Big Seventh Inning Pushes Wolverines Past GCU

Saturday, May 17

Brazell Stadium

6:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

29-21, 18-8

Utah Valley

25-27, 16-10

Utah Valley

Grand Canyon

Chad De La Guerra hit his team-leading fourth home run tonight against Utah Valley

Photo by: Theon Carrier

5/17/2014 10:43:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Rubber match, which is highlighted by Senior Day, slated for 12:30 p.m. tomorrow

The Grand Canyon University baseball team (29-21, 18-8 WAC) dropped the second game of their final Western Athletic Conference series, 9-7, to visiting Utah Valley (25-27, 16-10 WAC) tonight at Brazell Stadium. Despite tonight's loss, the Antelopes have locked up a second place finish in the regular season conference standings.

Click here for Michael Potter's postgame interview with assistant coach Nathan Choate.

After both teams traded zeroes over the first three innings, the Lopes built a 7-0 lead following six complete. However, the Wolverines exploded for nine runs in the top of the seventh and kept GCU off the board over the final three frames.

"We gave them opportunities and a good team will take advantage of it," said head coach Andy Stankiewicz. "And that is exactly what they did. Baseball is a humbling game. If you don't stay focused and locked in, you can be snake bitten. We didn't play well enough late. But we have to get some rest and come back tomorrow to win the series."

Starter Coley Bruns did not factor in the decision despite tossing six scoreless frames, allowing just three hits and four walks with seven strikeouts. Bruns got out of a bases loaded, one-out jam in the sixth to keep the Wolverines off the board in his final inning of work.

Malcolm Purdy was tagged with the loss (5-5) for GCU.

Chad De La Guerra, who has now reached base in 27 consecutive games, kept his strong offensive prowess alive, going 3-for-5 with two runs and three RBI. He led a GCU offense that collected their 23^rd double-digit hitting game (12).

David Walker, Brian Kraft, and Matt Haggerty chipped in with two hits apiece, while Haggerty also plated a pair of runs.

Both teams had their chances early in the game with runners in scoring position but neither scored as Bruns was dueling with Utah Valley hurler Ryan Evans.

Michael Pomeroy broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning with an RBI double to left-centerfield to plate De La Guerra, who had picked up his second hit of the game earlier in the frame.

The Lopes opened the fifth with three straight hits, including a leadoff double off the bat of Kraft, who came around to score following back-to-back singles by Haggerty and Brandon Smith. Two outs later, De La Guerra made it 5-0 in favor of GCU with his fourth homer of the season, taking a 3-2 pitch over the right field fence.

GCU tacked on two more runs in the sixth on a single up the middle by Haggerty that plated Ben Mauseth and Kraft to make it a 7-0 lead for the Lopes.

The Wolverines sent 15 men to the plate in a nine-run seventh inning as they built a 9-7 advantage. Utah Valley collected seven hits and five walks in that inning as GCU had to use four different relievers.

"You have to play nine innings," added Stankiewicz. "Utah Valley can hit, but we didn't help ourselves by walking five guys in that seventh inning. And it's a shame because Coley pitched a great game."

The Lopes threatened in the bottom of the ninth with runners on first and second and just one out on the board, but Utah Valley induced a fly out followed by a groundout to end the inning.

The two teams will conclude their final WAC series tomorrow with first pitch slated for 12:30 p.m. The Lopes will honor their five seniors prior to the start of the game. Fans can follow the action live by tuning in to Independent Talk 1100 AM KFNX (online at www.1100kfnx.com or via the TuneIn Radio app on any smartphone).

UVU 9, GCU 7