PULLMAN, Wash. – Gonzaga baseball picked up a 4-1 midweek win over Washington State on Tuesday at Bailey-Brayton Field. The game marked the first of four midweek meetings between the Bulldogs and Cougars this season.
 
After giving up a run in the bottom of the first, Gonzaga (9-13) starting pitcher Gabe Brabec (W, 2-3) settled in for the next five and two-thirds innings to earn his second straight winning decision. Washington State (9-15) loaded the bases twice over those final frames, but Brabec was able to escape unscathed, inducing a double play in the sixth.
 
The Bulldogs took advantage of Cougar mishaps early on Tuesday to plate their first two runs. Two errors in the second allowed GU to bring the score to a 1-1 tie, then a third error in the fourth inning led to Gonzaga's second run.
 
After Brabec escaped his second bases loaded jam in the sixth, the Zag bats came to life in the seventh, adding two insurance runs on three hits including Josh Hankins' third hit of his 4-for-5 performance.
 
Kai Francis (S, 1) entered in the bottom of the seventh with two outs to relieve Brabec, completing the final two and two-thirds innings without allowing a baserunner and striking out two. In his senior season with Gonzaga, Francis earned his first career save in dominant fashion.
 
GU has now won seven of their last eight games, all of them on the road.
 
UP NEXT
Gonzaga returns home from their 12-game road trip Friday to welcome Pacific to Patterson Baseball Complex for a three-game West Coast Conference series. All three games will stream on ESPN+, including Friday's opener which will stream concurrently on SWX.