SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Gonzaga baseball secured their West Coast Conference series over Santa Clara after hanging for the 7-4 win on Saturday at Stephen Schott Stadium. The Bulldogs opened a 6-0 lead halfway through, but needed to fend off a late Bronco rally in the ninth.
 
Gonzaga (17-14, 10-1 WCC) has now won ten consecutive West Coast Conference games and are winners of 15 of their last 17 contests.
 
Ty Yukumoto doubled to lead off the game for the Zags on Saturday before scoring on Hudson Shupe's RBI groundout, putting GU up early over Santa Clara (13-18, 2-6 WCC). Yukumoto would score again in the third, this time on a double steal, giving Gonzaga a 2-0 lead.
 
A two-run fourth inning and a two-run fifth inning gave Miles Gosztola (W, 4-5) a comfortable lead on the mound. Luca DiPaolo connected for his first home run of the season in the fourth, a two-run blast to left field and Gage Mestas added a two-out, two-run double in the fifth to make it 6-0.
 
Gosztola pitched into the sixth inning but exited with nobody out as Santa Clara mounted a rally, giving way to Kai Francis who would induce a lineout and a double play to end the threat. Francis completed three perfect frames in relief before the Broncos started a rally in the ninth. Erik Hoffberg (S, 3) entered with one out and needed just six pitches to shut the door and secure the series win for GU.
 
Mikey Bell blasted his third home run in as many games, plating Gonzaga's seventh run of the afternoon on a solo shot to center field. He's the first Zag to homer in three straight games since Max Coupe, who homered in each game of their WCC series against LMU last season.
 
Bell (2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, HR), Yukumoto (2-for-4, w R, 2B), and Mestas (2-for 4, 2 RBI, 2B) led the Zags with multiple hits each in game two. Meanwhile, GU's bullpen combined for four innings without allowing an earned run, scattering two hits behind Gostzola's five-plus inning, one earned run, four strikeout effort.
 
The Bulldogs saw two streaks come to an end in the win on Saturday. Hudson Shupe was hitless in five plate appearances, snapping his 17-game hit streak. As a team, Gonzaga finished with nine hits, snapping their nine-game streak of 10+ hits.
 
UP NEXT
Gonzaga will look to complete their third straight West Coast Conference sweep on Sunday, turning to Justin Feld who will get his ninth start of the season on ESPN+.