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.

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.

Freshman starting pitcher Marco Gonzales had 12 strikeouts in the Zags win Saturday.

In baseball, this is what you call a “do or die” situation. If the Zags won, their title hopes would remain alive. A loss would give the WCC crown to the USF Dons.

The Saturday game in Spokane proved to be the most pivotal game of the season. USF managed a 4-2 win Friday evening to gain a one game advantage in the conference standings over the Bulldogs. The overall winner of the series will become the West Coast Conference Champions—and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA post season tournament.

Since the game was a must win for Gonzaga, the coaches made a very wise decision in starting Marco Gonzales as the pitcher. Typically, Gonzales pitches the final day of three game series. He has been a lights out pitcher this season compiling a 10-2 starting record.

Tyler Olson, the typical game-two starter for the Zags, has struggled with consistency this season, and has not been the most reliable as of late. Coach Machtolf and his staff definitely demonstrated their coaching talent by adjusting the starting rotation. Starting Gonzales instead of Olson was the best bet for a win.

Obviously the Zags wanted the win Saturday, but the necessity of victory was due to the loss Friday night.  Ryan Carpenter started the game on the mound for the Bulldogs. In six and a third innings he gave up three earned runs and struck-out seven batters.

Andy Hunter finished the pitching for the Zags, as he notched four strikeouts and gave up one earned run.

Five Bulldogs earned hits, with Keegan Acker going 2-3 at the plate; he also drove in a run. Tyler Chism had the other RBI and a hit for the Zags. Gonzales, Billy Moon, and Steven Halcomb were the other Gonzaga batters to collect a single hit.

Saturday afternoon started exactly how the Zags would have dreamt it would. Gonzales struck out the first three batters in the first inning—talk about a perfect start!

The second inning, well, it wasn’t so perfect. An early run and then a double with runners on first and second gave the Dons a 3-0 lead.

In the bottom of the second, Gonzaga got one run on the board with three consecutive singles. Clayton Eslick scored after he, Andy Hunter, and Halcomb all connected for base hits.

Acker tripled and then scored on a sac fly by Chism to make the score 3-2 Dons in the bottom of the fifth inning.

In the top of the seventh, a leadoff home run by USF’s Jason Mahood put the Don’s up 4-2. The seventh inning stretch must have really boosted the Zags though, because the boys came out and rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning!

Chism singled to start things off for the Zags. Moon doubled, and then Cameron Edman followed with a double—tying the ball game at 4.

An RBI single by Eric Lane gave the Bulldogs a 5-4 edge. Three more consecutive singles by Royce Bolinger, Eslick, and Hunter resulted in two more runs and 7-4 lead heading into the top of the eighth.

Gonzales pitched one and two thirds shutout innings before Cody Martin came into the game for the final out.  Marco also finished the game with a career high 12 K’s.

One run scored making it 7-5. Then the bases were loaded. (Let’s just say I was freaking out a lot at this point.)

Martin did his job though. With a 2-2 count and 2 outs, Moon caught the pop up to left field and the game was over. Zags won!

Now, it really all comes down to one game. The conference title and bid for the road to Omaha are on the line in the WCC finale. Gonzaga will host San Francisco at 1pm Sunday.

Thomas Henderson batted in three runs Sunday to give the Zags a 5-0 win.

Friday was nice, Saturday sucked, and Sunday was a beauty. Gonzaga took the two of the three games at Pepperdine to make it an interesting race in the WCC title hunt.

Friday, in the usual Zag fashion, Ryan Carpenter pitched seven solid innings giving up only one earned run. He struck out nine batters.

Closer Cody Martin took the mound in the eighth inning and tossed two scoreless innings with only 22 pitches. The defensive efforts by the Zags gave the Bulldogs a 3-2 win over the Waves.

Billy Moon, Andy Hunter, and Steven Halcomb all collected RBI’s on the offensive end. Both Tyler Chism and Thomas Henderson had multi-hit games with two apiece.

Saturday’s contest was not so nice for the Zags. The 3-0 loss was credited to Tyler Olson, who was relieved by Mark Phillips in the sixth inning. Olson gave up six hits, three earned runs, and only had one strikeout on the mound. Phillips didn’t give up a hit.

Offensively, Keegan Acker went 2-3 at the plate. Chism, Clayton Eslick, and Marco Gonzales each had one hit.

Gonzales took the mound Sunday and earned yet another win (10-2). He now has the most wins in the conference. The freshman ace had eight K’s an only three hits in seven shutout innings—he did not walk a batter. Martin closed out the game, securing the win.

Cameron Edman went 2-2, while Royce Bolinger and Moon also notched two hits for Gonzaga. Bolinger and Hunter each had an RBI in the game.

Yet, it was an unfamiliar face that was the most valuable offensive player for the Zags in the game—Henderson. Thomas Henderson played second base in his fourth start of the season. He batted in three runs and went 2-3 at the plate.

Henderson has only played in 17 games for Gonzaga with 18 at bats, but is batting .389. This could be a very promising addition to the starting lineup. The junior transfer may be just what the Bulldogs need to make a push for the postseason.

Sunday was a must win for the Zags, as the team is in the mix for a WCC crown. With their 5-0 victory, Gonzaga moves into a first place tie with USF in the West Coast Conference standings.

The Dons travel to Spokane next weekend to wrap up conference play and the chase for the title. The winner of the series will also earn a berth to the NCAA Baseball Championship Tournament.

Freshman Marco Gonzales is extremely dynamic on offense and defense for the Zags.

He has been called the protégée. He is the freshman phenom from Ft. Collins, Colorado. Marco Gonzales is valuable and versatile for the Bulldogs, and proved it against Portland this weekend.

Gonzales produced plenty of offense and provided the necessary defense for the Zags to clinch the three game sweep at Portland.

The Bulldogs faced the Pilots Friday night, Saturday afternoon, and Monday. Sunday’s scheduled game was rained out forcing the unusual Monday matchup.

The first game of the series was yet another solid opening performance by starting pitcher Ryan Carpenter. He threw eight innings notching nine strikeouts.

His defensive efforts were complimented by a balanced offensive production by the majority of the hitting rotation.

Billy Moon and Gonzales each tallied an RBI for the Zags. Gonzales, Eric Lane, and Royce Bolinger had multi-hit games with two apiece. The nine hit effort by the Bulldogs boosted the team to a 3-2 victory.

Saturday’s matinee provided a bit more of an offensive showdown as the starting pitching was not all that reliable. Gonzaga’s Tyler Olson gave up four earned runs in three and two-thirds innings on the mound.

Reliever, Mark Phillips, pitched four shutout innings for the Zags.

Cody Martin, the consistent closer for the Bulldogs, finished the ninth inning up for the second straight game securing the Zags victory again.

On the offensive side of things, Gonzales continued his dynamic play with a three for four outing and two RBI’s.

Cameron Edman drove in three runs for the Zags and notched two hits. Moon had the other run batted in, as well as two hits in the game. All together, Gonzaga rallied for 12 team hits in the 7-5 win.

Monday, Gonzales took his talents from first base to the mound, where he pitched his fourth complete game of the season. The freshman not only struck out seven batters in his nine innings, but was two for two at the plate. He entered the batting order in the eighth to spark the much needed offense.

The Zags compiled three team hits prior to the eighth inning. Once Gonzales entered the batting order, the team racked in six hits, and produced their first runs of the game. All of the Bulldogs’ scoring happened in the eighth, as five Zags crossed home plate.

Andy Hunter’s lone hit of the game led off the eighth inning, followed by Gonzales’ single and solid bunt single by Steven Halcomb to load the bases. Eric Lane was walked after a Portland pitching change, and the Zags were finally on the board—trailing 2-1.

Tyler Chism came to the plate and belted a two run double to give the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead that would never be relinquished. Moon doubled following Chism’s at bat, driving in two more runs. That solidified the final score of 5-2; Gonzaga over Portland.

The series sweep gave Gonzaga the highest conference winning percentage in the WCC at .800. However, because USF (.778) has played one more conference games than the Zags, they sit atop the standings.

The Zags head to Eugene, Oregon for a mid-week, nonconference two game series against the University of Oregon Tuesday and Wednesday.

Friday, Gonzaga will resume WCC play at Pepperdine, kicking off the three game series against the Waves.

Cameron Edman and Royce Bolinger are the Gonzaga "Stache Bros, Smash Bros"

Last Thursday morning, Gonzaga’s junior center-fielder, Royce Bolinger, announced on a local radio talk show that he and senior catcher Cameron Edman were the “Stache Bros, Smash Bros.”

Edman decided to live up to the name with one final smash in the Zags series opener at LMU Friday afternoon.

The Bulldogs (20-10-1, 4-0) beat the Lions (19-13, 3-1) 5-3, but not without some anxiety from GU fans.

Sophomore Billy Moon led off the ninth inning by reaching first on an error. Bolinger singled and Moon advanced on the at bat prior to his “Stache Bro.”

With runners on first and second, and the Zags down 3-2, Edman took a long shot to left-center and cleared the fence. His three-run homer sent the Bulldogs into the bottom of the ninth with a 5-3 edge.

Senior Cody Martin came in to close out the game for the Gonzaga pitching staff and earned the save as he struck out two in the final half inning.

Bolinger, Martin, and Moon were guests on the Jay and Kevin Show last week, which airs on Coyote Country 99.9FM in Spokane on weekday mornings from 6-10 A.M. The three Gonzaga baseball stars talked about several things from their relationship statuses to the sketchy facial hair lining the upper lips of Bolinger and Edman.

The duo, who typically bat in the fourth and fifth slots for the Zags, have produced plenty of offense from those positions.  Edman and Bolinger have combined for seven homeruns this season, and both have batting averages well over .300. They also combine for 36 RBI’s.

In the radio interview, Bolinger shared that he had let his facial hair grow when the team had a long win streak going, but once the team lost, he began to shave. However, he realized that he still had a hitting streak going and decided to keep the mustache. Edman also had a stache going and thus the two became the “Stache Bros, Smash Bros.”

The Bulldogs and the Stache Bros will play Saturday at LMU at 1PM.

If you would like to hear the very entertaining radio interview, here is the link.

http://www.jayandkevin.com/audio/4-7SHOWPART2.mp3

Gonzaga Baseball takes the series from USD to open up WCC play. Friday GU won 10-2. Saturday the Zags claimed the 3-1 win. Sunday the Bulldogs will take the field to fight for the sweep!

Here are some pictures from Friday and Saturday courtesy of my friend Hannah. Follow her on twitter @palindrome713.

Sophomore Billy Moon is leading the Zags with a .404 batting average.

Junor Royce Bolinger has 19 RBIs for the Bulldogs.

Senior right fielder Tyler Chism has three home runs this season.

Senior closer Cody Martin has the lowest ERA for the Zags at 0.89 this season.

Starting pitcher Tyler Olson averages a 1.51 ERA, the lowest of all the Gonzaga starters.