Box Score

Redshirt-senior Niko Pacheco launched the first two home runs of his Lion career as LMU (20-22, 12-7 WCC) hit three on the night en route to capturing game one of a three-game West Coast Conference series against Gonzaga (20-19, 10-9 WCC) by a score of 5-2 on Friday night from the Patterson Baseball Complex.

PACHECO'S POWER: Pacheco, who hit two home runs at Cal State Fullerton before transferring to LMU for his final year of eligibility, doubled up on his home run total, launching a solo shot in the second and adding one more in the fifth. Pacheco finished the game 2-for-3 while also drawing a walk.

EXTRA-BASE HITS: Six of LMU's 10 hits in the victory on Friday went for extra-bases, as Pacheco hit a pair of homers, Billy Wilson connected for his third of the year, Nick Sogard and Cooper Uhl doubled, and Brandon Shearer tripled-in a run in the sixth to push LMU to a 3-1 lead to that point.

PAIVA AND FRASSO IMPRESS ON THE HILL: Junior Codie Paiva got the start and earned the victory after tossing the first 5.1 innings and allowing just one run on three hits and four walks while striking out three. The native of Pearl City, Hawaii allowed just a solo home run to Jake Vieth in the fifth inning, eventually improving to 5-4 with the win. Paiva also worked out of a bases-loaded no out jam in the fourth inning. Freshman Nick Frasso took over with one out in the sixth inning, tossing the final 3.2 innings and allowing just one run on two hits while striking out eight. Frasso punched out a string of four straight after entering the game, and closed the ninth with three straight punchouts to convert his first career save.

BOX SCORE NOTES: In addition to Pacheco, Trevin Esquerra and Cooper Uhl also finished with two hits ââ'¬¦ Daniel Bies was charged with the loss after allowing three runs on seven hits, including the two homers to Pacheco, over 5.2 innings ââ'¬¦ Bies dropped to 4-4 on the year ââ'¬¦ Gonzaga collected just five hits, with two of the five coming from Ernie Yake.

LION NOTES: Pacheco's two-homer game was the first for the Lions since Tanner Donnels launched a pair at Pepperdine on March 22, 2015 ââ'¬¦ LMU's three homers are a new season high, and are the most since hitting four at Portland on May 21, 2017 ââ'¬¦ the Lions have now won three straight games overall.

JOURNEY TO THE TOURNEY: With the win, LMU improves to 12-7 in the WCC, good for a share of second place following San Francisco's Friday loss to Santa Clara. Pepperdine, which is idle this week, sits atop the standings at 12-6. The fourth spot in the WCC currently belongs to Saint Mary's, which is also ide, at 10-8.

ON DECK: LMU will continue the three-game West Coast Conference series with Gonzaga on Saturday at 6 p.m.

PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS: LMU still has four home games remaining to be played at Page Stadium. New ticket plans start at $50 for a General Admission season ticket, while Reserved season tickets can be purchased for $99. Members of LMU's Little Lions Club also get into all LMU home baseball games as part of the membership, while students, faculty and staff with a valid One Card also receive free General Admission access to every home game. Reserved season tickets behind home plate include a nameplate on your chair identifying your seat(s). Fans can also package a mini plan to include any five home games this year, with prices starting at $30. To purchase season tickets, mini plans or single-game tickets, please contact the LMU Box Office at 310-338-5466 or visit LMULions.com/tickets.