Gonzaga baseball grabs 3-1 win over BYU
STOCKTON, Calif. —
Gonzaga baseball survived its first loser-out game of the day in a 3-1 win over BYU on Friday afternoon at the West Coast Conference Tournament in Stockton, Calif.
Gonzaga starter Mac Lardner pitched one of the best games of his standout career, going 8.0 innings of one-run ball to lead the Zags (31-23) to the elimination-avoiding win over 24 th -ranked BYU (36-17). GU will play one more game on Friday, taking on the loser of the LMU /Saint Mary’s winner’s bracket game.
“Mac was outstanding, he’s pitched in a lot of big games and that was another one,” assistant coach Brandon Harmon said. ” He worked both sides of the plate well, and was exactly what we needed. You have to minimize at-bats and you have to keep the count in your favor. We got punched last night, and this was a big response from our guys. ”
Lardner threw 8.0 innings, allowing just one run on three hits with seven strikeouts and one walk for his sixth win of the season. Closer Alek Jacob came on and pitched a clean ninth to get his 12 th save of the year.
Three Zags had two hits each, including Ernie Yake , Brett Harris and Isaac Barrera. Yake’s day included a home run, while Barrera had an RBI.
After BYU posted a run in the top half of the first inning, GU answered with a leadoff solo home run from Yake to tie it at 1-1.
As Lardner was cruising on the mound through the next four innings, the Zags added a run with a clutch two-out single from Isaac Barrera in the fifth inning.
GU added another in sixth when Daniel Fredrickson laid down a safety squeeze bunt and Troy Johnston slid around the tag to score and make it 3-1 Zags .
Gonzaga will move on to the night game Friday at 7 p.m. at the WCC Tournament, where GU will face the loser of the LMU-Saint Mary’s afternoon game. Links to live coverage will be available at GoZags.com.
