LAS VEGAS, Nev. – 2-seed Gonzaga battled with 3-seed Saint Mary's on Thursday at Las Vegas Ballpark, but the Gaels put together two big innings to earn a 14-6 win at the West Coast Conference Tournament. Saint Mary's will move to the semifinals, facing 4-seed LMU while the Bulldogs drop into an elimination game against top-seeded San Diego.
 
Eddie Madrigal got Saint Mary's (33-23) on the board right away in the first, clubbing a leadoff home run in the Gaels' three-run inning. Gonzaga (26-26) responded with three of their own in the bottom half, as Tommy Eisenstat and Josh Hankins picked up RBI singles in the frame.
 
Saint Mary's got to Finbar O'Brien (L, 6-1) again in the second, tagging the righty for five more runs to chase him with one out. Madrigal blasted his second home run in as many innings ahead of an SMC RBI triple and RBI single to make it 8-3, as GU turned to Kai Francis in the bullpen.
 
Francis fired back-to-back scoreless frames as the Bulldogs began to chip away. Rece Schuerman dropped an RBI single into left to make it 8-4 Saint Mary's in the fourth before delivering an opposite-field home run in the sixth to pull GU within two.
 
Gonzaga looked to knot the score in the seventh, putting two runners aboard immediately, but the momentum shifted to Saint Mary's after they escaped without a scratch. The Gaels moved into the eighth inning and scored six runs to break the game open 14-6, taking advantage of two GU errors.
 
SMC made quick work of the Bulldogs in the eighth and ninth to close out the win, putting the Zags in a win-or-go-home situation on Friday. Each of the top three hitters in the GU lineup were hitless on Thursday, with five of the Bulldogs' seven hits coming from slots 6-9.