Bryant Kraus had 3 hits against the Bulldogs

SPOKANE, Wash. --- The Gonzaga Bulldogs defeated the Portland Pilots 5-1 on Sunday at Washington Trust Field to sweep the three-game, West Coast Conference series. Senior OF Danny Meier knocked in Portland’s only run with a solo home run in the top of the fifth.

Meier’s team-high 10th home run of the season pulled the Pilots within 2-1, but Gonzaga would score three more unanswered runs en route to the win.

Gonzaga’s (23-16, 5-6 WCC) Cody Martin went the distance on the mound to pick up the complete-game win. The right-hander scattered eight hits, while striking out two and walking one. He improves to 2-0 on the season.

Ari Ronick (3-5) worked 6.2 innings for Portland, which drops to 17-23 overall and 2-10 in the WCC. Ronick allowed the five runs on seven hits. He recorded four strikeouts and a walk. Freshman Zach Varce pitched an inning and a third of relief, allowing two hits.

GU scored the game’s first run in the bottom of the second when Ryan Weigand led off the inning with a solo home run to right field. The Bulldogs made it a 2-0 game with another run in the bottom of the fourth. Tyson Van Winkle knocked in Marcus McKimmy with a sacrifice fly to left field.

After Meier’s blast cut the lead in half in the top of the fifth, Gonzaga responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs, Jason Chatwood picked up an RBI with a single to right field before McKimmy gave GU a 4-1 lead with a run-scoring double to left.

The Bulldogs tallied their final run on a Chatwood RBI single in the bottom of the seventh.

Three of Gonzaga’s five runs came with two outs. Gonzaga outhit UP 9-8, while the Pilots committed the game’s only error.

Junior OF Bryant Kraus led the Pilots with three hits, while freshman SS Riley Henricks and sophomore Rocky Gale each picked up a pair of hits.

Portland next returns home briefly to host the Washington Huskies on Tuesday at Joe Etzel Field. The Pilots and Huskies are set to play at 3:00 p.m. UP then travels to Corvallis on Wednesday to face the two-time defending national champion Oregon State Beavers.