Zags to open vs. LSU in Eugene

SPOKANE — Gonzaga's baseball team earned the No. 2 regional seed and will take on third-seeded LSU in the Eugene Regional, hosted by No. 14 overall national seed Oregon on Friday through Monday in Eugene, Ore.

The Zags’ No. 2 regional seed is the highest recorded seed for the Bulldogs in program history.

Gonzaga (33-17) and LSU (34-22) are scheduled to play at 7 p.m. PDT at PK Park on Friday on ESPN3. No. 1 regional seed Oregon (37-14) will face No. 4 Central Connecticut State (28-13) ahead of GU’s matchup with LSU at 2 p.m. PDT.

The Zags earned the West Coast Conference automatic qualifying bid after winning the WCC regular-season title on Thursday with a 10-0 shutout over visiting San Diego.

This will be Gonzaga’s first regional since 2018 when the Bulldogs advanced to the Minneapolis Regional after winning the WCC tournament. That year, Gonzaga secured the No. 3 regional seed; the Zags fell 6-5 to No. 2 UCLA in the first game, defeated Canisius 8-2 to stay alive but fell to UCLA in a double-elimination game 10-4.

“We’re very excited,” Gonzaga coach Mark Machtolf said. “The pressure in the last couple of weeks, falling in the RPI and worried about hosting … that’s all water under the bridge now. We know who we are playing—LSU, a good SEC opponent—and we can just concentrate on winning the game.”

The four-team, double elimination regional bracket will feature two games each day with an if-necessary seventh game on Monday.

Tickets for the Eugene Regional are now on sale at goducks.com. All-session tickets start at $80.

The Zags were not selected as one of the 16 host sites for regionals in the 64-team tournament this weekend, after being picked as one of 20 potential sites earlier in May.

Washington State (26-23, 13-17 Pac-12), which recorded its first winning season since 2015 and tallied the most conference wins since 2014, did not receive an at-large berth.

Friday, June 4

Game 1 – Oregon vs. Central Connecticut 2 p.m. PT (ESPN3)

Game 2 – Gonzaga vs. LSU 7 p.m. PT (ESPN3)

Saturday, June 5

Game 3 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser 1 p.m. PT

Game 4 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner 7 p.m. PT

Sunday, June 6

Game 5 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser 3 p.m. PT

Game 6 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner 7 p.m. PT

Monday, June 7

Game 7 (if necessary) – Repeat Game 6 7 p.m. PT