SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Interstat) — The West Coast Conference baseball championship opens Thursday with a familiar rivalry, as seed Saint Mary’s faces top-seeded Gonzaga at Scottsdale Stadium. The Gaels (29-24) and Bulldogs (35-17) meet at 7 p.m. EDT in a single-elimination opener, with the winner advancing to face either San Francisco or Loyola Marymount.

Gonzaga, the regular-season champion, enters having won three straight against Saint Mary’s, sweeping an April series in Moraga, Calif., by scores of 7-2, 14-4 and 6-5. The Bulldogs, however, have not played since May 16, when they outlasted Seattle 16-13 in a slugfest. Third baseman Mikey Bell led that win with a 5-for-6 performance, including a home run and six RBIs. Bell has been productive all season, with 10 hits in his last five games, though he went 0-for-4 in the series finale against Seattle.

Saint Mary’s brings momentum from a 9-2 win at Pepperdine on Wednesday, clinching the season series. Right-hander John Damozonio earned the victory with six shutout innings, allowing no hits and striking out seven. Damozonio has been dominant in his recent outings, throwing 12 scoreless innings over his last two starts while allowing only five hits. He pitched six scoreless frames against Seattle on May 1 and five-plus innings of one-hit ball against San Diego on April 24.

The Gaels struggled down the stretch, losing five of six before Wednesday’s win, including a three-game sweep at San Francisco and a one-run defeat at Stanford. Gonzaga, meanwhile, rattled off six straight wins before a loss to Santa Clara on May 3, and has gone 8-2 in its last 10.

In the April series, Gonzaga’s offense overwhelmed Saint Mary’s pitching, scoring 27 runs in three games. The Bulldogs rank near the top of the WCC in batting average and runs per game. Saint Mary’s counters with a strong starting rotation, headlined by Damozonio, who has a 1.47 ERA in his last three starts.

First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. The winner plays Friday in the double-elimination bracket.