Gonzaga stunned again at WCC tournament, eliminated by San Francisco
May 22-SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Gonzaga's baseball team was looking to cap its tenure in the West Coast Conference with a triumph. Instead, the Zags were sent off in disappointment.
GU was eliminated on the second day of the conference tournament, a stunning end to the Zags' final year in the WCC that will overshadow the team's record-breaking season.
Top-seeded Gonzaga, which won the WCC regular-season title and mostly dominated conference competition all year, went two-and-out at the conference tourney, suffering a 6-5 loss to third-seeded San Francisco on Friday at Scottsdale Stadium.
The Bulldogs (35-19) were 6-0 in the regular season against their first two opponents at the WCC tournament, but dropped to the loser's bracket with a 13-4 loss to rival Saint Mary's on Thursday in the opener, then fell behind early and couldn't make up the deficit a day later against the Dons (26-29).
GU starter Karsten Sweum (8-2), who tossed a seven-inning no-hitter on May 9 at San Francisco, didn't make it out of the second inning on Friday. The WCC Pitcher of the Year gave up five runs in the first inning, walking two batters before allowing three singles and a double. Sweum was pulled in the second inning after surrendering two singles and getting one out.
The Zags plated three runs on four hits in the second to trim into the deficit, but the Dons added a run in the bottom half to make it 6-3. GU got three consecutive two-out knocks, including an RBI double from Jacob Wrubleski, in the top of the third to cut it to 6-5, but the Zags' usually explosive lineup managed three walks and three hits the rest of the way.
Standout reliever Landon Hood, the WCC Freshman of the Year, kept the Zags in it after replacing Sweum in the second. Hood worked 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks with eight strikeouts, but the Zags' offense couldn't find a late rally after tagging USF's first two pitchers for 10 hits over 5 1/3 innings. Dons relievers Nick Bacura and Gabriel Barrett combined to allow one hit over the last three innings.
Wrubleski and Hudson Shupe had three hits and a double apiece for GU, and Ricky Sanchez and Tommy Eisenstat added two hits and two RBIs each. But GU's three All-WCC first-teamers - WCC Player of the Year Mikey Bell, Maddox Haley and Ryder Young - combined to go 1-for-12.
The Zags entered the day at No. 55 in the NCAA RPI rankings, but it's unlikely they'll receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after their early exit from the conference tourney.
GU finished the year with 22 WCC wins - a program record and the most WCC victories by any team in 23 years. The Bulldogs also set a team record for most consecutive victories with 14 in April.
They swept the WCC's major end-of-season awards and entered the conference tournament with plenty of momentum, seemingly poised to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years. They were planning to leave the WCC on top ahead of their move next year to the revamped Pac-12. But their longtime WCC foes spoiled the going-away party.
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