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Gonzaga Baseball: Zags Ready for WCC Championships
Zags Ready for WCC Championships
Tournament begins Thursday against BYU
May 24, 2016
[B]Tournament Central[/B
Gonzaga Notes | BYU Notes | Pepperdine Notes | Saint Mary's Notes
Gonzaga at WCC Championships
May 26-28 | Stockton, Calif. | Banner Island Ballpark
Thursday, May 26 vs. No. 2 BYU 7:00 p.m. Live Stats Live Video Radio: 1510 AM KGA
ABOUT GONZAGA:
•The Zags enter the WCC Championships as one of the three regular season champions, but they’re the No. 3 seed due to series losses to Saint Mary’s and BYU, both of which were on the road. Overall, the Zags have the second-best record in the league at 33-17, and their RPI of 30 tops the conference. Last weekend, they took two of three games at San Diego to clinch a share of the title, and they ended the regular season Monday at UCSB with a 6-5 walk-off loss, their fifth such loss of the season...
JUST LIVIN’ THAT AIRPORT LIFE:
•The Zags are well-accustomed to flying these days as 40 of their 50 regular season games were away from Spokane, and 36 of those were true road games. They finished the year with a 23-13 away record, sweeping three-game series at UTSA, Pacific, and LMU and two-gamers at Oregon and Washington State, and they also won a single-game series at Arkansas. Their 23 road wins are tied with Wright State for second-most in the nation (Bryant leads D1 with 24), and they are the program’s most since at least 2003.
•The Zags have only played four neutral site games, going 2-2 at the Alamo Irish Classic in San Antonio during the second week of the season. Their neutral wins came over Texas Southern and Incarnate Word while both losses – one to Bradley and one to Notre Dame –came via a walk-off.
•After returning from the WCC Championships, the Zags will have travelled 28,828 miles and made four trips out of the Pacific time zone this season. They’ve had two road trips of at least 13 games: a 15-game stretch to begin the year and a 13-game trip that ended the regular season. Gonzaga went 8-2 in their abbreviated home schedule, and their final home game took place April 24.
WCC CHAMPIONS...AND CHAMPIONSHIPS:
•Gonzaga now has three WCC regular season titles after winning the league pennant outright in both 2009 and 2013. This is also their third berth to the WCC Championships, the four-team tournament to decide which club gets the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. This is the fourth year of the WCC Championships as the Zags were the top seed in its first year (2013) and were the three-seed one year later; they were the only team to make the conference tournament during its first two years.
•The Zags have played five games at the WCC Championships, going 0-2 in 2013 and 1-2 a year later. Steven Halcomb (‘10-’13) has the top batting average at Banner Island Ballpark, going 4-for-7 (.571) with a run and an RBI in 2013. Payden Cawley Lamb (‘11-14) played in all five games, starting four of them, with seven hits and 4 RBIs, both program highs. On the mound, Kenny Smith (‘11-’14) has the best qualifying ERA at the WCC Championships, allowing two earned runs over 8.0 innings and two outings, including one start. He and David Bigelow (‘12-’15) are the only two GU pitchers to make multiple appearances at the tournament.
•Of current Zags, Sam Brown, Joey Harris, and Jimmy Sinatro have played in three games; Brown and Sinatro both started all three in 2014 and Harris played twice that year and once as a freshman in ‘13. Brown is the only one with multiple hits, going 3-for-12 (.250) as a redshirt freshman, adding one RBI as well. Harris, Sinatro, Jeff Bohling, and Taylor Jones each have one hit, while Nick Brooks saw one at bat in 2014. RHP Brandon Bailey started the club’s first game in 2014, tossing all 8.0 innings and allowing five runs during a 5-1 loss to Loyola Marymount. Bailey and Jones are the only two current Zags that have pitched at Banner Island as Jones started the final game in 2014.
ALL-WCC HONORS:
•3B Jeff Bohling was named WCC Player of the Year Tuesday after a breakout 2016 season. It’s the fifth time a Bulldog has won Player of the Year honors, although he’s the first to take it outright since 2004. Three more Zags joined him as First Team All-WCC: RHPs Brandon Bailey and Eli Morgan, and Tyler Frost. 1B Taylor Jones was named to the Second Team All-Conference squad, and 2B Justin Jacobs received Honorable Mention accolades. Redshirt freshman and RF Jace VanDeBrake also was named to the All-Freshman team...
Tournament begins Thursday against BYU
May 24, 2016
[B]Tournament Central[/B
Gonzaga Notes | BYU Notes | Pepperdine Notes | Saint Mary's Notes
Gonzaga at WCC Championships
May 26-28 | Stockton, Calif. | Banner Island Ballpark
Thursday, May 26 vs. No. 2 BYU 7:00 p.m. Live Stats Live Video Radio: 1510 AM KGA
ABOUT GONZAGA:
•The Zags enter the WCC Championships as one of the three regular season champions, but they’re the No. 3 seed due to series losses to Saint Mary’s and BYU, both of which were on the road. Overall, the Zags have the second-best record in the league at 33-17, and their RPI of 30 tops the conference. Last weekend, they took two of three games at San Diego to clinch a share of the title, and they ended the regular season Monday at UCSB with a 6-5 walk-off loss, their fifth such loss of the season...
JUST LIVIN’ THAT AIRPORT LIFE:
•The Zags are well-accustomed to flying these days as 40 of their 50 regular season games were away from Spokane, and 36 of those were true road games. They finished the year with a 23-13 away record, sweeping three-game series at UTSA, Pacific, and LMU and two-gamers at Oregon and Washington State, and they also won a single-game series at Arkansas. Their 23 road wins are tied with Wright State for second-most in the nation (Bryant leads D1 with 24), and they are the program’s most since at least 2003.
•The Zags have only played four neutral site games, going 2-2 at the Alamo Irish Classic in San Antonio during the second week of the season. Their neutral wins came over Texas Southern and Incarnate Word while both losses – one to Bradley and one to Notre Dame –came via a walk-off.
•After returning from the WCC Championships, the Zags will have travelled 28,828 miles and made four trips out of the Pacific time zone this season. They’ve had two road trips of at least 13 games: a 15-game stretch to begin the year and a 13-game trip that ended the regular season. Gonzaga went 8-2 in their abbreviated home schedule, and their final home game took place April 24.
WCC CHAMPIONS...AND CHAMPIONSHIPS:
•Gonzaga now has three WCC regular season titles after winning the league pennant outright in both 2009 and 2013. This is also their third berth to the WCC Championships, the four-team tournament to decide which club gets the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. This is the fourth year of the WCC Championships as the Zags were the top seed in its first year (2013) and were the three-seed one year later; they were the only team to make the conference tournament during its first two years.
•The Zags have played five games at the WCC Championships, going 0-2 in 2013 and 1-2 a year later. Steven Halcomb (‘10-’13) has the top batting average at Banner Island Ballpark, going 4-for-7 (.571) with a run and an RBI in 2013. Payden Cawley Lamb (‘11-14) played in all five games, starting four of them, with seven hits and 4 RBIs, both program highs. On the mound, Kenny Smith (‘11-’14) has the best qualifying ERA at the WCC Championships, allowing two earned runs over 8.0 innings and two outings, including one start. He and David Bigelow (‘12-’15) are the only two GU pitchers to make multiple appearances at the tournament.
•Of current Zags, Sam Brown, Joey Harris, and Jimmy Sinatro have played in three games; Brown and Sinatro both started all three in 2014 and Harris played twice that year and once as a freshman in ‘13. Brown is the only one with multiple hits, going 3-for-12 (.250) as a redshirt freshman, adding one RBI as well. Harris, Sinatro, Jeff Bohling, and Taylor Jones each have one hit, while Nick Brooks saw one at bat in 2014. RHP Brandon Bailey started the club’s first game in 2014, tossing all 8.0 innings and allowing five runs during a 5-1 loss to Loyola Marymount. Bailey and Jones are the only two current Zags that have pitched at Banner Island as Jones started the final game in 2014.
ALL-WCC HONORS:
•3B Jeff Bohling was named WCC Player of the Year Tuesday after a breakout 2016 season. It’s the fifth time a Bulldog has won Player of the Year honors, although he’s the first to take it outright since 2004. Three more Zags joined him as First Team All-WCC: RHPs Brandon Bailey and Eli Morgan, and Tyler Frost. 1B Taylor Jones was named to the Second Team All-Conference squad, and 2B Justin Jacobs received Honorable Mention accolades. Redshirt freshman and RF Jace VanDeBrake also was named to the All-Freshman team...
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