A substandard and detrimental two-game stretch for the No. 1-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Arizona. Coach Mark Machtolf’s group was the clear favorite to win the West Coast Conference Tournament and didn’t look anything like the part.
In the first matchup, Gonzaga got rolled over by the No. 5-seeded Saint Mary’s Gaels on Thursday afternoon, May 21, 13-4. Senior right-handed pitcher Justin Feld (8-2, 4.77 ERA) was rocked early on, giving up seven earned runs on six hits in 3.1 innings pitched. The Zags had to play catch-up from there, and the bats didn’t have enough juice.
A questionable decision on why sophomore left-handed pitcher Karsten Sweum (8-2, 4.69 ERA) didn’t get the start to begin this double-elimination tournament, being the ace on this roster and the 2026 West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year.
Gonzaga was then knocked out by the No. 3-seeded San Francisco Dons the following morning, May 22, 6-5. The Zags had just swept the Dons back on the weekend of May 8 by a score of 32-5. Sweum threw a no-hitter at San Francisco’s Benedetti Diamond on May 9, but just didn’t have the same electric stuff this time around against a San Francisco team that was recently familiar with him. It was bad from the first pitch as he gave up five runs in the first inning alone.
Sweum was yanked after throwing only 1.1 innings, allowing six earned runs on six hits. Replacement left-handed pitcher Landon Hood was much better (zero earned runs, three hits, eight strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched), but the 2026 West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year didn’t have enough run support behind him.
Gonzaga did make a run at a comeback in the second and third innings, and suddenly, the bats went cold once again. Baseball is strange like that for this Pacific Northwest unit that was the highest-scoring offense in the West Coast Conference by a mile. The Zags outscored their opponents 406-294 this season.
Two underwhelming performances for the top seed in ‘The Grand Canyon State.’ Gonzaga (35-19, 22-5 WCC) will be stressing at the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Monday, May 25, set for 9 a.m. PT on ESPN2. The Zags are currently ranked No. 55 in the RPI and await to hear their name called to be a part of the 64-team field.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho