Gonzaga’s Michael Rhodes hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning Sunday to give the Bulldogs an 8-7 victory over Missouri State at Clay Gould Ballpark in Arlington, Texas.
The Bulldogs walked and singled off Jake Shafer to open the 10th before Chris Mackey came in to relieve the junior. Gonzaga bunted safely to load the bases, and Mackey got the next hitter to ground into the force play at home before Rhodes hit the game-winner. Shafer (0-1) was saddled with the loss.
The Bears (2-2) struck first in the top of the second, taking a 2-0 lead. Kyle Paul led off the inning with a single but was thrown out one hitter later when Clay Coulter reached on a fielder’s choice. Brayden Drake singled to right to put runners on the corners for Ben Carlson, who smashed a two-run double to left center.
MSU added another three runs in the third whe Ben Woodbury singled and Matt Lawson walked to open the frame, and each moved up by stealing a base to set up Paul’s two-RBI single up the middle. Paul then stole second and scored when Coulter ripped a double into the right field corner.
Gonzaga (5-8) got on the board with five runs in the bottom of the fifth. Leadoff man Evan Wells singled and Brandon Blank followed with a two-run homer to left. Starter Scott Carroll hit the next batter and gave up back-to-back singles before getting the first out. Designated hitter Mike Terry then hit a two-run double that tied the game and knocked Carroll out after 4.1 innings.
Sean Toler relieved Carroll in the fifth and retired the next two batters to get the game into the sixth inning at 5-5.
The Bears regained the advantage at 7-5 in the top of the seventh. Nolan Keane singled to lead off and stole second.Coulter hit a ball off the end of the bat that found its way into center field and scored Keane, knocking Gonzaga starter Clayton Mortensen out of the game after 6.1 innings. The right-hander gave up seven runs and struck out 10. Jeremy Stumetz came in and allowed a hit and a walk before Ryan Mantle plated Coulter with a sacrifice fly.
Toler walked the first two batters of the seventh and Pat Doyle came in to relieve the righty. The next batter reached safely on a sac bunt attempt to load the bases with no outs, and Doyle retired two of the next four batters and allowed a runner to score before giving way to Shafer with the bases loaded and two outs. Shafer struck out Blank on a 2-2 pitch to preserve the 7-6 lead.
The Bulldogs sent the game to extra innings with a run in the bottom of ninth. With runners on the corners after a hit batter and a single, Blank laid down a bunt to bring home shortstop Aaron McGuinness as the tying run.
The Bears play at Arkansas-Little Rock at 3 p.m. Tuesday before opening the home schedule with a three-game weekend series against Middle Tennessee State.
