Chatwood’s blasts lead GU

Standing just 5-foot-7 and weighing, maybe, a biscuit more than 160 pounds, Jason Chatwood is hardly your prototypical power hitter.

But Gonzaga University’s junior shortstop leaned into a couple of grooved fastballs at Washington Trust Field on Thursday and blasted home runs in the first and second innings to help power the Bulldogs to a 19-12 non-conference baseball win over Brigham Young University.

A crowd of 434 turned out for the Zags’ home opener, which played out on a brilliant late February afternoon and a remarkably well-conditioned field.

The win was the first for the Bulldogs (1-4), who came into the game batting .154 as a team but roughed up five BYU pitchers for 18 hits, including nine for extra bases.

Chatwood ripped a couple of singles to go with his two homers and drove in four runs. GU third baseman Bryan Winston also had four hits, including a three-run, third-inning home run, and finished with six RBIs, while designated hitter Tyson Van Winkle and right fielder Marcus McKimmey each stroked three hits and drove in three runs.

“It was nice to get the bats going,” said Bulldogs coach Mark Machtolf, whose team scored only seven runs in its four losses to Oklahoma State last week. “We got a chance to get out and practice outdoors and see some live pitching this week, and I think that was the biggest difference.”

Chatwood, a first-year transfer from Colby (Kan.) Community College and a native of Lethbridge, Alberta, hit a solo home run in his first home at-bat as a Zag and then added a two-run blast his next time up.

“I don’t know,” he said, when asked which one he hit the best, “but I’ll take ‘em both. Usually, I just try to stay within the gaps and hit the ball hard. If I hit it out of the park, it’s something I hit square but got a little more backspin on.”

Machtolf didn’t seem surprised by Chatwood’s power surge, but admitted he doesn’t have a good handle on what the diminutive Canadian can do.

The production of Chatwood and Winston, a senior from Richland, helped GU starter Brandon Harmon (1-1) overcome a shaky first inning in which BYU (1-3) scored four runs on five hits – only one of which was solidly struck.

Harmon, a senior right-hander who prepped at Shadle Park, picked up the win after allowing only two more hits and two more base runners the next four innings.