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Gonzaga University Athletics

Baseball notes: Mitchell Gunsolus happy with decision

Gonzaga coach Mark Machtolf thinks third baseman Mitchell Gunsolus is a bit of an oddball.

Usually college juniors need a bit more convincing to turn down six-figure signing bonuses, but when the two met at the end of last year’s season, Gunsolus quickly came to the conclusion that he wanted to remain in Spokane for his senior year.

“He’s weird that way,” Machtolf said. “Most guys are hell-bent on playing big league ball, ‘I want to be in the majors by the time I’m 24,’ He was more down to earth and realized what he had here.”

Gunsolus stayed for one last tour of duty because he realized how much more challenging it would be to try and earn a college degree while navigating the rigors of minor league baseball, and because he thought the Bulldogs had a chance to build on last year’s 26-29 record and appearance in the West Coast Conference championships.

“I really liked the group of guys we had coming back and I felt we could do something special,” Gunsolus said.

But the dream send-off has yet to materialize. GU (23-24, 12-12 WCC) currently sits in sixth place in the conference standings and, with just three WCC games remaining, at Pepperdine, the Bulldogs probably need some help to sneak into the four-team conference championships.

Gunsolus’ hitting numbers are up this year – he’s batting .339 compared to .287 last season, and after going without a home run a year ago, he’s already hit seven over the fence in 2015.

But his likely draft slot hasn’t improved much, at least according to various prognosticators and pundits that likely focus their attentions on prospects expected to be taken in the first couple rounds.

Scouts have known for awhile about Gunsolus, who was the West Coast League MVP in 2012 while playing summer ball for the Wenatchee Applesox.

Websites such as mlbprospectguide.com and baseballdraftreport.com rank him somewhere in the top 10-15 third basemen in this year’s draft, and have him going somewhere near the 10th round, much like last year. While Gunsolus has gotten better, he’s also gotten older, and he’s lost the leverage he would have had in negotiations a year ago by threatening to walk away from a contract and return to school.

But if staying in school eventually helps him get to the major leagues even one year sooner, the investment will have paid off many times over. And since Gunsolus says he’s willing to play positions other than third base, improving his all-around game outside the pressures of a professional organization could give him many avenues to The Show.

“He’s just a better overall hitter and I think he’s more prepared now, because of that extra year, to make his mark in professional baseball,” Machtolf said.

Ultimately, while Gunsolus’ decision to return to school may not have led to a special season for the Bulldogs, it’s probably kept GU more competitive than it otherwise would have been. With him, the Bulldogs are playing meaningful games in the last week of the regular season.

“We may not control out own destiny, but we can certainly win these next couple games and see what happens,” Gunsolus said. “That’s all you want in the end.”

Triece trending up

Washington State pitchers have been getting a lot of recognition, lately. Starters Joe Pistorese and Ryan Walker combined to be named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week three times in a six-week span, and sophomore closer Ian Hamilton recently broke the school’s all-time saves record.

But none of them have been as hot as Sam Triece.

As a reliever, Triece’s role isn’t necessarily glamorous, but he’s been invaluable to the Cougars late in the season. After Pistorese and Walker keep WSU’s opponents down for most of the game, Triece is tasked with keeping the Cougars in a winning position before handing the ball off to Hamilton in the ninth.

He’s excelled, going 4-0 over his last 24 1/3 innings, all of them scoreless. In that time he’s struck out 25 batters while allowing just nine hits, all of them singles.