WACO, Texas – Gonzaga baseball rallied for two runs in the ninth inning and one run in the tenth to defeat Baylor 8-7 on Sunday at Baylor Ballpark. The Bulldogs took a 7-6 lead before the Bears pushed the game to extra innings in the series finale.
Gonzaga (2-4) collected 13 hits on Sunday off of Baylor (6-1) pitching after totaling just nine hits in the first two games combined. Four Zags recorded multiple hits, including three-hit games from
Hudson Shupe,
Vincent Temesvary, and
Mikey Bell.
The Bulldogs took their first lead in the top of the third with a leadoff walk from
Sam Stem, followed by a sacrifice bunt from
Ty Yukumoto and an RBI single from Shupe.
After a three-run inning for Baylor in the bottom of the fourth, GU responded by punching four runs across in the top of the fifth on a pair of long hits from Temesvary and Bell. Yukumoto drew a walk and Shupe singled, then Temesvary clubbed a three-run home run, his first of the season, to put Gonzaga back in front 4-3.
Tommy Eisenstat singled, then Bell nearly left the yard but settled for an RBI double off the top of the center field wall to make it 5-3.
The back-and-forth battle continued with Baylor plating two in the bottom of the sixth to bring the score to a 5-5 tie. BU would eventually pull ahead 6-5 in the bottom of the eighth, setting the stage for Gonzaga's ninth-inning comeback.
Bell led of the top of the ninth with a single, and
Josh Hankins legged out an infield hit to put two runners on with nobody out.
Max Coupe laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, and
Payton Knowles delivered a pinch-hit RBI groundout to knot the score at six. On the next pitch, Stem laid down a drag bunt, and a wild throw from closer Gabe Craig was enough to bring home Hankins and give GU the 7-6 edge.
Baylor fought back in the ninth with an RBI triple from Ty Johnson to bring home the tying run, but
Erik Hoffberg was able to keep the winning run at third base and send the game into extras.
Back-to-back singles from Shupe and Temesvary led off the tenth, and a sacrifice bunt from
Tommy Eisenstat put the go-ahead run on third and allowed GU to take an 8-7 lead on a passed ball.
Erik Hoffberg (W, 1-0) earned his first collegiate win, pitching four innings in relief while allowing one run on two hits and striking out three.
Michael Cunneely (S, 2) earned the save for Gonzaga, inducing a double play and striking out the final batter to close out the win in the tenth.
Despite the no decision,
Justin Feld completed five innings, allowing three runs on five hits and striking out two.
Shupe finished the series 7-for-10 with two runs scored and one run batted in, adding three walks and recording an OPS of 1.469.
UP NEXT
Gonzaga will return to Spokane and open their 2025 home schedule on Feb. 27 in a three-game series against BYU. All three games will stream on ESPN+, and tickets are available at www.gozags.com/tickets.
