Lopes close season with win, fall short of MW field
GCU beat Nevada 9-3 on Saturday at Don Weir Field at Peccole Park, placing on an offensive show with 17 hits and shutting the 12 months with back-to-back convention sequence wins. But the Lopes’ bid for the sixth and last spot within the MW Championship ended when UNLV hit a Tenth-inning walk-off dwelling run towards San Diego State. San José State additionally received after Fresno State charged again to take a late lead, leaving GCU simply short regardless of taking care of its personal must-win recreation. The Lopes completed in a sixth-place tie within the standings however misplaced tiebreakers.
Grand Canyon completed the season 21-30 total and 11-13 in its first MW season. After beginning 8-18, the Lopes went 13-12 over their last 25 video games, received three of their last 4 convention sequence and stayed within the postseason chase till the season’s last swings across the league.
The Lopes put themselves in place Saturday with one of their most full offensive video games of the season. GCU scored twice within the second inning and three extra instances within the third to construct a 5-1 lead, then pulled away with three runs within the eighth and one within the ninth. The Lopes completed with 17 hits, tied for his or her most in a convention recreation this season, and outhit their opponent for the sixth straight recreation.
GCU’s first push got here from the underside of the order. Senior second baseman Vince Bianchina singled, junior shortstop Camden Bates adopted with a single and junior middle fielder Griffin Cameron introduced within the tying run with a groundout. graduate catcher Myth Perez then singled to middle to attain Bates and provides the Lopes a 2-1 lead.
The Lopes added three extra within the third. Junior first baseman Cannon Peery singled to proper, freshman proper fielder Tanner Johns doubled him dwelling and junior third baseman Jose Lopez III adopted with an RBI double to left-center. Bates added one other run-scoring single to stretch the result in 5-1.
Nevada trimmed the result in 5-3 within the fourth, however senior right-hander Elijah Higginbottom gave GCU a gradual begin. Higginbottom allowed three runs, two earned, on 4 hits with no walks and 4 strikeouts over 4 innings, protecting the Lopes in entrance earlier than turning the sport over to the bullpen.
Junior right-hander Nicholas Robb then delivered one other robust aid outing, throwing 4 2/3 scoreless innings with three hits allowed, no walks and 4 strikeouts. Robb saved Nevada off the board from the fifth into the ninth, giving GCU’s offense time to increase the lead.
The Lopes broke the sport open within the eighth. Cameron reached on an error, junior designated hitter Trevor Schmidt singled and Peery doubled in a run. Johns adopted with a two-run single to push the result in 8-3, ending a two-hit, three-RBI day that capped his robust freshman end.
Senior Dominic Chacon added one last swing within the ninth, launching a solo dwelling run to deep proper field for his fourth homer of the season. It was GCU’s seventeenth hit of the day and gave the Lopes a six-run cushion.
Perez went 3 for six with an RBI, Lopez went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI, Bates went 3 for five with an RBI, and Peery and Johns every had two hits. GCU hit .462 with runners in scoring place, going 6 for 13 in these spots.
The last out of the season went to senior right-hander Jace Smiththe one member of GCU’s senior class to spend all 4 seasons with the Lopes. Smith entered with two outs within the ninth and ended the 12 months with a strikeout.
The outcome closed a season that ended simply exterior the convention match image however with a robust late push: back-to-back MW sequence wins, a successful file over the ultimate 25 video games and a final-day victory that saved GCU’s postseason hopes alive so long as it might management them.
