Gonzaga’s Mark Machtolf honored as West Coast Conference baseball Coach of the Year

Gonzaga coach Mark Machtolf was named the West Coast Conference’s baseball Coach of the Year on Tuesday, one of many such honors for the Zags, who wrapped up their second consecutive WCC title last weekend.

Machtolf secured his third WCC Coach of the Year award by guiding the Bulldogs to a share of the WCC title and the No. 1 seed in this weekend’s WCC Championships.

The Zags went 30-18 in the regular season and 20-7 in conference play, earning a share of the title by sweeping conference-leading BYU in the team’s final series of the season.

Ace Eli Morgan was named first-team all-conference by the WCC coaches for the second year in a row and finished second in the vote for Pitcher of the Year. He finished the regular season with a 9-2 record and a 2.85 ERA, going 7-1 against WCC competition.

Morgan, a junior from Palos Verdes, California, led the league with 128 strikeouts, which ranks No. 4 nationally and second in GU history. He came up just short of a perfect game on March 17 against Pacific, giving up a hit with two out in the eighth inning during one of his two shutouts.

Three GU seniors earned second-team honors. Sam Brown, who leads the team with a .322 batting average and is fourth in the program in career hits with 243; closer Wyatt Mills, who boasts 11 saves and a 1.50 ERA; and catcher Jake Roberts, who led the team with 24 runs scored, 24 RBIs and 11 extra-base hits, were all named to the second team.

Daniel Fredrickson earned All-WCC honorable mention despite missing two series, thanks to his .342 batting average in conference play, and Troy Johnston was named to the WCC’s All-Freshman team after hitting .353 with a .529 slugging percentage in 17 conference games. Johnston’s winning home run on April 15 at Santa Clara was GU’s first pinch-hit homer in seven years.

The WCC Championships begin on Thursday. GU will first face No. 4 seed Saint Mary’s at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton, California.