Gonzaga extends record winning streak to 14 | College baseball
The hottest team in college baseball, Gonzaga completed another West Coast Conference sweep and set a couple of program records in the process.
The Zags are riding a team record 14-game winning streak - the longest active winning streak in Division I. They set the program mark for consecutive wins on Friday, rallying to beat visiting Loyola Marymount 4-3 at Patterson Baseball Complex, then extended it with a smooth 7-1 victory on Saturday and a 14-8 runaway win on Sunday.
Designated hitter/outfielder Maddox Haley broke the GU record for consecutive games with a hit on Friday, then extended his remarkable stretch to 29 games with a two-run homer and an RBI double on Sunday.
Gonzaga (27-14, 15-3 WCC) hasn't lost since April 2 against Pepperdine. Over the following 14 games, the Bulldogs emerged as the clear frontrunner in the WCC - they sit atop the conference standings by four games - and a nationally notable team. They climbed to No. 31 in the national RPI rankings ahead of this weekend's series, and were named one of D1Baseball.com's top mid-major teams to watch.
The headliner of GU's ascent has been Haley, a first-year Zag out of Southwestern College in California. He's batting .421 on the year - one of about 20 players in D-I hitting over .400 - with an elite-level OPS of 1.240. Haley leads the team with 10 homers and is third with 35 RBIs - he's played 10 fewer games than the top two. It took him a couple of weeks to break into the lineup, but Haley has a hit in 29 of 30 games played.
The Zags are getting contributions up and down the lineup, which boasts a combined batting average of .305 on the year - a top-35 mark nationally. Five Zags have hit five or more homers, and four have double-digit doubles.
GU's offense is averaging 9.5 runs and just under 13 hits per game during the winning streak, with a high of 20 hits during a 16-8 win at Washington State on Tuesday - the most hits for GU in a game in five years.
Third baseman Mikey Bell, the reigning WCC Player of the Year, and juco transfer outfielder Ryder Young have also been starring for the Zags. Bell is batting .500 with 20 runs scored, 10 doubles, three homers and 15 RBIs during his 12-game hitting streak. He lifted GU on Friday, hitting a go-ahead, three-run homer in the fifth inning. The junior from Fresno is hitting .343 with a team-best 19 doubles for the season.
Young is batting just over .400 during his eight-game hitting streak, with 13 runs, three doubles, three homers and 14 RBIs - he hit a three-run homer and scored four times on Sunday. Young's average is up to .313 on the year. He leads the team with 44 RBIs and is second with nine deep shots.
While GU's ultra-productive offense has mostly been the team's defining quality, the Bulldogs' pitching staff has put up some impressive numbers recently.
Senior right-hander Justin Feld (6-0, 4.37 ERA) has been in a groove since he took over Friday night starting duties earlier this month. He had his best outing yet in Friday's come-from-behind win, recording a career-high 12 strikeouts and allowing four hits and no walks over 6 2/3 innings.
Sophomore lefty Karsten Sweum (6-1) has been a strikeout machine over the last month, fanning 36 batters across his last 26 innings of work. He punched out 10 over 7 2/3 three-hit innings on Saturday. Sweum didn't give up a baserunner until the seventh inning.
Righty Landon Hood (2-1, 2.95 ERA) seems to be settling in as GU's bullpen ace. The fast-rising freshman hasn't surrendered a run over his last eight innings across four outings, striking out 13 against three hits and three walks.
The Bulldogs are still looking for consistency from their No. 3 starter. It appears they'll stick with Finbar O'Brien (3-1, 6.26 ERA) in that role. The junior righty was an all-conference first-teamer last year, but he's been up and down in 2026.
O'Brien gave up four runs on five hits with five strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings in Sunday's win, pitching respectable ball as GU's offense piled up 15 hits (seven for extra bases) and recorded multiple runs in five innings to overpower the Lions (12-33, 3-15), who sit in last place in the WCC standings.
Up next, the Zags will put their winning streak on the line in one of their toughest tests of the season when they visit Eugene for a Tuesday afternoon matchup against the 19th-ranked Oregon Ducks.
WSU takes series, rises in standings
The Cougars beat New Mexico 13-3 by run rule on Sunday at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman to win the Mountain West series and leapfrog the Lobos in the conference standings.
WSU (23-21, 11-7 MWC) now sits at fourth in the conference, but is only one game back of first place.
The Cougs tallied a season-high 18 hits on Sunday, plating eight runs between the sixth and eighth innings to end the game early. Sophomore third baseman Ollie Obenour had his best effort of the season, going 4-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs. Transfer outfielder Matt Priest went 3-for-4 with an RBI double, senior outfielder Max Hartman tallied three hits and scored three runs, and senior first baseman Ryan Skjonsby drove in one with a double.
It was a nice bounce back for WSU after its late-game troubles on Saturday, when the Lobos (25-17-1, 10-7-1) took the lead on a single in the ninth and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom half to clip the Cougs 4-3. WSU opened the series with a 10-3 win on Friday, getting four hits and a homer from Priest, and a three-run shot from Skjonsby, who extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
After his five-RBI, two-homer weekend, Skjonsby is now hitting .342 with team highs of eight homers and 41 RBIs on the year. Priest, a USC transfer, went 8-for-11 with two doubles and five RBIs over the weekend.
Friday starter Nick Lewis (6-2), a sophomore lefty, won his third straight start, allowing two earned runs on six hits with five strikeouts over six innings. He's given up two or fewer runs and worked at least six innings in each of his last three outings.
The Cougs had a solid pitching effort Saturday until the ninth, when they allowed three consecutive baserunners with two outs. Starter Griffin Smith went six innings, surrendering three runs on five hits with five strikeouts.
Senior righty Luke Meyers (3-4) picked up a win in Game 3 of the series, allowing two earned runs on nine hits with no walks and four punch-outs over six innings.
Those three have been the most effective arms for an unpredictable WSU pitching staff that has an ERA of 6.54 for the season. The bullpen will need to finish strong over the final two series if the Cougars hope to challenge for the conference crown.
Pirates clinch NWC title during off week
Whitworth (23-14, 17-4 Northwest Conference) had the weekend off, but due to recent results around the conference, the Pirates have clinched the NWC championship and will host the conference tournament.
With three games remaining, the Pirates have a four-game lead atop the NWC standings. Whitworth will finish its regular season with a three-game home series against Whitman, with a doubleheader start scheduled for noon Saturday. The NWC Tournament will be held May 8-10.
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This story was originally published April 26, 2026 at 11:37 PM.