Gonzaga baseball takes series with 4-2 win over BYU

PROVO, Utah — Gonzaga baseball got 3.2 inning s of shutout relief from closer Alek Jacob to beat BYU 4-2 and win the road series on Saturday afternoon in Provo, Utah.

Jacob, who moved to the closer role three weeks ago, entered with the bases loaded, one out in the sixth inning and GU leading 3-2. He got out of that jam with a popup and a strikeout and then allowed just one hit over the next three innings to completely slam the door for his fifth save of the season.

“We are really proud of this group this week,” head coach Mark Machtolf said. “We had to battle through injuries and had numerous guys step up and contribute in major ways. Mac Lardner gave us a good start today, and Alek Jacob was outstanding again on the back end to close out a big series win on the road.”

Gonzaga lefty Mac Lardner got his first win of the season with a solid outing, going 5.0 innings and allowing just two runs on four hits with three strikeouts.

On offense it was more Ernie Yake for GU, as the shortstop went 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk and a run scored. For the series, Yake went 6-for-14 with five doubles, three RBI and two runs scored.

Ryan Sullivan knocked in three runs and Nick Nyquist had two hits and an RBI.

Gonzaga struck first with three runs in the third inning after putting the leadoff man on for the third straight time. Sullivan then came to the plate and drove in two with a single, followed two batters later by an RBI single from Nyquist.

BYU got one in the bottom of the third, and then threatened to have a big inning in the sixth before Jacob entered to shut the Cougars down.

The Zags added one more in the seventh inning with another RBI from Sullivan, this time on a sac fly that brought home Guthrie Morrison.

Gonzaga will be back on the road in WCC play with a three-game series at Pepperdine beginning Friday, March 22, Malibu. Links to live coverage will be available at GoZags.com.