After a spectacular sophomore season for the Bulldogs, Marco Gonzales racked in numerous honors and recognitions for his outstanding play on the mound, at the plate, and in the field. The Colorado native was a top three-finalist for The College Baseball Hall of Fame’s John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, which honors the most elite two-way players in the nation at the collegiate level. Gonzales also was named to the WCC all first team and Pitcher of the Year.

After a stellar sophomore season, Marco Gonzales earned national attention

It was announced this week that Gonzales was not done bringing in the accolades, as he was named to Baseball America’s first team All-American roster. After an 8-2 season on the mound, in which his ERA was only 1.55, he also hit a solid .325, while starring at first base. Gonzales earned a spot on the second team All-American roster by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and the Louisville Slugger third team All-American squad.

Marco isn’t finished with the national recognition however, as he is spending his summer playing for Team USA’s Collegiate team. The squad is based in North Carolina, and will spend a few weeks training and playing games against local MLB farm teams, before heading to Cuba in early July for a five game series. After Havana, the squad will cross the Atlantic for more international competition in The Netherlands. Numerous nations will participate in the 8 day series in Haarlem, The Netherlands.

Congratulations to Marco for doing such big things for himself, the Zags, and his country!

On the third and final day of the MLB 2012 Amateur Draft another Zag joined the ranks of professional baseball. Senior pitcher, and Spokane native, Tyler Olson was picked by the Oakland A’s in the 17^thround.

Tyler Olson was drafted by the Oakland Athletics

The left handed starter, who led off the pitching rotation for GU, was the 529^th overall pick. Olson ended the season with a 2.77 ERA and a 5-4 record. He made 15 appearances on the mound for the Bulldogs and tallied 90 K’s.

After finishing his four years at Gonzaga, Royce Bolinger had high hopes for moving on to the next level of baseball. His dream came true as the Texas Rangers selected the center fielder in the sixth round of the Major League Baseball Draft Tuesday.

Royce Bolinger tallied 51 RBI's and 11 home runs for GU this year

As an Arizona native, Bolinger spent four years at school in Spokane, where he led the Zags and WCC in his final season as the top offensive producer in nearly every category. As it turns out, he may just end up back in Spokane for his MLB debut. The Spokane Indians, a summer short-season single ‘A’ team, is affiliated with the Texas Rangers. There is a good chance that the new rookie for the squad, who was the 216^th overall pick, could land himself back in Spokane for his first year with the Rangers.

Bolinger hit .392 for the year with the Bulldogs, and was the ninth pick for Texas in the 2012 draft.

For his second straight season, two-way all-star sophomore Marco Gonzales earned the West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year award. As one of the finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, which honors the nation’s best player, he is the only two-way man to make the list. Gonzales finished the season with an overall WCC record of 4-1 and the 15^thbest ERA in the country at 1.51.

Marco Gonzales stood out among the rest in WCC awards

As part of the 25 man All-WCC First Team roster, Gonzales is joined by seniors Royce Bolinger and Alex Stanford, along with junior Clayton Eslick. Senior pitcher Tyler Olson and junior short-stop Steven Halcomb were given Honorable Mention.

Bolinger, who was the primary center-fielder for the Bulldogs, led the league, and team, with a .392 batting average. The Arizona native was at the top of almost every conference statistic this season. As the senior second-baseman, and his first year as a starter, Alex Stanford had quite the offensive season. He racked up a .341 conference batting average, while gathering 31 RBI’s on the year. In his junior season, Eslick was all over the field on defense; as he was found playing first, second, third, and left field throughout the year. He began the season as the DH for the Zags, and maintained his role in the clean-up spot for most of the season with a .340 batting average and the second highest OBP in the league at .495.

While these gentlemen where honored for their work on the field, it is also important to recognize the team members who made the WCC All-Academic roster as well. Gonzales earned a slot on the honorary academic list with a 3.34 GPA. He was joined by senior catcher Maxx Garrett who accumulated a 3.54 grade point average. Andy Hunter, another two-way player for the Bulldogs, is a senior who finished his career with a 3.48GPA.

It was a long spring for the Zags, but they sure were successful on and off the field. Congratulations on a great season and for finishing out the year with a 34-22 record.

After a statement victory Friday night, the Bulldogs bulldozed through Saturday and Sunday with wins to move into third place in the conference with an overall record of 32-21. In the second game of the three match series, GU racked up a 5-3 win, and then closed out the weekend with close 7-6 edge over Portland.

In Saturday’s win, sophomore starter Marco Gonzales whipped out eight innings, just as Tyler Olson did Friday. He let up two earned runs, but helped himself out as he led off the GU batting order and drove in one run. Gonzales tossed eight strikeouts in his stint on the mound.

It was junior utility player Clayton Eslick, who brought the offense; going 2-3 at the plate, while scoring two runs. Eslick started at third base on the defensive end, but has played first, second, left field, and has been assigned designated hitter this season.

Steven Halcomb, Alex Stanford, and Maxx Garrett also notched RBI’s for the night, as Stanford, Billy Moon, and Alex Bonczyk crossed home plate to put runs up on the board.

Teammates Marco Gonzales and Clayton Eslick welcom back Royce Bolinger after he crushed a three run homer

On Sunday, which was senior day for the Bulldogs, Andy Hunter followed the lead of Olson and Gonzales in staying on the mound into the eighth inning. While he was credited with all six earned runs, he managed the win. In his last home game at Patterson Baseball Complex, Hunter did all he could manage to do, lasting eight and a third innings, while DHing for the team. He earned two hits and an RBI, as he moved to 4-2 as a starter.

The other offense was provided by fellow senior honoree, Royce Bolinger as he cleared the fence and the bases with a three run homer in the fourth inning. Bolinger racked up three hits in his last game in Spokane. He finished the night with four runs batted in. Garrett, the senior catcher, drove in a teammate, as did Bonczyk, the junior center fielder.

Gonzaga will face BYU in Provo next weekend to close out WCC play, but first they will head 70 miles south to Pullman to take on regional rival Washington State, on Tuesday. The two teams are making up a game that rained out earlier in the season. It’s time to take four games from the awful Cougar mascot.

After a weekend of losses in nonconference play and  the first week of summer break this past week, the Zags got back on track with a big win over Portland in the first game of a three game series. Friday night the Bulldogs took down Pilots 12-4.

Tyler Olson pitched eight innings giving up only one run

Tyler Olson started on the mound for the Zags tossing eight innings, while earning eight K’s and only giving up one earned run. His stint limited Portland to only five hits and one walk—quite a night for the senior hurler, who is now 5-3 on the year.

On the offensive end, the Gonzaga bats were alive as they collected 17 hits. Senior second basemen Alex Stanford was a perfect 4-4 from the plate, with three RBI’s. Senior catcher Maxx Garrett also drove in multiple runs with his 2-5 effort.  Junior Clayton Eslick was a solid 2-3 with one run batted in. Five other Bulldogs drove in teammates: Marco Gonzales, Steven Halcomb, Andy Hunter, Mitchel Gunsolus, and Alex Bonczyk.

Gonzaga, now 30-20 for the season and 12-10 in WCC play face Portland at home Saturday at 3pm.

Gonzaga's Marco Gonzales threw 11 inning while striking out 15 against LMU

Saturday day night was a big night for WCC baseball. Gonzaga hosted LMU for the first ever ESPN network televised baseball game of the conference. At 7pm one of the most incredible performances of the season began on ESPNU.

Gonzaga sophomore Marco Gonzales and Loyola Marymount freshman Trevor Megill had one of the ultimate pitching duals. Megill is an early enrollee for the Lions, and showed a spectacular outing for seven innings as he struck out eight and did not give up an earned run.

Gonzales did something nearly unimaginable. He threw eleven innings—eleven! In his start, a no-decision I might add, the kid earned fifteen K’s, did not give up one earned run, had no walks, and threw 139 pitches. He was on fire, in the national spotlight. The WCC, Gonzaga, and anyone watching, couldn’t have asked for a better performance on the inaugural West Coast Conference-ESPN network opening night.

Even with Marco having the night of his life, it took pinch hitter Payden Cawley Lamb, to end the game in the bottom of the twelfth, as he hit a shot  into center field to bring home Andy Hunter for a 1-0 victory. Zach Abbruzza earned the win for the Bulldogs, tossing 22 pitches in the twelfth inning and striking out two.

It was electrifying. It is a wonder how one can freeze in Spokane for over three hours with no runs to be scored in that time period only to be on cloud nine moments later when one of the most incredible pitching performances one could witness in college baseball was rewarded with a win.

If Saturday’s game wasn’t a momentum builder, then I don’t know what is. Look for the Zags to take the series Sunday as they are now split with the Lions 1-1.

After taking a home series from Pepperdine last weekend in the rain and wind, the Bulldogs headed to sunny San Diego to face the No. 19 ranked Toreros in the second WCC series of the season. GU took the first of three games Thursday, but lost the remaining two to drop the series to USD.

Thursday, the Zags drove in six to take the contest 6-2. Seniors Alex Stanford and Maxx Garrett each drove in two runs, with Royce Bolinger and Payden Cawley Lamb bringing home the other two. Tyler Olson was the starting pitcher for GU, and tossed the entire game, including four K’s.

On Friday, Stanford and junior Billy Moon brought in the runs, as Eric Lane and Cawley Lamb scored for the Bulldogs. Andy Hunter started on the mound, earning nine strikeouts in seven and a third innings. GU lost the game 5-2.

In the Saturday game, Moon threw the first seven innings, striking out four Toreros in seven innings. The Bulldogs lost 5-3, with RBI’s coming from juniors Clayton Eslick and Brock Slavin, and Cawley Lamb. Lane, Eslick, and Cawley Lamb crossed home plate in the game as well.

After using Easter Sunday as a travel day, the Zags will head to Seattle to play in state rival University of Washington Monday and Tuesday. GU is now 20-9 on the season, and 3-3 in the WCC.

So much has happened in Gonzaga Athletics in [roughly] the last 48 hours. The Lady Zags’ basketball team avenged a 30 point loss to BYU with a 17 point victory and their eighth straight WCC regular season title; GU’s men had a nail-biter game in San Diego—in which the Bulldogs got the win; the baseball team won four games to capture a 7-0 start to the season; all of which were positives. Yet, the one thing that no Zag was involved in was the most devastating to the school—St. Mary’s beat San Francisco in men’s basketball to earn the outright regular season West Coast Conference title.

It had been 11 straight years of success. The only program with a longer streak in NCAA men’s basketball: UCLA with 13 straight league championships under the legendary coach, John Wooden. We were so close, yet it doesn’t really matter now because as soon as you let go of controlling your own destiny, there is no hand in the outcome, which is likely to be detrimental.

Some may want to blame USF for not pulling through with an upset over the Gaels Saturday night, but the reality is, if Gonzaga had taken care of the ball better and beat the Dons last week, none of it would have mattered. The sudden emotion of the streak ending is challenging to deal with—for as long as I can remember Gonzaga controlled the WCC—now that era is over.

There are two ways to deal with the outcome of the regular season; first is to be completely angry and make excuses for failing to execute when needed during conference play. The second approach is to reflect on having one of the most remarkable runs in college basketball and be grateful to have been a part and a witness to the mark in history Zags Basketball has made. It truly is impressive to see where Gonzaga, the West Coast Conference, and the basketball program have progressed to over the last 12 years all because of that first championship that started a decade of excellence.

It may take a while to move to that second phase, but by the time the post season ends, I have a feeling the devastating state of ending the streak will fade and appreciation will remain for a lifetime. I hope anyway.

Winning is what it means to be a Zag

However, while one run ended, another remained intact. The women have continued the trend of capturing conference titles in Spokane, and did it for the eighth straight time Saturday afternoon. As the Kennel said goodbye to five seniors in their final regular season game, the Zags said goodbye to BYU and their aspirations of taking the crown from the queens of Spokane and the WCC.

Katelan Redmon showed she was going to be the hometown hero in her final home game at the MAC (if the team makes the NCAA tournament she will have a shot a few more, however). Redmon racked up 28 points for the Bulldogs. Fellow senior Kayla Standish tallied 15 points—all of which came in the second half. Standish sat the majority of the first half due to two early fouls; yet she took control of the paint when she started the second.

Underclassmen may not have been glorified, but junior point guard Taelor Karr scored in double digits with 11 points and dished out six assists. Sophomore guard, Jazmine Redmon, who comes off the bench, gave out seven assists and scored five. GU won the game 77-60.

On the men’s side, a fiery San Diego squad hosted the Zags and made it interesting, and nerve wrecking for the Zag fans. No one, except for Guy Landry Edi had a good game. Edi capitalized on great shooting with a perfect 4-4 from the field; six of those points came from behind the arc. He also was 3-5 from the free throw lined to end the night with 13 points and no turnovers.

Unlike Edi, the rest of the team combined for 13 turnovers (unfortunately that is significantly lower than most recent games for this team) and struggled to shoot well. Rob Sacre and Kevin Pangos each grabbed 11 points; seven of those for Sacre were from the line. Pangos had a decent night from the three, netting three of four attempts—yet that is where nine of his points came from—the other two were free throws. The common theme: not much inside from either of them. They also turned the ball over three times each.

Elias Harris, who was by far the most athletic and explosive athlete on the court, only managed seven points; however he did grab 12 boards. He needs to take over games and teams like the Toreros, not allow them to control his play. Gonzaga pulled it out 65-57, despite trailing the majority of the second half.

On the baseball field in little Beaumont, Texas, the Zags played host school Lamar and fellow visitor Illinois in two double headers; one on Friday and the other on Saturday. All four games ended in the Bulldogs’ favor, including the final game of the weekend that stretched to 12 innings. Gonzaga is now 7-0 for the year and is looking like a solid team.

In the first game Friday, GU knocked off Illinois 13-3 with Marco Gonzales tossing eight innings with seven K’s and only giving up one run. Offensively, seniors Eric Lane and Andy Hunter drove in two runs a piece, as did junior transfer Alex Bonczyk.

Game two on Friday was a 6-1 W over Lamar with junior Billy Moon pitching eight solid innings for GU. He too had seven strikeouts and gave up one earned run. Senior outfielder Royce Bolinger collected three RBI’s, while junior short-stop Steven Halcomb knocked in two runs.

Saturday’s noon game against the Illini was a 7-3 win, as Andy Hunter pitched a complete game for the Bulldogs. Once again, seven strikeouts were recorded and only one earned run was given up. Junior designated hitter Clayton Eslick batted in two teammates, while Gonzales played first and drove in two runs as well.

After a long and condensed weekend of baseball, GU was set to face Lamar again Saturday evening. The Bulldogs gave up an early lead, but fought back to tie the game. After 12 innings of baseball it was Halcomb who brought home the winning run in the 6-5 victory. Tyler Olson started on the mound and through six and a third innings recorded, what do you know, seven K’s. Gonzales brought his offense for the second straight game collecting two more RBI’s for Gonzaga.

It was a weekend of winning for the Bulldogs. It is pretty impressive at how successful the Zags were this weekend all around the nation. Let the victorious attitude prevail in the next week as basketball heads to Vegas for the conference tournament and the baseball team returns to Texas for three games in San Antonio.

It’s one of those days that sports fans mark on their calendar—opening day of the college baseball season. Gonzaga headed to Arizona to face off with Nebraska in the first series of the year. The Bulldogs pulled out the win with a 7-4 victory.

Redshirt freshman Derek Peterson got the W for GU

Marco Gonzales started on the mound for the Zags. He pitched five innings and kept GU in the game, but did not have his best performance. The sophomore will likely start at first base Saturday, as he has a great glove and swing to go with his arm—Gonzales is basically one of the best all-around players in college ball.

The Zags led the game 1-0 at the end of the second inning thanks to Steven Halcomb driving in Andy Hunter with an RBI single. Nebraska took a 4-3 lead in the sixth, but Derek Peterson, a redshirt freshman, entered the game to replace Gonzales. Peterson clinched the win for GU.

 

Junior Clayton Eslick was 2-2 from the plate and scored 2 runs for the Zags

On the offensive side, Clayton Eslick filled in for Travis Forbes as the DH in the top of the 7^th. He     went 2-2 and scored two run in his short appearance for the Zags.

Eric Lane, Payden Cawley Lamb, and Maxx Garrett each drove in a run too. Senior center-  fielder Royce Bolinger brought in two teammates Friday night.

Freshman Zach Abbruzza closed the game for the Bulldogs—he didn’t relinquish a hit and struck out two Huskers in his two innings.

There really is no better feeling than starting off the season with a victory—the Zags did just that with great substitutions to seal the win. GU is on the road in various series around the country until March 16^th when they host their first game at the Patterson Baseball Complex against University of the Pacific.