DAVIS, Calif. – Gonzaga baseball opened the 2025 season with a dominant 6-1 win over UC Davis on Phil Swimley Field at Dobbins Stadium Friday night. Bulldog pitching combined to allow just three hits while striking out 11 Aggie hitters in the opener.
Gonzaga (1-0) earned their first opening day victory since 2022 on Friday, collecting six runs on ten hits while taking advantage of three UC Davis (0-1) errors.
Hudson Shupe and
Rece Schuerman each picked up three hits for the Zags on Friday to lead all on offense.
After a back-to-back scoreless frames in the first and second innings, Gonzaga struck first in the top of the third.
Ty Yukumoto singled with one out and advanced to second on a walk before motoring home on an error by UC Davis.
The Bulldogs added three more runs in the top of the fifth, capped off by an opposite field, two-run triple from
Mikey Bell.
Tommy Eisenstat drove in Gonzaga's fifth run in the sixth inning, a hard-hit single through the right side. Then in the ninth, Shupe's third hit gave the Zags one last insurance run before closing out the 6-1 win.
Aside from timely hitting on offense, GU pitching keyed the Bulldogs' win on Friday. In just his fourth career start, junior
Payton Graham pitched a career-high five shutout innings, allowing just two hits while striking out seven and walking two.
Michael Cunneely relieved Graham in the sixth and finished the game on the mound, allowing just one run on one hit and striking out four over four innings to qualify for his first career save. The lone UC Davis run came in the sixth after the Aggies drew a pair of walks and scored on an RBI groundout.
Atop the Zag lineup, Yukumoto reached base three times on Friday, going 1-for-3 with two walks, two runs scored and a stolen base. Shupe finished 3-for-5 with one run scored and one RBI. In his first start behind the plate for GU, Schuerman went 3-for-4 with one run scored while throwing out his first runner on the bases.
UP NEXT
Game two against UC Davis is set for a 2 p.m. first pitch on Saturday, with
Miles Gosztola set to start on the mound for Gonzaga. No stream will be available, but live stats can be found at www.gozags.com.
