Creighton University Bluejays (3-6) at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, home of the College World Series.<\/p>\n