SPOKANE (Interstat) — Karsten Sweum pitched 7⅔ innings of three-hit ball and Ryder Young drove in two runs as Gonzaga defeated Loyola Marymount 7-1 on Saturday afternoon at Washington Trust Field and Patterson Baseball Complex.

The Bulldogs improved to 26-14 overall, while the Lions fell to 12-32. Gonzaga took control with a three-run fifth inning to build a six-run lead and never looked back.

Sweum struck out 10 batters and allowed only one earned run, walking none. The right-hander retired the side in order in the first, third and fourth innings and faced little trouble beyond a brief rally in the seventh. He exited after allowing a leadoff single in the eighth, finishing with 7⅔ innings, three hits, one earned run and 10 strikeouts. Erik Hoffberg entered and retired all four batters he faced, striking out two.

Loyola Marymount starter Adam Behrens lasted four innings, giving up seven earned runs on seven hits with two strikeouts. Zachary DenDekker provided a bright spot for the Lions with four innings of hitless relief, striking out one.

Gonzaga struck first in the bottom of the first after a passed ball advanced Mikey Bell to second. Bell scored on a single by Maddox Haley, and Ryder Young came home on a sacrifice fly by Noah Meffert to put the Bulldogs ahead 2-1.

The Bulldogs added two more in the second. Walks and a single loaded the bases, and Ricky Sanchez drove in a run with a single to center. Bell followed with a groundout to second that scored another run, making it 4-1.

The decisive inning came in the fifth. Sanchez singled to right, Bell doubled to left and Young doubled to right center, driving in both runners. Young advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Meffert’s second sacrifice fly of the game, stretching the lead to 7-1.

Loyola Marymount scored its only run in the first inning. DJ Ghiorso led off the game with a double and later scored on a single by pinch hitter Michael Stiveson. The Lions managed only three hits total, with Ghiorso collecting two of them.

Gonzaga’s Bell finished 2 for 4 with an RBI, Sanchez went 2 for 3 with an RBI, and Haley had a hit and an RBI. Meffert drove in two runs without a hit, while Young went 1 for 3 with two RBIs. Loyola Marymount’s only other hit came from Connor Whitton, who singled in the eighth.

The Lions were coming off a 4-3 loss to Gonzaga on Friday afternoon in the series opener. The Bulldogs won that game behind a strong pitching performance and now have won two straight in the three-game set. Gonzaga has won six of its last seven games overall, while Loyola Marymount has lost eight of its last nine.

The teams close the series Sunday afternoon at the same venue. Loyola Marymount then travels to UC San Diego on Tuesday, while Gonzaga visits Oregon on Tuesday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Gonzaga 7, Loyola Marymount 3. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Gonzaga with a 68.60 percent probability to win.