Gonzaga baseball shakes off loss, reaches West Coast Conference title game

Gonzaga took the long route to the championship round of the West Coast Conference Baseball Tournament on Friday.

Forced to play a second game after losing to San Diego earlier in the day, the top-seeded Bulldogs defeated No. 2 seed Portland 7-0 and clinched their place in Saturday’s title round in Stockton, California.

GU (36-16) will play San Diego at 3 p.m. The Bulldogs must win that game to earn a spot in a winner-take-all showdown at 7. The Toreros (35-18), thanks to their 5-3 win over Gonzaga in Friday’s semifinals, must win one game to claim the WCC Tournament crown.

Gonzaga pitcher Will Kempner shut down Portland (32-23) over his 5 2/3 innings. He struck out 14, gave up three hits and walked one.

Grayson Sterling finished 2 for 4 with three RBIs, including a solo homer and a double. Tyler Rando and Shea Kramer each added two hits and drove in a run.

In GU’s early game, San Diego’s Caleb Ricketts hit two home runs, including a game-tying, three-run homer against Bulldogs ace Gabriel Hughes in the fourth inning.