Bulldogs Check Out With Title Gu Bounces Back With Two Wins To Put Away Ecl Tournament

There are many times during the course of a season when a team is forced to examine itself. For the Gonzaga University baseball team, the past two days have been a self-checkup.

That the Bulldogs won the inaugural Evans, Craven & Lackie College Baseball Invitational on their own field Saturday - with a 4-2 win over Lewis-Clark State College - was impressive.

Don’t be fooled by the Warriors’ NAIA classification. This team can play. At 22-4, the Warriors have a 5-1 record against NCAA Division I teams.

But maybe even more inspiring was the way Gonzaga bounced back after being pummeled 13-1 by Brigham Young University on Friday night.

Saturday at Seafirst Stadium, BYU was beaten by the Warriors 4-2 and by Oregon State 19-3, removing them from championship contention.

So as Gonzaga held a 4-2 lead against L-C State going into the top of the ninth of the championship game, the Bulldogs were once again put to the test on which they have often scored poorly this season. It’s the test of putting the game away. GU reliever Lloyd Hounsell came in to protect the lead which starter Troy Cleland earned, and middle reliever Casey Olson held on in relief of Cleland.

Hounsell promptly gave up a hit to the Warriors’ lead-off batter, Miguel Inzunza. Hounsell followed that with a strikeout of Nate Vopata before walking hard-hitting John Davis.

The next batter for L-C State was John McAninch. Hounsell had faced McAninch when Hounsell was at Walla Walla Community College, so he knows what pitches McAninch can and can’t hit. Hounsell promptly gave him one that he could hit. The shot to right field loaded the bases.

“There’s just so much pressure coming in like that in the last inning,” Hounsell said. “I just kept my intensity up, tried to calm my nerves - and just tried to keep my focus.”

Hounsell responded by striking out Tom Walker, then got Kelly Phair to fly out to center field to end the game. “It was some ugly pitching on my part, but I’m glad we won,” Hounsell said.

GU moved its record to 12-9, while Cleland improved to 3-3.

Cleland also faced a test in the third inning, with GU holding a 4-0 lead, when he gave up a two-run, 370-foot homer to Davis.

“I just got anxious,” Cleland said. “I started throwing too hard and got too cute. I just kind of settled down and went back to pitching the way I was before that.”

Gonzaga was able to build a 4-0 lead with the help of erratic L-C State starter J.R. Yackley. He and his immediate help, Christian Nickum, threw an assortment of wild pitches to bring in three GU runs.

Gonzaga had already lost three games to L-C State this season, so this win gives the Bulldogs a psychological boost as well. GU coach Steve Hertz was in a good state of mind.

“You look for times when a team makes little jumps,” Hertz said. “This is good. We won our tournament at our place with some outstanding pitching today.”

Before the game against the Warriors, GU smashed Portland 14-1 on the back of an 11-run third inning.

The Bulldogs sent 15 batters to the plate in that inning, in which Scott Morgan hit a two-run homer. Pitcher Corey Wong earned the win to match brother Jerrod’s win on Friday against Oregon State.

Jerrod Wong was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

Gonzaga 4, Lewis-Clark State 2

L-C State 002 000 000 - 2 8 0 Gonzaga 040 000 00x - 4 6 0

Yackley, Nickum (2), Quijada (8) and Wilson. Cleland, Olson (8), Hounsell (9) and Norton. W-Cleland (4-0). L-Yackley (1-1). SV - Hounsell (2).

Lewis-Clark State - Inzunza, Vopata 2, Davis, McAninch 2, Walker, Wilson. Gonzaga - J. Wong 2, Norton 2, McClendon 2. 2B-McClendon. HR-Davis (4).

Gonzaga 14, Portland 1

Gonzaga 00(11) 03 - 14 9 0 Portland 000 01 - 1 3 1

C.Wong and Norton; Andersen, Simpson (3) and Patrick. W-C.Wong (2-3). L-Andersen (2-1).

Gonzaga-Brunell, Masterson, J.Wong, Norton, Morgan 2, Hare, Olson, McClendon. Portland-Martin, Wicher, Jacksha. 2B-McClendon, Wicher. 3B-J.Wong. HR-Morgan (1).