The Gonzaga Bulldogs baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the univ ...

, located in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

, United States. The

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

program has been a member of the

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

since 1996 and its home venue is Washington Trust Field and Patterson Baseball Complex, opened on Gonzaga's campus in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. Mark Machtolf has been the program's head coach since

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

. Through

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, Gonzaga has appeared in eight NCAA Tournaments. It has won four conference championship series, seven regular season conference championships, and five regular season division titles. Gonzaga was formerly an affiliate member of the

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

conference for baseball and previously played in the

NorPac NORPAC is a bipartisan, multi-candidate political action committee (PAC) working to strengthen United States-Israel relations, founded in New Jersey in 1982. Its activities include fundraising for Senators and Members of the United States Congre ...

and Big Sky conferences. As of the start of the

season, 16 former Bulldogs have played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

History

Gonzaga College was founded in September 1887, and the first recorded game of the baseball program was held shortly thereafter, in 1890. On September 14, 1910, Dave Skeels became the first Gonzaga player to appear in the major leagues when he pitched in a game for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. In 1912, the college was recognized by the

state of Washington Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

as a university and was renamed Gonzaga University. Although the team competed in the first half of the 20th century, comprehensive records of its play do not exist prior to the 1960 season, when the team competed as an independent school in District VII of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

's University Division.

Big Sky

Gonzaga was a charter member of the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

, which launched in the summer of 1963 with six schools. Its first

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

season was in 1964, and the Bulldogs won the conference title in 1965. Prior to the 1967 season, the program opened Pecarovich Field, named for former Gonzaga football head coach

Mike Pecarovich Michael J. Pecarovich (September 23, 1898 – March 23, 1965) was an American football coach, lawyer, and actor. He served as the head football coach at Loyola University of Los Angeles—now known as Loyola Marymount University—in 1928 and 193 ...

Larry Koentopp Larry Koentopp (November 17, 1936 – January 12, 2019) was a college baseball head coach and Minor League Baseball executive. He was born in Spokane, Washington.NCAA tournament in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

, and

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

. The 1972 team entered the Big Sky tournament on a winning streak, but was the first team eliminated. It was the only year the Big Sky used a four-team format; the other three seasons had a best-of-three series between the division winners.

Northern Pacific

Following the 1974 season, the Big Sky discontinued sponsorship of five of its ten sports, including baseball. Along with

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

and Boise State, the program joined the new seven-team Northern Pacific Conference (NorPac) in June 1974. The Bulldogs were second in 1975, but won four conference championships in the next six seasons to advance to the NCAA tournament in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, and

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. After Idaho and Boise State dropped baseball following the 1980 season, the NorPac played a final season with five teams in 1981.

Pacific-10

The four remaining NorPac programs (Gonzaga,

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanfor ...

Portland State Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

, and

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

) moved to the

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

(Pac-10) for the 1982 season, into the Northern Division with

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

, and

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

. (

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

dropped baseball after the 1981 season; it returned in 2009.) Gonzaga remained an affiliate member of the Pac-10 for baseball through the 1995 season, but never finished higher than runner-up in the North. The Bulldogs appeared in the division tournament six times (1986–1991) and hosted it from 1986–1989.

West Coast Conference

Following the 1995 season, the program moved to the

(WCC), which the majority of the school's athletic programs had joined in the summer of 1979. Also following the 1995 season, Pecarovich Field was renamed August/A.R.T. Stadium. Gonzaga initially struggled in WCC baseball, finishing fifth, eighth, and sixth in its first three seasons. However, after the WCC split into two four-team divisions prior to the 1999 season, Gonzaga finished second in its division in 1999 and 2000 and won the Coast Division in 2001. In the

best-of-three There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

2001 WCC Championship Series, Gonzaga lost to

Pepperdine Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and ...

2–1. During the 2003 season, August/A.R.T. Stadium was razed to allow for the construction of the

McCarthey Athletic Center McCarthey Athletic Center (MAC) is a 6,000-seat indoor arena on the campus of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Opened in November 2004, it is home to the university's Bulldog basketball programs, members of the West Coast Conference (W ...

. The team used Spokane's

Avista Stadium Avista Stadium is a baseball park in the northwest United States, located in Spokane Valley, Washington. It is the home ballpark of the Spokane Indians, a minor league baseball team in the High-A Northwest League.

until its current venue, Washington Trust Field and Patterson Baseball Complex, was completed prior to the 2007 season. Following the 2003 season, Steve Hertz retired after 24 seasons as the program's head coach, and was replaced by Mark Machtolf. Under Machtolf, the team qualified for three WCC Championship Series (2007, 2009, 2011). After losing to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

in 2007, Gonzaga defeated Loyola Marymount in 2009 to qualify for the program's first NCAA Tournament since 1981. In the Fullerton Regional, the team defeated

Georgia Southern Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hin ...

in its first game, but it lost consecutive games to

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

and

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

and was eliminated. In the 2011 WCC Championship Series, Gonzaga lost to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

In 2016, as a sophomore future major leaguer

Eli Morgan Elijah Allan Morgan (born May 13, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Morgan was selected by the Indians in the eigh ...

was 10–3 with a 3.73 ERA in 16 starts, earning him a spot on the All-

(WCC) First Team. His 10 wins tied him for second-most in the WCC, and his 3 shutouts led the conference. In 2017, his junior season, Morgan compiled a 10–2 record with a 2.86 ERA in 14 starts, during which he struck out a conference-leading 138 batters (second-most in school history) in 100.2 innings (12.3 strikeouts/9 innings), and was once again named to the All-WCC First Team. His 10 wins again tied him for second-most in the WCC, and he tied for the conference lead with two shutouts. He was one of four pitchers in the country with more than one 15-strikeout games. He was also named Perfect Game/ Rawlings First Team All-American, ''

Collegiate Baseball ''Collegiate Baseball Newspaper'' (also known as ''Collegiate Baseball Magazine'' and ''Collegiate Baseball'') is an American publication based in Arizona that considers itself the "voice of amateur baseball" which has been published for over 40 ...

'' Second Team All-American, three-time National Player of the Week, and five-time Rawlings WCC Pitcher of the Week.

Conference affiliations

*Independent (?–1963) *

(1964–1974) * Northern Pacific Conference (NorPac) (1975–1981) *

(1982–1995) affiliate member *

(1996–present)

Venues

Early venues

The earliest known venue of the program is Underhill Park, located off-campus across the

Spokane River The Spokane River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northern Idaho and eastern Washington in the United States. It drains a low mountainous area east of the Columbia, passing through the Spokane Valley and the city of ...

. Underhill still functions as a municipal park in Spokane. The team moved from Underhill to its first on-campus home, located in Gonzaga's upper campus, where it played until after the 1966 season.

August/A.R.T. Stadium

From 1967 into the 2003 season, the program played at August/A.R.T. Stadium, which had a capacity of The

ballpark A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...

opened in 1967 as Pecarovich Field, named for former Gonzaga

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and coach

(1898–1965). Gonzaga swept a doubleheader against

Central Washington Central Washington is a region of the U.S. state of Washington between the western and eastern parts of the state extending from the border with the Canadian province of British Columbia in the north to the border with the U.S. state of Oregon i ...

on April 7 to open the field. Prior to the 1996 season, the venue was renamed August/A.R.T. Stadium, and Gonzaga used it into the 2003 season; it was demolished and the

was built on the site. In the stadium's last game on April 13, Gonzaga lost to

8–3. The remainder of the home schedule in 2003 was played at

Spokane Falls Community College Spokane Falls Community College (SFCC) is a Public college, public community college in Spokane, Washington. It was established in 1967 and is part of the Community Colleges of Spokane. History The land upon which SFCC is located was given to ...

Avista Stadium

For three seasons (

–

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

), Gonzaga played at

, the home venue of the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...

. Opened in 1958 as a Triple-A ballpark, it has a capacity of 7,162 spectators.

Washington Trust Field and Patterson Baseball Complex

At the start of the 2007 season, the program opened its current venue, Washington Trust Field and Patterson Baseball Complex. In the home opener on March 15, Gonzaga defeated Rider 9–4. It was dedicated a month later on April 20, named for

Washington Trust Bank Washington Trust Bank is an American diversified financial services holding company headquartered in Spokane, Washington. It is the oldest and largest privately held commercial bank in the Pacific Northwest, and has more than 40 financial centers ...

, a donor to the field's construction, and Michael Patterson, a Gonzaga

alumnus Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

. It has a capacity of 1,500 spectators.

Head coaches

Steve Hertz is the winningest and longest-tenured head coach in Gonzaga athletics history; in 24 seasons (1978, 1981–2003) at the helm, he recorded 637 wins.

Yearly records

Below is a table of the program's yearly records.

Notable former players

Below is a list of notable former Bulldogs and the seasons in which they played for the program. *

Jason Bay Jason Raymond Bay (born September 20, 1978) is a Canadian-American former professional baseball left fielder. Bay played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and Seattle Marine ...

(1998–1999) *

Rich Beck Richard Henry Beck (born January 21, 1940) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Beck played for the New York Yankees in the baseball season. Beck was signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent in from Gonzaga University, where he pla ...

(1961–1962) *

T. R. Bryden Thomas Ray Bryden (born January 17, 1959) is an American former professional baseball player who played one season for the California Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1986. Bryden attended Gonzaga University, where he played college base ...

(1980–1981) *

Leon Cadore Leon Joseph "Caddy" Cadore (November 20, 1891 – March 16, 1958) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1924. Early life Born in Chicago, Illinois, Cadore was orphaned at 13 and went to live with his uncle, ...

(1906–1908) * Mike Davey (1972–1974) *

Marco Gonzales Marco Elias Gonzales (born February 16, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals. He attended Gonzaga University, whe ...

(2011–2013) * Tom Gorman (1977–1980) *

Bo Hart Bodhi J. "Bo" Hart (born September 27, 1976) is a former professional baseball player. He played second base in Major League Baseball in 2003 and 2004 for the St. Louis Cardinals. Early years Hart was born in Creswell, Oregon, in 1976, but spent ...

(1999–2000) * Steve Hertz (1970–1972) *

Mel Ingram Melvin David Ingram (July 4, 1904 – October 28, 1979) was a Major League Baseball player. Ingram played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in as a pinch runner in 3 games. Ingram was born in Asheville, North Carolina and died in Medford, Oregon. H ...

(1925–1928) * Cody Martin (2008–2011) *

(2015-2017), pitcher *

Clayton Mortensen Clayton Grant Mortensen (born April 10, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and current coach. He played in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies, and Boston Red Sox. Amate ...

(2006–2007) *

Casey Parsons Casey Robert Parsons is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played parts of four seasons in the majors, between and , for the Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox, and Cleveland Indians. In four seasons, he played in just 63 games, and ...

(1973–1976) *

Mike Redmond Michael Patrick Redmond (born May 5, 1971) is an American former professional baseball catcher and manager. He is currently the bench coach for the Colorado Rockies. He played for 13 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Florida Marlins, ...

(1990–1993) * Kevin Richardson (2001–2002) *

Lenn Sakata Lenn Haruki Sakata (born June 8, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues primarily as a utility player from 1977 to 1987 and was a member of the Baltimore Orioles 1983 World Series Championship tea ...

(1973–1974) * Dave Skeels (1910) *

Jack Spring Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

(1951) *

Rick Sweet Ricky Joe Sweet (born September 7, 1952) is an American former professional baseball catcher and current manager of the Milwaukee Brewers' Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds. He played three seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) betwee ...

(1973–1975) * Brandon Bailey (2014-2016)

Retired numbers

The first

retired number Retiring the number of an athlete is an honor a team bestows upon a player, usually after the player has left the team, retires from the sport, or dies, by taking his or her former number out of circulation. Once a number is retired, no future pla ...

for the program was number 19 in 1982, worn by walk-on third baseman Mac Gebbers (1978–1982).

2012 MLB Draft

Two Bulldogs were selected in the

2012 Major League Baseball Draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto R ...

: OF Royce Bolinger by the Texas Rangers (6th round) and P Tyler Olson by the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

(17th round). Bolinger signed a professional contract with the Rangers, while Olson chose not to sign with Oakland.

2017 MLB Draft

Pitcher

was selected by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

in the eighth round of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

. He signed with the Indians for a $135,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

, and made his MLB debut in 2021.

2018 MLB Draft

Two Bulldogs were selected in the

2018 Major League Baseball Draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...

: P Daniel Bies by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

(7th round) and P Casey Legumina by the

(35th round). Bies signed with the Yankees, Legumina is currently unsigned.

References

External links

* {{West Coast Conference baseball navbox

History

Big Sky

Northern Pacific

Pacific-10

West Coast Conference

Conference affiliations

Venues

Early venues

August/A.R.T. Stadium

Avista Stadium

Washington Trust Field and Patterson Baseball Complex

Head coaches

Yearly records

Notable former players

Retired numbers

2012 MLB Draft

2017 MLB Draft

2018 MLB Draft

See also

References

External links