Eighth Inning Run Carries Gonzaga Past UW, 5-4

Tuesday, March 26

Spokane, WA

6:00 PM

University of Washington

14-6

Gonzaga

10-11

Washington

Gonzaga

Photo by: Red Box Pictures

March 26, 2019 | Baseball

Box Score

By: Brian Tom

SPOKANE, Wash. – UW catcher Nick Kahle drove in three runs for a second-consecutive game, but Ernie Yake drove home Brett Harris with a RBI single in the eighth inning to break a 4-4 tie and ultimately lead host Gonzaga to a 5-4 win over Washington Tuesday night at Patterson Baseball Complex.

With runners on first and second and two outs, Yake lined a pitch from Stevie Emanuels (2-2) to first base where Brandon Leitgeb had it go off his glove and roll into shallow right field. Harris slid under the tag at home, just beating Leitgeb's relay by a hair.

Micael Spellacy retired the Huskies in order in the ninth to preserve the win for the Bulldogs (10-11).

Gonzaga jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before UW rallied to tie things up. The Bulldogs took a quick 1-0 lead, scoring via a sacrifice fly in the first inning. The Bulldogs would add two more runs in the third, one on a Nick Nyquist single and another on an Austin Pinorini double.

Washington (14-6) finally mounted a counter attack in the fifth inning, scoring three unearned runs to tie the game back up, 3-3. With two outs and two on, Mason Cerrillo hit a grounder to Harris at third, but he pulled the first baseman on a wide throw to the bag.

The extra out allowed UW's top hitter Kahle, who drove in all three runs in UW's 3-2 win on Sunday, to come to the plate, and he made the Bulldogs pay for their mistake. Bulldogs' pitcher Trent Schulte got Kahle to hit the ball in the air to shallow right field, but second baseman Mason Mareco and right fielder Troy Johnson had a mix up and the ball fell harmlessly to the ground for a single. All three runners scored increasing Kahle's team-high RBI total to 24.

The Zags retook the lead in the sixth on a RBI single by Harris, which they held until UW tied the game back up in the eighth.

With the bases loaded and nobody out, Ben Baird delivered a bases-loaded single that scored Connor Blair to tie the game. The Huskies were poised to score more, but Nick Trogrlic-Iverson (1-1) induced a grounder back to the mound that he turned for a pitcher-to-home-to-first double play. He then got a ground out to end the UW threat and watched from the dugout as his teams rallied for the win in the Zags' half of the eighth.

Washington returns home this weekend to face defending National Champion, Oregon State, for three games at Husky Ballpark, Friday through Sunday. Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT.