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Gonzaga Bulldogs
Founded1890
UniversityGonzaga University
Head coachMark Machtolf (9th season)
ConferenceWest Coast Conference
Home stadiumWashington Trust Field and Patterson Baseball Complex
(Capacity: 1,300)
NicknameBulldogs
ColorsBlue, Red, and Gray
     
NCAA Tournament appearances
1971, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 2009
Conference tournament champions
Big Sky Championship Series: 1971, 1974
WCC Championship Series: 2009
Regular season conference champions
Big Sky: 1965
Big Sky Northern Division: 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974
Nor-Pac: 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981
WCC Coast Division: 2001
WCC: 2009

The Gonzaga Bulldogs baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, United States. The program has been a member of the NCAA Division I West Coast Conference since prior to the 1996 season. Since prior to the 2007 season, the team's home venue has been Washington Trust Field and Patterson Baseball Complex, located on Gonzaga's campus. Mark Machtolf has been the program's head coach since prior to the 2004 season. As of the end of the 2012 season, the program has appeared in eight NCAA Tournaments. It has won one conference championship series, soix regular season conference championships, and five regular season division titles. As of the start of the 2012 Major League Baseball season, 16 former Bulldogs have appeared in Major League Baseball.

History

[edit]
Dave Skeels in 1911.

Gonzaga College was founded in September 1887, and the first recorded game of the baseball program was held shortly thereafter, in 1890.[1][2] 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.[3][4] In 1912, the college was recognized by the state of Washington as a university and was renamed Gonzaga University.[1]

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's University Division.[5] Prior to the 1964 season, the program joined the Big Sky Conference.[6] Prior to the 1967 season, the program opened Pecarovich Field, named for former Gonzaga football head coach Mike Pecarovich.[7]

Shortly after Larry Koentopp was named head coach prior to the 1970 season, the team won four consecutive Big Sky Northern Division Titles from 1971-1974. The team won the Big Sky Championship Series in three of those four season, thus appearing in the NCAA Tournament in 1971, 1973, and 1974.[6][8][9]

Following the 1974 season, the program joined the Northern Pacific Conference and won four conference championships in the next seven seasons. As a result, Gonzaga appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 1976, 1978, 1980, and 1981.[6]

Under Steve Hertz, who had coached the program in 1978 and returned prior to the 1981 season, the program moved to the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) prior to the 1982 season, where it competed in the Northern Division. The team remained in the Pac-10 until after the 1995 season, and it never finished higher than 2nd in the Northern Division. The Bulldogs appeared in the Northern Division Tournament six times (1986-1991) and hosted the tournament from 1986-1989.[6][10]

West Coast Conference era

[edit]

Following the 1995 season, the program moved to the West Coast Conference (WCC), which the majority of the school's athletic programs had joined for the 1979-1980 school year.[6][11] Also following the 1995 season, Pecarovich Field was renamed August/A.R.T. Stadium.[12][13]

The program initially struggled in the WCC, finishing 5th, 8th, and 6th in 1996, 1997, and 1998, respectively. However, after the WCC split into two four-team divisions prior to the 1999 season, Gonzaga finished 2nd in its division in 1999 and 2000 and won the Coast Division in 2001. In the best-of-three 2001 WCC Championship Series, Gonzaga lost to Pepperdine 2-1.[6]

During the 2003 season, August/A.R.T. Stadium was razed to allow for the construction of the McCarthey Athletic Center. The team used Spokane's Avista Stadium until its current venue, Washington Trust Field and Patterson Baseball Complex, was completed prior to the 2007 season.[14][15][16]

Following the 2003 season, Steve Hertz retired after 24 seasons as the program's head coach.[17][6] He was replaced by Mark Machtolf.[18] Under Machtolf, the team qualified for three WCC Championship Series (2007, 2009, 2011). After losing to San Diego 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 in its first game, but it lost consecutive games to Cal State Fullerton and Utah and was eliminated. In the 2011 WCC Championship Series, Gonzaga lost to San Francisco.[6]

Conference affiliations

[edit]

Venues

[edit]

Early venues

[edit]

The earliest known venue of the program is Underhill Park, located off-campus across the Spokane River.[19] Underhill still functions as a municipal park in Spokane.[20] 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.[19]

August/A.R.T. Stadium

[edit]

From prior to the 1967 season to partway through the 2003 season, the program played at August/A.R.T. Stadium, which had a capacity of 1,000 spectators.[21] The stadium opened on April 7, 1967, as Pecarovich Field, named for former Gonzaga football player and coach Mike Pecarovich.[7] Gonzaga swept a doubleheader against Eastern Washington to open the field. Prior to the 1996 season, the venue was renamed August/A.R.T. Stadium.[12][13] Gonzaga used August/A.R.T. until partway through the 2003 season, when it was demolished to allow for the construction of the McCarthey Athletic Center on its location.[19] In the stadium's last game on April 13, 2003, Gonzaga lost to San Francisco 8-3.[14] The team played the remainder of its 2003 home games at Spokane Falls Community College.[22]

Avista Stadium

[edit]

From the start of the 2004 season through the end of the 2006 season, the team played at Spokane's Avista Stadium, the home venue of the minor league Spokane Indians.[15] The venue, which opened in 1958, has a capacity of 7,162 spectators.[23]

Washington Trust Field and Patterson Baseball Complex

[edit]

At the start of the 2007 season, the program opened its current venue, Washington Trust Field and Patterson Baseball Complex. In the facility's first game, played on March 15, 2007, Gonzaga defeated Rider 9-4.[16][24] The venue was dedicated on April 20, 2007, and it is named for both Washington Trust Bank, a donor to the field's construction, and Michael Patterson, a Gonzaga alumnus.[15] It has a capacity of 1,500 spectators.[25]

Head coaches

[edit]

Steve Hertz, who coached the team in 1978 and from 1981-2003, is Gonzaga's winningest and longest tenured head coach. He served in the position for 24 seasons and had 637 career wins.[6]

Year(s) Coach Seasons W-L-T Pct
1960-1961 Joe Schauble 2 6-26 .186
1962-1967 Dick Busch 6 72-85-1 .459
1968-1969 Joey August 2 28-38 .424
1970-1977 Larry Koentopp 8 289-138 .677
1978, 1981-2003 Steve Hertz 24 637-630-6 .504
1979-1980 Jim Lawler 2 64-32 .667
2004-present Mark Machtolf 9 266-220-1 .547
TOTALS
7
53[5]
1362-1168-8
.539

Current coaching staff

[edit]
  • Head coach – Mark Machtolf
  • Assistant coach – Danny Evans
  • Assistant coach – Steve Bennett
  • Assistant coach – Bobby Carlson[26]

Yearly record

[edit]
Statistics overview
Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
District VII Independent (1960–1963)
1960[5] Joe Schauble 3-13
1961 Joe Schauble 3-13
1962 Dick Busch 10-12
1963 Dick Busch 10-11
District VII Independent: 26-49
Big Sky Conference (1964–1974)
1964 Dick Busch 7-18-1 1-5 t-2nd (Northern)
1965 Dick Busch 19-10 9-3 1st
1966 Dick Busch 13-16 8-4 t-3rd
1967 Dick Busch 13-18 5-7 t-4th
1968 Joey August 16-19 6-6 t-3rd
1969 Joey August 12-19 4-8 t-5th
1970 Larry Koentopp 30-15 7-5 2nd
1971 Larry Koentopp 37-16 9-1 1st (Northern) District VII Regional
1972 Larry Koentopp 34-10 10-1 1st (Northern)
1973 Larry Koentopp 34-17 10-2 1st (Northern) District VII Regional
1974 Larry Koentopp 45-14 9-2 1st (Northern) District VII Regional
Big Sky Conference: 260-172-1 78-44
Northern Pacific Conference (1975–1981)
1975 Larry Koentopp 32-18 16-8 2nd
1976 Larry Koentopp 43-23 19-5 1st Rocky Mountain Regional
1977 Larry Koentopp 34-25 14-10 3rd
1978 Steve Hertz 33-14 18-6 1st Rocky Mountain Regional
1979 Jim Lawler 25-17 13-11 4th
1980 Jim Lawler 39-15 23-4 1st West Regional
1981 Steve Hertz 48-21 25-7 1st West Regional
Northern Pacific Conference: 254-133 128-51
Pacific-10 Conference (1982–1995)
1982 Steve Hertz 30-28 10-14 5th (Northern)
1983 Steve Hertz 17-34 6-18 7th (Northern)
1984 Steve Hertz 23-29-1 6-14 6th (Northern)
1985 Steve Hertz 26-23-1 11-13 5th (Northern)
1986 Steve Hertz 30-21 13-10 2nd (Northern) Pac-10 North Tournament
1987 Steve Hertz 20-32 8-16 6th (Northern) Pac-10 North Tournament
1988 Steve Hertz 28-28 12-11 4th (Northern) Pac-10 North Tournament
1989 Steve Hertz 27-19 15-9 t-2nd (Northern) Pac-10 North Tournament
1990 Steve Hertz 37-21 13-11 4th (Northern) Pac-10 North Tournament
1991 Steve Hertz 23-25 8-12 t-4th (Northern) Pac-10 North Tournament
1992 Steve Hertz 22-30 14-16 5th (Northern)
1993 Steve Hertz 17-36 9-21 5th (Northern)
1994 Steve Hertz 29-23 14-16 5th (Northern)
1995 Steve Hertz 29-25 15-15 3rd (Northern)
Pacific-10 Conference: 358-374-2 154-196
West Coast Conference (1996–present)
1996 Steve Hertz 24-25 12-15 5th
1997 Steve Hertz 19-33-1 7-21 8th
1998 Steve Hertz 16-34 10-20 6th
1999 Steve Hertz 27-23-2 14-14 2nd (West)
2000 Steve Hertz 28-25 17-13 2nd (Coast)
2001 Steve Hertz 28-27 17-13 1st (Coast) WCC Championship Series
2002 Steve Hertz 27-29 14-16 4th (Coast)
2003 Steve Hertz 26-25-1 14-16 3rd (Coast)
2004 Mark Machtolf 24-27 16-11 3rd (Coast)
2005 Mark Machtolf 28-26 15-15 3rd (Coast)
2006 Mark Machtolf 29-24 9-12 5th
2007 Mark Machtolf 33-25 15-6 2nd WCC Championship Series
2008 Mark Machtolf 30-23 10-10 5th
2009 Mark Machtolf 36-18 14-7 1st Fullerton Regional
2010 Mark Machtolf 20-36 8-13 t-5th
2011 Mark Machtolf 32-19-1 15-6 2nd WCC Championship Series
2012 Mark Machtolf 34-22 14-10 t-3rd
West Coast Conference: 461-441-5 220-218
Total: 1362-1168-8

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

[6][27][28][29][30][31][8][9][10]

Notable former players

[edit]
Jason Bay, shown while playing for the MLB's Boston Red Sox in 2009.

Below is a list of notable former Bulldogs and the seasons in which they played for the program.[3]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Kingma, David A. (6 October 1995). "History of Gonzaga University". Gonzaga.edu. Archived from the original on 2012-08-11. Retrieved 11 August 2012. Gonzaga College began its first academic year September 17, 1887 with a Mass of the Holy Spirit, a tradition that continues today.
  2. ^ a b "History". Gonzaga Baseball. Archived from the original on 2012-08-08. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Gonzaga University Baseball Players Who Made It to the Major Leagues". Baseball-Almanac.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-10. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  4. ^ "Dave Skeels". Retrosheet.org. Archived from the original on 2012-08-11. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d Although records exist of games played as early as 1890, comprehensive records exist only for the 1960 season onward.[2][6]
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "2012 Baseball Record Book". GoZags.com. Gonzaga Sports Information. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-08-07. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Memorial to Honor Mike Pecarovich: Gonzaga Plans Baseball Field". The Spokane Daily Chronicle. Spokane, Washington, United States. 22 July 1965. p. 11. Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  8. ^ a b "Past Baseball Champions". BigSkyConf.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-08. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Big Sky Baseball: Split Loop Planned". The Spokane Daily Chronicle. Spokane, Washington, USA. 19 May 1970. p. 35. Archived from the original on 2012-08-08. Retrieved 8 August 2012. The division winners will meet at the end of the season in a best-of-three series for the conference crown. The loop champion will represent the league in the NCAA District VII playoffs.
  10. ^ a b "2012 Pac-12 Conference Media Guide". The Pacific-12 Conference. p. 65. Archived from the original on 2012-08-09. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  11. ^ "Bulldog Men Sweep WCC Honors: Few, Turiaf, Knight, Batista Take Home Major Honors". CSTV.com. 28 February 2005. Archived from the original on 2012-08-11. Retrieved 11 August 2012. It's the eighth time a Bulldog has been honored as the top coach since Gonzaga joined the conference for the 1979-80 season.
  12. ^ a b "Blood Strikes Out 18 in Gonzaga Victory". Spokesman.com. The Spokesman-Review. 2 April 1995. Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  13. ^ a b "Workman Powers Gonzaga to Win". The Spokesman-Review. 29 April 1996. Archived from the original on 2012-07-31.
  14. ^ a b "Baseball Drops Final Game at August/A.R.T. Stadium". GoZags.com. Gonzaga Sports Information. 13 April 2003. Archived from the original on 2012-08-01. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  15. ^ a b c "Patterson Baseball Complex Dedication on Friday". Gonzaga.edu. 18 April 2007. Archived from the original on 2012-08-01. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  16. ^ a b "Bulldogs Open New Baseball Complex". GoZags.com. Gonzaga Sports Information. 14 March 2007. Archived from the original on 2012-08-07. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  17. ^ Vlahovich, Mike (10 February 2005). "Hertz, Matlock, Tschirgi Recognized at Inland Northwest Luncheon". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington, United States. p. C6. Archived from the original on 2012-08-11. Retrieved 11 August 2012. Steve Hertz, who retired as Gonzaga University baseball coach following the 2003 season, ...
  18. ^ "2004 Gonzaga Baseball Quick Facts". Gonzaga Sports Information. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-08-11. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  19. ^ a b c Blanchette, John (25 March 2003). "GU Field Rife with Memories". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington, United States. pp. C1, C6. Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  20. ^ "Underhill Park". SpokaneHistorical.org. Archived from the original on 2012-08-01. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  21. ^ "Gonzaga University Baseball Weekly Notes". Gonzaga Sports Information. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-08-01. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  22. ^ "Baseball Starts Long Home Stint". GoZags.com. Gonzaga Sports Information. 22 April 2003. Archived from the original on 2012-08-01. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  23. ^ Baseball America 2011 Directory. Simon & Schuster. March 22, 2011. ISBN 978-1-93239-139-8. Archived from the original on 2012-08-01. Retrieved 1 August 2012.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  24. ^ "Zags Open New Ballpark with Win". GoZags.com. Gonzaga Sports Information. 15 March 2007. Archived from the original on 2012-08-07. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  25. ^ "Bulldogs Quick Facts". GoZags.com. Gonzaga Sports Information. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-08-07. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  26. ^ "Baseball - 2012 Coaches". GoZags.com. Gonzaga Sports Information. Archived from the original on 2012-08-08. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  27. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1964". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-08. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  28. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1971". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-08. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  29. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1972". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-08. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  30. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1973". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-08. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  31. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1974". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-08. Retrieved 8 August 2012.