Lopes clinch series behind late offense

Saturday, April 2

Bakersfield, Calif.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

14-12, 3-2

CSU Bakersfield

5-21, 0-5

Grand Canyon

CSU Bakersfield

4/2/2016 9:28:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Josh Hauser

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - With a three-run tally in the sixth and a four-run top of the ninth, Grand Canyon pulled away late to defeat CSU Bakersfield 9-4 on Saturday evening. The Lopes clinched the series victory and will go for the sweep on Sunday afternoon.

The middle of Grand Canyon's order did the heavy lifting with the No. 2-5 spots in the lineup accounting for 11 of GCU's 13 hits on the evening. Austin Bull led the Lopes with four hits, while Preston Pavlica drove in four.

In what was a tight, 5-4 ballgame entering the ninth inning, GCU plated four runs on three hits, including consecutive run-scoring doubles off the bats of Garrison Schwartz and Pavlica, to put the game out of reach.

Much of Grand Canyon's early scoring was credit to sacrifice flies as the Lopes' first three runs of the game scored in that manner. Zach Malis drove in Pavlica on a sac fly in the second to put GCU on the board. Pavlica brought in Paul Panaccione on a sac fly in the fourth to help the Lopes reclaim the lead. History repeated itself in the sixth, as Pavlica again drove in Panaccione to grant the Lopes a 3-1 edge.

Following the third sacrifice fly of the evening, the Lopes tacked on two more runs in the sixth. An odd, two-error play resulted in Panaccione coming in to score, while an RBI single by Tyler Wyatt drove in Greg Saenz to put GCU in front 5-1.

CSU Bakersfield came storming back with three combined runs in the sixth and seventh frames to trim the Lopes' lead to just one run at 5-4. Grand Canyon, however, put together a strong response of its own, scoring four in the ninth to seal the win.

Jake Repavich tossed six innings for GCU, limiting the 'Runners to seven hits and three earned runs. The left-hander picked up his third win of the season on the hill.

Searching for a three-game sweep of the Roadrunners, Grand Canyon is set to close out the series in Bakersfield on Sunday. RHP Mick Vorhof (2-0, 2.40 ERA) gets the nod for GCU, while the 'Runners are scheduled to start RHP Chance Gusbeth (1-1, 6.38 ERA). The game is set to begin at 12 p.m. and will be streamed on the WAC Digital Network.