March 28, 2003

Final Stats

Moraga, CA - The Saint Mary's baseball team drove past the Gonzaga Bulldogs, 9-3 behind the hitting of Nick Conte and Mike Harris on Friday, March 28 at Louis Guisto Field. With the win the Gaels improve to 12-14/3-3 WCC, while Gonzaga drops to 11-12-1/2-5 WCC.

The Gaels scored the first run in the bottom of the second inning after back-to-back doubles by Conte and Sam Battle with one out. Harris later singled to score Battle and give SMC a 2-0 lead after two innings of play.

The Gaels continued their scoring streak in the third inning after back-to-back errors by the 'Zags. SMC took advantage, connecting on three consecutive hits to score three runs, while adding another hit later to extend their lead to 6-0 after three innings of play.

The Bulldogs added three runs in the top of the seventh inning, started on a RBI double by Gordon Corder, scoring Chris Sinner. The 'Zags would connect on four more hits in the innings to pull within three runs of the Gaels.

The Gaels retaliated in the bottom of the seventh innings when Tim Spooner hit his second homerun of the season, this one a two-run shot to left field to give SMC an 8-3 advantage.

Saint Mary's collected another run in the bottom of the eighth inning on a Bryan Byrne fielder's choice, scoring Harris.

Winning pitcher for the Gaels was starter Eric Bowden, who went 6.1 innings, while giving up three runs on eight hits to improve his record to 4-3 on the season. Gabe Palma earned his first save of the season after tallying 2.2 scoreless innings of relief. GU's starting pitcher, Ed Clelland, falls to 2-1 after giving up six runs on eight hits.

Besides Conte and Hariss' three hits on the day, Spooner also contributed with two hits on the day.

The two teams will continue the three-game series on Saturday, March 29 on Louis Guisto Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 PM.