SPOKANE, Wash. — Gonzaga baseball posted nine runs in the first two innings and Alek Jacob struck out 12 on the way to a 9-0 shutout win over Santa Clara on Saturday night.
The win moved Gonzaga to 29-21 overall and 16-10 in the West Coast Conference, and kept them within one game of Pepperdine for the league lead. The Waves beat Portland 6-2 to hold on to the top spot. On Sunday, a Gonzaga win and Pepperdine loss would clinch the No. 1 seed for GU in the WCC Tournament.
On the mound, Jacob continued his fantastic freshman season, going 7.0 innings with a career-high 12 strikeouts and giving up just three hits while walking three. Matthew Henckel gave up just one hit in the eighth, and Taylor Davis held the shutout in the ninth.
“That’s one that you can feel good about, getting a cushion like that early,” assistant coach Brandon Harmon said. “If you get up that big, you have to just stick with your plan. Alek [Jacob] did a great job of just mixing his pitches and keeping them off balance. He’s a guy that hitters just don’t see his ball well. He’s pretty fun to call pitches for, that’s for sure.”
On offense, four Zags picked up multiple hits in the game, led by Jake Vieth’s 3-for-5, four-RBI day. Branson Trube picked up two hits, scored twice and knocked in a run, while Carson Breshears and Daniel Fredrickson each had two hits and reached base three times apiece.
The Zags blew the game open in the first two innings, getting five runs in the first and four more in the second inning. GU had four hits in the first inning and took advantage of a Bronco error, putting its first six batters on base. Schubert started the scoring barrage with an RBI single and Vieth knocked home the first two of his four RBI on the day in the frame.
In the second, Vieth knocked home two more with a single and Trube and Fredrickson each picked up RBIs to push the score to 9-0.
Jacob continued to attack the strike zone on the mound for the Zags and picked up inning-ending strikeouts in six of his seven innings pitched, including stretch where he retired 10 straight. Jacob struck out the side in order in the third and fourth innings.
Gonzaga and Santa Clara will wrap the three-game series on Sunday at noon. The last home game of the season will also feature Senior Day recognition for Gonzaga’s six seniors before first pitch. Live coverage will be available on GoZags.com.