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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Bulldogs take series from Waves

It seemed simple enough.

Bobby Carlson’s line drive over a drawn in outfield with one out in the bottom of the ninth scored Darin Holcomb from third and gave Gonzaga a 6-5 win over Pepperdine at Avista Stadium.

But Sunday’s West Coast Conference game had so many more layers, culminating with the game-winning play.

Kiel Thibault, who was on first, saw the winning run score and stopped before second. The Waves threw the ball in to second to get the out and technically make Carlson’s shot a fielder’s choice, not a single.

Either way, GU had rallied to win the series two games to one, thanks to a ninth inning layered with twists.

The right-handed hitting Holcomb led off the inning with a double that hit about three-quarters of the way up the right-field fence. Pepperdine freshman right-hander Jason Dominguez, pitching in his third inning of relief after having defeated defending national champ Cal State Fullerton on a seven-inning three-hitter Tuesday, then intentionally walked No. 3 hitter Jeff Culpepper.

GU coach Mark Machtolf then had cleanup hitter Jackson Brennan sacrifice, even though Brennan had given the Zags a short-lived 4-2 lead with a towering two-run home run in the fifth.

“We liked the matchup with Carlson up with the bases loaded,” Machtolf said.

He figured, with first-base open, the Waves would walk Thibault, hitting fifth Sunday after going hitless in the first two games of the series. The walk was warranted because Thibault, the defending WCC Player of the Year, had two hits, including a solo home run to left in the fourth.

Pepperdine (26-14 overall, 12-5 in the WCC’s West Division) did what Machtolf expected despite Carlson leading the WCC with 45 RBIs.

“I was looking for a pitch that I could drive to the opposite field, because all I needed was to get the ball in the air,” the right-handed hitting junior first baseman said. “They wanted me to pull the ball, to roll over on something, hit into a double play.”

He didn’t. On a 1-1 count he drove a fastball out over the plate over right-fielder Donald Brown’s head.

The drive upped the Zags overall record to 25-14, but more importantly they are 12-5 in the WCC’s Coast Division and three games up on San Diego, which lost two of three in Portland. GU also holds the tiebreaker over Pepperdine and USF, the runaway leaders in the West, so if the Bulldogs hold on to their division lead, the three-game WCC title series will start in Spokane May 27.

Just minutes before Carlson’s winner, it looked like Malibu would be the site, as the Waves loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the ninth. A bunt single, pitcher Nate Williams’ throwing error on a sacrifice, and an intentional walk to Chad Tracy had led to the predicament.

Though Tracy, the Waves’ leading hitter who had given them a 4-2 lead in the fifth with a two-run opposite-field home run, was on first, Williams was still in trouble.

“It’s easy to pitch with a four-run lead,” said Williams, a junior who came in with a 2-0 record and a 1.80 ERA, “but, with the bases loaded and nobody out, you have to be perfect, you can’t make a mistake.”

He was and he didn’t. Clean-up hitter Steve Kleen hit a sharp ground ball to shortstop Aaron McGuiness, whose high throw to the plate still forced David Uribes (“He hit a splitter,” Williams said). Luke Salas popped up to McGuiness (“Another splitter”). Danny Worth then hit a shot Holcomb dove for, snagged and crawled to third for the final out (“Another splitter. I threw about 11 in a row.”).

Williams earned the win with 3 1/3 innings of one-run relief, but starter Bobby McEwen and reliever Chris Albrecht kept the Zags close, each yielding two runs, though Albrecht’s were unearned due to his error on another sacrifice bunt.

Gonzaga led early after Carlson had his first career stolen base – a missed hit-and-run that Tracy dropped – and McGuiness delivered an RBI single. But Pepperdine rallied to lead 5-4, before, with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, No. 8 hitter Will Ayala doubled and No. 9 hitter Matt Hibbitts singled home pinch-runner Brandon Blank.

“Coach Machtolf has confidence in all our hitters,” Carlson said. “And, one through nine, we all can deliver, as Matt showed in the eighth.”

Simple.