Gonzaga pitching off to strong start | College baseball notebook
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Feb. 16—Gonzaga's pitching staff has been impressive to start the year, but the Bulldogs dropped two low-scoring games in a season-opening series at Hawaii before unlocking their offense to pull out an extra-innings win on Sunday at Les Murakami Stadium in Honolulu.
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Washington State scored a Game 1 upset on the road against NCAA Tournament regular Alabama, but the Cougs couldn't build upon their encouraging 2026 debut, absorbing two lopsided losses the next day at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
The NCAA Division I baseball season got underway this past weekend, and the two local programs experienced mixed results.
In Division III play, Whitworth spent its second weekend of the season in Southern California, playing five games in a three-day stretch. The Pirates won their first two games of the year, improving to 2-5 on the season.
Gonzaga
The Zags struggled to manufacture runs during the first two games of their season-opening series at Hawaii, falling 3-2 in 10 innings on Friday and 5-3 on Saturday.
They had five hits and six walks in the first game, but struck out nine times and stranded eight runners. In Game 2, they tallied nine hits, but struck out 10 times and left six on base, squandering strong pitching performances.
On Sunday, in extra innings of Game 3, Gonzaga found its offense. Five players had hits in the 12th inning, including a double from senior transfer Noah Meffert that sparked the barrage, and the Bulldogs piled up five runs to claim their first win, a 7-2 decision.
Early indications suggest the Bulldogs boast a reliable pitching staff. All-WCC first-team ace Finbar O'Brien and Chewelah product Zach Bowman combined for 11 strikeouts in Game 1, allowing six hits and one earned run. In Game 2, three pitchers kept the Zags in it, led by all-conference starter Erik Hoffberg's five-inning effort, during which he fanned six batters while ceding three earned runs on four hits.
It was more of the same Sunday, as two GU pitchers held it down for 12 innings. Sophomore lefty Karsten Sweum punched out six batters, giving up two runs on five hits in the first 5 2/3 innings. True freshman Landon Hood took over from there, shining in his collegiate debut. He struck out eight and allowed two hits and no walks in 6 1/3 scoreless innings to pick up the win.
Through three games, Meffert has been the top bat in GU's lineup. The senior outfielder from Coupville, Washington, who spent 2025 at D-II Point Loma Nazarene, is batting .429 (6-for-14) with two doubles. JUCO transfer outfielder Ryder Young is 4-for-12 with two doubles, and veteran first baseman Tommy Eisenstat has three hits, three runs and two RBIs.
The Bulldogs have yet to hit a home run. And they're looking for a couple of standout batters to find their rhythm. Reigning WCC Player of the Year Mikey Bell and all-conference performer Hudson Shupe have two hits apiece on 27 combined at-bats.
The Zags concluded the series with a 4-3 loss to Hawaii on Monday. GU heads to Texas State next weekend for a three-game set.
WSU
The Cougars claimed arguably their best win under third-year coach Nathan Choate to open the season, prevailing 8-4 against a Crimson Tide team that has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive seasons.
WSU outhit the SEC heavyweight 10-6 in Game 1, getting homers from senior returners Max Hartman and Ryan Skjonsby and a respectable outing from starter Luke Meyers (four hits, one run, three strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings).
But the Cougs failed to replicate any of that success during Saturday's doubleheader, falling 8-1 in Game 2 and 11-1 in the seven-inning series finale.
Alabama piled up 33 baserunners in the two games while WSU couldn't figure out Tide starters Zane Adams and Myles Upchurch, who combined for 18 strikeouts in nine innings during the DH.
Leading WSU offensively this weekend was Hartman, a fourth-year WSU outfielder who went 4-for-10 with four runs, a homer and a double. USC transfer outfielder Matt Priest had a solid start to his WSU career, hitting 3-for-8 with a double this weekend.
Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron, the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2026 MLB draft, hit 3-for-11 with two home runs, three RBIs, three walks and six runs over the weekend.
WSU will visit Cal Poly for a four-game series next weekend.
Whitworth
The Pirates fell to Whittier 7-6 on a walk-off double Sunday, concluding their long weekend in Southern California.
Whitworth had an up-and-down trip, opening the weekend with a 15-13 loss at Pomona-Pitzer before securing a 5-1 win over La Verne later Friday for its first win of the season. The Pirates then used a three-run eighth inning to top Pomona-Pitzer 7-4 on Saturday before falling 12-7 to the same opponent in the second leg of a doubleheader.
On Sunday, the Pirates built an early 3-0 lead but surrendered five straight runs before tying it in the ninth, only for Whittier to respond with the winner in the bottom half.
Offensively, the Pirates have been solid, with three local products leading the way. Senior utility man Caleb Gray, a West Valley High graduate, is hitting a team-best .375 with two homers and seven RBIs. Infielder Carson Coffield, a senior from Mt. Spokane High, is batting .348 with three homers and eight RBIs. Infielder Spencer Shipman, another senior WV product, has a .300 average with two deep shots.
Whitworth's pitching staff, meanwhile, has a combined 9.11 ERA and is allowing over 10 hits per game.