Grand Canyon wrapped up a series victory this afternoon, downing Utah Valley 4-3 at Brent Brown Ballpark in Orem, Utah. The two clubs spilt a pair of games yesterday.
With the win, GCU improved to 24-19, 13-4 in the Western Athletic Conference. The Wolverines dropped to 13-27, 9-9 in the league. The win also moves GCU into sole possession of first place with Bakersfield's loss to Seattle today. Go to
www.wacsports.com for the complete standings.
GCU took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when David Walker scored on a wild pitch. The Antelopes upped their advantage to 3-0 in the second on a RBI single from
David Walker and a sacrifice fly by
Paul Panaccione.
Garrison Schwartz extended the lead to 4-0 with his RBI double in the fifth inning.
The Wolverines rallied back for a run in the fifth and two and the sixth, but could not score the tying run.
Jake Repavich started for GCU and picked up his team-leading seventh win of the season. He allowed three runs (one earned) on eight hits over 6.0 innings.
"Jake had another fine outing for us today," said head coach Andy Stankiewicz. "He made some big pitches when he needed it and the defense turned four double plays behind him, stopping the threat of a big inning.
Ben Mauseth might get lost in the box score, but his defense was super out there."
Cameron Brendel came in and tossed 3.0 scoreless and hitless innings of relief to earn his first save of the season.
"Cameron came in and attacked the zone." concluded Stankiewicz. "It was great to see him get back to what we know he can do and this was very encouraging."
Humberto Aranda led the offense with three hits today, while Walker and Schwartz each had two.
The win also improved GCU's record to 3-5 on this 10-game road swing. They will now travel to Lubbock, Tex. to face Texas Tech on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday's first pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. (AZ time). The games can be found on radio at KXXT 1010 AM (also via the KXXT TuneIn Radio App), the home of Antelope men's basketball and baseball. Live stats and a video link will be available at
www.gculopes.com.
GCU 4 UVU 3