‘They didn’t panic’: How Gonzaga baseball turned its season around, earned bye in WCC Tournament

The Gonzaga baseball team’s season can be best described as a roller coaster.

After starting the season with two wins in their first 14 games, the Bulldogs’ year took a drastic rise. Sparked by a 4-0 series sweep against Washington in March, the Zags caught fire, winning 27 out of their final 37 regular-season games.

GU coach Mark Machtolf pointed to the team’s veteran leadership as a factor in the turnaround.

“I think a lot of it is, we had some good older leadership who have been through it,” Machtolf said. “They didn’t panic, didn’t feel sorry for themselves and just kept playing and getting better.”

Six Bulldogs, led by junior third basemen Mikey Bell, the West Coast Conference Player of the Year, earned spots on the All-WCC first and second teams.

“I am proud of them,” Machtolf said. “Their overall numbers weren’t nearly as good as what it was in the league, and that’s a testimony to them sticking with it … It’s kind of reflective of our entire season where we didn’t start off great, but this group is really, really resilient.”

Bell had a team-high .436 batting average in 94 at-bats. His 32 RBIs in conference play helped lead the Zags to a 16-8 WCC record.

Ty Yukomoto, a senior shortstop who transferred from Pacific University and earned WCC honorable mention honors, scored a team-high 44 runs and batted in 18. He also had a 92.8 fielding percentage, and was a part of 26 double plays, the third most on the roster.

Veteran leadership can only get a team so far, though. Baseball is a team sport and requires every member to get the job done, even the younger guys.

Three of the six Bulldogs who achieved all-conference honors were sophomores – pitchers Finbar O’Brien, Erik Hoffberg and Miles Gosztola. O’Brien, a first-teamer along with Bell and Hoffberg, was steady all season, going 6-0, including 10 starts, and finishing with a 1.41 season WHIP and 83 strikeouts in 70.1 innings.

“I always find it easiest to go out there and pitch when our offense is doing well, and so we kind of back each other up that way,” O’Brien said.

“I’m grateful that I earned that spot. It not only recognizes me, but our whole staff because there are times that I’ve been picked up by my guys in the pen and they’re not always getting recognized that way,” he said.

“I’m super thankful for our whole team… pushing each other… it’s not just one or two guys doing it, it’s the whole staff.”

The Bulldogs earned a bye as a No. 2 seed in the WCC Tournament that began on Wednesday in Las Vegas, with the championship scheduled for Saturday.

They will face No. 3 Saint Mary’s at 6:05 p.m. Thursday.

“We’ve beaten all these guys,” Bell said. “They’re all beatable. So, I think just going into it with a lot of confidence. We’ve been playing pretty well the last couple of games, so I think just rolling off of that, bringing that to Vegas.”

Gonzaga will rely on the same resilience, toughness and cohesiveness that it has exhibited all season.

“I know it’s cliche, but rely on what’s got us here,” Machtolf said. “Rely on your toughness and confidence and your hustle.”

Machtolf also noted the importance of enjoying the experience, a message he hopes to relay to his team.

“You got to enjoy it, right?” he said. “You work hard and you only have a certain amount of games like this and elimination games that you play.

“It doesn’t mean that you don’t concentrate, doesn’t mean that you’re satisfied. But I think you got to enjoy it, too … have fun with it, and if you do that … you have a better chance of playing with some relaxation and confidence.”