March 26, 2001
SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga (10-13, 4-5 WCC) closed the gap in the Coast Division of the West Coast Conference on Monday afternoon as the Zags swept a pair of games from the front running Santa Clara Broncos (10-17, 7-2 WCC). The Zags won the opener 8-7 as Kevin Richardson led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a solo home run to left field. Ed Clelland (1-1) worked a perfect top of the 10th to pick up the win for the Zags. The game was a continuation of Sunday's 7-7 tie that was called due to darkness after the 9th inning.
In Monday's regularly scheduled game Gonzaga scored seven early runs and hung on to win 10-7 as Eric Everson was able to shut down the Broncos over the last 2.1 innings of the game to collect his first collegiate save.
Gonzaga opened the game with four runs in the second as Nate Gold doubled home Brian Munhall. Gold would come around to score on John Gebbers home run to left center. Kevin Cave delivered GU's final run of the frame with an RBI single to right. The Zags would increase their lead to 5-0 as Danny Evans homered to left in the bottom of the fourth.
Santa Clara scrapped back into the contest with a single run in the fifth courtesy of a Jimmy Wallace home run. Gonzaga quickly responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning on RBI singles by Munhall and Eric Rodland. Gold would add an additional run drawing a bases loaded walk.
The Broncos rallied for three runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to close the margin to 8-6. Wallace delivered the big shot in the sixth with an 2-run single to left and a home run by Mike Theoharis in the seventh helped SCU move to within striking distance. Once again the Zags responded scoring two insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh, one on an RBI single by Gebbers.
Santa Clara would add a final run against the Gonzaga bullpen as Matt Queen drove home Jack Headley with a double to right center. Everson was able to work out of a bases loaded situation to earn the save and give Gonzaga starter Sean Lichter (1-1) his first win of the season. Matt Travis (1-6) was tagged with the loss for the Broncos after giving up 8 runs just over four innings of work.
Rodland and Munhall led Gonzaga with three hits each while Kevin Richardson went 2-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 16 games. Pat Peavey led the Broncos with three hits while Theoharis and Wallace added two hits.
