Gonzaga falls to top-seeded TCU in NCAA regional
Gonzaga completed the comeback but could not hold onto its own lead, falling 4-3 to top-seeded TCU in its NCAA Regionals matchup.
Jeff Bohling’s three-run home run in the sixth inning ended GU’s game-long scoring drought, but TCU tacked on two more runs in the eighth inning to secure its second win.
The Bulldogs (36-20) will face Arizona State (35-22) at noon Sunday. The winner will meet host TCU at 4:30 p.m. If TCU loses, a deciding game will be played on Monday.
Trailing 3-2 with two outs in the eighth, TCU loaded the bases for Elliott Barzilli, who singled to right center off GU starter Eli Morgan, scoring Cam Warner and Austen Wade, who had each singled aboard.
Bohling, the WCC Player of the Year, homered in the sixth inning, scoring Jace VanDeBrake and Nick Brooks.
The GU offense has been dependable throughout the 2016 season, with the Zags batters posting a .290/.379/.422 slash line entering the regionals. The slugging percentage is the team’s best since 2010, and the on-base percentage is the Bulldogs’ best since 2009.
Yet TCU starter Jared Janczak held the Bulldogs to one hit through the first five innings, before VanDeBrake and Brooks both singled, setting the plate for Bohling’s go-ahead home run.
The game was a rematch of GU’s three-game series against then No. 7 TCU. The Horned Frogs took two of three from the Bulldogs back in March, with only the heroics of starting pitcher Brandon Bailey salvaging a win for the Zags.
On Friday, the third-seeded Bulldogs upset No. 2 seed Arizona State. Top-seeded TCU, the regional host, blanked Oral Roberts 7-0 in the late game.
TCU took a one-run lead in the second inning. Barzilli doubled to left center, then advanced to third on Josh Watson’s single. Barzilli scored on a fielder’s choice when Dane Steinhagen hit a grounder back to the pitcher Morgan.
The Horned Frogs tacked on another run in the third inning. Wade tripled to right field and scored when Warner singled through the left side.
The Bulldogs got their first hit in the bottom of the fourth inning, a two-out double by Taylor Jones. But Tyler Frost’s sharp grounder to second was fielded cleanly and the Horned Frogs ended the threat.