Karsten Sweum throws no-hitter, Gonzaga baseball clinches share of WCC regular season title
May 9-SAN FRANCISCO - Karsten Sweum didn't feel his best warming up on Saturday, suffering from a mediocre night of sleep on the road. Hard to imagine what he could have done at full rest.
Sweum threw the sixth recorded no-hitter in Gonzaga history, leading the Zags to a 13-0 victory over San Francisco at Benedetti Diamond.
Gonzaga (31-17) secured a share of the West Coast Conference regular season title with the win, building a four-game lead with a little more than a week left in the regular season. With tiebreakers, Gonzaga owns the No. 1 seed when the tournament begins in Scottsdale, Arizona on May 20.
"I needed a little extra to get rolling today," Sweum said. "But the vibes were super high after yesterday's win. ... I'm just super grateful for what I was able to do today. It's been a very long process and journey."
Sweum struck out 15, tied for the second most strikeouts in a game in program history. He allowed just two walks in the run-rule shortened seven-inning game.
"It was a very emotional thing. You know, I'll probably never forget today at the bottom of the dog pile," he said. "I've never been able to do that before. I've never really been on a winning team before. So, just to be able to get the ball today and being in that spot to clinch, I mean, it means a lot."
The left-handed sophomore said the last time he threw a no-hitter was in JV baseball at Glacier Peak High School in Sammamish.
"I had 19 strikeouts that game, but I think that was six years ago," he said. "So, you know, long time coming for that."
Sweum is only the second Gonzaga player to throw a no-hitter in the past three decades, joining current San Diego Padres pitcher Alek Jacob. He struck out 11 of 12 batters in the third through sixth innings and finished the game on just 93 pitches, throwing 63 for strikes.
"That was probably my best outing ever today," he said. "But the funny thing is, I'm gonna wake up tomorrow and it's like, 'Okay, gotta play catch. Got to set myself up for Seattle U (next week).'"
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