Gonzaga tops Washington State 5-2 in Cougar Diamond Classic at Gesa Stadium

There are plenty of reasons one baseball team is 16 games over .500 and another is 13 under.

Taking advantage of what you’re given is a big one.

Gonzaga and Washington State each had the bases loaded during the Zags’ 5-2 win in Tuesday night’s Cougar Diamond Classic at Gesa Stadium, both times without putting a ball in play.

The Zags (31-15) got their chance — on consecutive walks — with no outs in the second and turned it into a four-run explosion.

The Cougs’ turn came in the fifth with one out — hit batter, catcher’s interference and walk — but WSU (17-30) came up empty.

With only six hits between the two teams, each definitely needed a little help from the other.

“It started off with us walking a whole bunch of people,” WSU coach Marty Lees said. “We gave up four unearned runs. But after that, our pitchers did a phenomenal job.”

Quick start for Zags

The Zags got the early edge, most of it self-inflicted by WSU starter Parker McFadden.

The freshman hurler got away with a pair of walks and two hits in the first inning, mostly because of Gonzaga’s aggressive base running — the third out came on Taylor Jones getting thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on an infield single.

But when McFadden walked the bases loaded to start the second, it was the end of his day and the start of a big inning for the Zags.

Chandler Greenfield came on for the Cougs and gave up No. 9 hitter Jac Vandebrake’s sacrifice fly to right field, gloved expertly by Kennewick native J.J. Hancock making his first outfield start since high school.

But any hopes the damage would end there went up in the air along with Sam Brown’s sky-high fly down the left-field line for a double and another run. A fielder’s choice scored a third run before Jones laced a double down the line to left for the final run. It was the only solid hit of the inning, but was good for a 4-0 lead.

Missed chances

WSU answered back with a pair of runs in the third inning on RBI doubles from Justin Harrer and Shane Matheny. But the Cougars missed out on a golden opportunity when they came up empty in the fifth.

Zags starter Justin Vernia exited after a catcher’s interference ruling put runners on first and second with one out. Calvin LeBrun came on in relief and promptly walked the first batter he faced on five pitches.

It seemed like the partisan Cougs crowd of 2,912 would really have something to cheer about when Hancock, who was 0-for-2, stepped out of the on-deck circle. But he was called back for pinch hitter Weston Hatten, who struck out. Patrick McGrath followed with an easy fly to center to end the frame.

“Obviously it was a very sloppy game offensively,” Zags coach Mark Machtolf said. “We were probably able to pitch a little better in those situations.”

Big-time pens

Both teams got terrific efforts from the relief corps.

WSU’s Kevin Calderhead, Layne Brunner and Caleb McAlister each threw two hitless innings and kept the Cougs in the game.

For Gonzaga, LeBrun went 4 2/3 innings without giving up any hits and just one walk, and he struck out seven for a well-deserved win.

The biggest problem for the Cougs, though: 10 walks.

This and that

Hancock hit No. 3 in the Cougs order, grounding out to short in the first inning and striking out in the third. The Tri-Cities’ other two players — injured Trek Stemp for WSU and reserve Jarod Gonzales for Gonzaga — didn’t get in the game. ... WSU fell to 3-9 in games at Gesa Stadium. But Lees said it was still a good trip for the Cougs. “These guys did just a great job with us in the Tri-Cities.”

This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 9:37 PM with the headline "Gonzaga tops Washington State 5-2 in Cougar Diamond Classic at Gesa Stadium."