May 3, 2008

Final Stats

(Spokane, WA) - San Francisco rallied over the final three innings, tying it at 5-5 in the ninth, but Gonzaga plated one in the bottom of the frame to take the 6-5 West Coast Conference victory at the Patterson Complex on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Bulldogs (28-19, 8-8 WCC) even up the three game series with the Dons (27-21, 9-8 WCC).

Senior second baseman Joey Railey went 2-for-5 with an RBI in the game. Railey's two hits push him into sole possession of fifth place all time on the Dons hits chart with 225 for his career. Railey needs 12 more to pass Arnie Sambel (1987-90/236) for fourth place.

Senior right fielder Kyle Morgan also had two hits, with an RBI and a run scored. Junior designated hitter Zach Kim had two hits, including a double and batted in a run. Sophomore center fielder Bobby Ethel homered for the first time this season, and junior left fielder Drew Johnson singled in the contest.

USF held a slim 1-0 advantage through three innings, after they scored a run on a wild pitch in the first. But Gonzaga took advantage of a shaky Matt Baugh, scoring four times in the fourth with no outs. Bulldogs' junior first baseman Ryan Wiegand led off the inning with a homerun, his second of the series, to tie it at 1-1. Gonzaga then took the 4-1 lead when, with the bases loaded off three consecutive singles, Baugh hit a batter, gave up another single, then walked in the final run of the inning. Baugh worked out of a bases loaded jam with a pop up and a 5-4-3 double play.

USF got one back in the fifth. With a runner on third, Railey singled through the right side. The Dons put up one each in the seventh through ninth innings to make it 5-5. In the seventh, Ethel homered to left field. In the eighth, Morgan singled to right and scored on Kim's double to left center. Then in the ninth, with runners at the corners, Morgan singled to left field.

Gonzaga earned the 6-5 win in the bottom of the frame when junior Jason Chatwood smashed a walk-off solo homerun to left field.

Senior right-hander Brian Anderson (1-4) took the loss, giving up Chatwood's homerun in the ninth. Anderson added a strikeout in 1.2 innings of relief. Senior left-hander Baugh earned the no decision, allowing five earned runs off nine hits and four walks in 6.2 innings.

Freshman right-hander Cody Martin (4-0) earned the win in relief for the Bulldogs, allowing one earned run off two hits, one walk, and struck out two Dons in 1.2 innings. Junior right-hander AJ Proszek started, allowing three runs (two earned) off four hits, one walk, and struck out five Dons in 7.0 innings.

USF and Gonzaga meet in the rubber match tomorrow at 1:00 PM.