Gonzaga Bulldogs baseball

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Gonzaga Bulldogs
Gonzaga alternate logo.png
Founded 1890
University Gonzaga University
Conference WCC
Location Spokane, WA
Head coach Mark Machtolf (13th year)
Home stadium Washington Trust Field and Patterson Baseball Complex
(Capacity: 1,300)
Nickname Bulldogs
Colors Navy Blue, White, and Red[1]
<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css"></templatestyles>     
NCAA Tournament appearances
1971, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 2009
Conference tournament champions
Big Sky: 1971, 1973, 1974
WCC: 2009
Conference champions
Big Sky: 1965, 1971, 1973, 1974
Nor-Pac: 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981
WCC: 2009, 2013, 2016

The Gonzaga Bulldogs baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, United States. The NCAA Division I program has been a member of the West Coast Conference since 1996 and its home venue is Washington Trust Field and Patterson Baseball Complex, opened on Gonzaga's campus for the 2007 season.

Mark Machtolf has been the program's head coach since 2004. Through 2013, 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 conference for baseball and previously played in the NorPac and Big Sky conferences.

As of the start of the 2013 season, 16 former Bulldogs have played in Major League Baseball.

History

File:Dave Skeels.jpg
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.[2][3] 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.[4][5] In 1912, the college was recognized by the state of Washington as a university and was renamed Gonzaga University.[2] Although the team competed in the first half of the 20th century,[6][7] 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.[8]

Big Sky

Gonzaga was a charter member of the Big Sky Conference, which launched in the summer of 1963 with six schools. Its first baseball season was in 1964,[9] and the Bulldogs won the conference title in 1965.[10] Prior to the 1967 season, the program opened Pecarovich Field, named for former Gonzaga football head coach Mike Pecarovich.[11][12]

Larry Koentopp was named head coach prior to the 1970 season, and the Big Sky expanded to eight teams that summer. For baseball, the conference split into two-four team divisions for the 1971 season,[13][14] and Gonzaga won all won four Northern division titles from 1971 through 1974. The Zags won the Big Sky championship series in three of those four seasons,[10] which earned a berth in the NCAA tournament in 1971,[15][16] 1973,[17][18] and 1974.[9][19][20][21][22][23] The 1972 team entered the Big Sky tournament on a 28-game winning streak,[24] but was the first team eliminated.[25] 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.[26][27] Along with Idaho and Boise State, the program joined the new seven-team Northern Pacific Conference (NorPac) in June 1974.[28][29][30] The Bulldogs finished in second place in 1975,[31] but won four conference championships in the next six seasons to advance to the NCAA tournament in 1976,[32] 1978,[33] 1980,[34] and 1981.[9][35][36] After Idaho and Boise State dropped baseball following the 1980 season,[37] the NorPac played a final season with five teams in 1981.[38]

Pacific-10

Gonzaga and three other NorPac programs moved to the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) for the 1982 season,[39] where they competed in the Northern Division with Washington, Washington State, and Oregon State.[40][41] (Oregon dropped baseball after the 1981 season;[42][43] 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.[9][44]

West Coast Conference

Following the 1995 season, the program moved to the West Coast Conference (WCC), which the majority of the school's athletic programs had joined in the summer of 1979.[9][45] Also following the 1995 season, Pecarovich Field was renamed August/A.R.T. Stadium.[46][47]

Gonzaga initially struggled in WCC baseball, finishing 5th, 8th, and 6th in its first three seasons. 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.[9]

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.[48][49][50]

Following the 2003 season, Steve Hertz retired after 24 seasons as the program's head coach,[9][51] and was replaced by Mark Machtolf.[52] 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.[9]

Conference affiliations

Venues

Early venues

The earliest known venue of the program is Underhill Park, located off-campus across the Spokane River.[53] Underhill still functions as a municipal park in Spokane.[54] 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.[53]

August/A.R.T. Stadium

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.[55] The stadium opened on April 7, 1967, as Pecarovich Field, named for former Gonzaga football player and coach Mike Pecarovich (1898–1965).[11][56] 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.[46][47] 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.[53] In the stadium's last game on April 13, 2003, Gonzaga lost to San Francisco 8–3.[48] The team played the remainder of its 2003 home games at Spokane Falls Community College.[57]

Avista Stadium

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Main article: Avista Stadium

For three seasons (2004–2006), Gonzaga played at Spokane's Avista Stadium, the home venue of the minor league Spokane Indians.[49] Opened in 1958, it has a capacity of 7,162 spectators.[58]

Washington Trust Field and Patterson Baseball Complex

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Main article: 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 facility's first game, played on March 15, Gonzaga defeated Rider 9–4.[50][59] The venue was dedicated a month later on April 20, named for both Washington Trust Bank, a donor to the field's construction, and Michael Patterson, a Gonzaga alumnus.[49] It has a capacity of 1,500 spectators.[60]

Head coaches

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.[9][61]

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 10 288–241–1 .544
TOTALS 7 54[8] 1394-1189-8 .540

Current coaching staff

  • Head coach – Mark Machtolf
  • Assistant coach – Danny Evans
  • Assistant coach – Steve Bennett
  • Assistant coach – Bobby Carlson[62]

Yearly records

Below is a table of the program's yearly records.[9][22][23][44][63][64][65][66][67][68][69]

Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
District VII Independent (1960–1963)
1960[8] 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) Big Sky tournament[24][25]
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
2013 Mark Machtolf 32–21 18–6 1st WCC Tournament
West Coast Conference: 493–462–5 238–224
Total: 1394-1189-8

      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

Notable former players

Jason Bay in 2009 with the Boston Red Sox

Below is a list of notable former Bulldogs and the seasons in which they played for the program.[4][61]

<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>

Retired numbers

The first retired number for the program was number 19 in 1982, worn by walk-on third baseman Mac Gebbers (1978–1982).[41][70][71]

2012 MLB Draft

Two Bulldogs were selected in the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft: OF Royce Bolinger by the Texas Rangers (6th round) and P Tyler Olson by the Oakland Athletics (17th round).[72] Bolinger signed a professional contract with the Rangers, while Olson chose not to sign with Oakland.[73][74]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Although records exist of games played as early as 1890, comprehensive records exist only for the 1960 season onward.[3][9]
  9. ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 49.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  53. ↑ 53.0 53.1 53.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  54. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  55. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  56. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  57. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  59. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  60. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  61. ↑ 61.0 61.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  62. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  63. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  64. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  65. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  66. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  67. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  68. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  69. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  70. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  71. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  72. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  73. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  74. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Gonzaga_Bulldogs_baseball&oldid=721620871"