SPOKANE, Wash. --- Portland starter Davis Tominaga had a solid day on the mound, but Gonzaga's Eli Morgan matched Tominaga pitch-for-pitch and then some as the Bulldogs prevailed over the Pilots 3-0 on Saturday night at Patterson Baseball Complex & Washington Trust Field. Morgan went the distance for the complete-game win.
The victory also hands Gonzaga (19-10, 8-3 WCC) the three-game West Coast Conference series as the Bulldogs won Friday's opener as well.
Saturday's game followed a different script than Friday night as offense was hard to come by for both teams. The Bulldogs were able to push across the game's first run in the bottom of the second inning, courtesy as double and a single. GU scored their second run on another single and a double in the third inning, this time making it a 2-0 game.
But that's about all the Gonzaga bats could produce against Tominaga (2-6), who went 7.0 innings. He allowed only six hits, while striking out a season-high seven. The junior righty is saddled with the hard-luck loss.
The Bulldogs did add an unearned run off of reliever Marty Luckenbach in the bottom of the eighth, which came after a pair of Portland (13-18, 1-7 WCC) errors. The Pilots did do well to avoid a bigger inning.
Tominaga also avoided more trouble in the third after the Zags loaded the bases with only one out after scoring their run. Tominaga first got Dustin Breshears to ground into a fielder's choice to third as Jeff Bohling was thrown out at the plate. He then ended the inning and the threat by inducing a ground out to first base off the bat of Patrick Chung.
It took a few innings for the Pilots to find some offense, but the visitors left a runner stranded in the fourth inning, another in the fifth and two more in the sixth inning. Geoffrey Lee was left at third base in the eighth inning after doubling and moving to third on a ground out.
In that sixth inning, Lee and Ryan Barr both reached base with singles before Morgan got out of the frame unscathed.
Morgan (5-1) K'd 11 in his 9.0 innings, walked only one and yielded just four hits.
Sunday's series final is set for 12 p.m.
