GCU continues road trip in North Dakota

Friday, April 22 - 11 a.m. MST
	LHP Jake Repavich 3-1, 2.53 ERA	LHP Zach Muckenhirn 2-5, 2.70 ERA
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Saturday, April 23 - 11 a.m. MST
	RHP Tyler Wyatt 0-3, 6.35 ERA	RHP Brett DeGagne 1-5, 4.53 ERA
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Sunday, April 24 - 10 a.m. MST
	RHP Cameron Brendel 3-2, 5.23 ERA	RHP McKay McNair 1-3, 4.54 ERA
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PHOENIX -- After a four-run 10th inning salvaged one game in a three-game series at Seattle U last weekend, the Grand Canyon baseball team will look to continue the momentum into another WAC weekend series. The Lopes travel to North Dakota to match up with the Fighting Hawks (6-21, 3-9 WAC). Grand Canyon will look to keep a perfect 6-0 all-time record vs. North Dakota intact. The series features games on Friday at 11 a.m. MST, Saturday at 11 a.m. MST and Sunday at 10 a.m. MST. All three games will be aired on the GCU Radio Network.

LAST TIME OUT
Grand Canyon ended a season-long six-game skid with a victory at Seattle U in the series finale last Sunday. The Lopes took a 4-1 lead, but the WAC-leading Redhawks came storming back to tie the game at four after a pair of late-game homers. GCU, however, put up a four-run spot in the top of the 10th to ensure victory.

In Game 1, the Lopes pulled within a run late on a Zach Malis home run, but Seattle U got to Grand Canyon pitching late at topped GCU 10-3.

Both offenses were quiet in Game 2, with the Lopes only scoring one run to fall to Seattle 4-1.

SERIES HISTORY
The two schools had never met until the Lopes rejoined the WAC in 2014. Grand Canyon has swept both series vs. North Dakota, with one series coming in each location.

GCU opened WAC play vs. North Dakota last season, taking all three games including two via the 10-run mercy rule. Grand Canyon outscored UND 32-7 in the series. The Lopes collected 37 hits. Brandon Smith led the GCU offensive attack on the weekend with six hits.

PITCHING PREVIEW
While the three individuals pitching stays the same, the order of starters is slightly adjusted for the Lopes at North Dakota. Due to commencement ceremonies in Phoenix, Cameron Brendel's start will be pushed to Sunday, while Jake Repavich and Tyler Wyatt both move up a day. Repavich is top five in the WAC in ERA, Wyatt is coming off of his longest and best career start and Brendel looks to improve on his impressive 3.10 ERA in starts.

Three upperclassmen take the hill for the Fighting Hawks. LHP Zach Muckenhirn, UND's ace, gets the Friday night start, entering the tilt with top-five marks in opponent average (.221) and strikeouts (57). RHP Brett DeGagne was roughed up in his last outing at UTRGV, allowing five earned runs in four innings. RHP McKay McNair will start Sunday's contest coming off of a short, 2.1-inning start at Seattle U two weeks ago.

SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA
The newly-renamed Fighting Hawks finished with an impressive 16-11 record in conference play last season and tied Sacramento State for the fourth-place spot in the 10-team WAC. The team began the 2016 season with an upset series victory over Pac-12 foe USC, claiming games by scores of 1-0 and 5-4. Since opening weekend, however, wins have been hard to come by.

North Dakota was swept by Sacramento State to begin conference play, but returned the next weekend with a surprising 2-1 series win over Utah Valley. UND also logged an impressive 15-2 blowout over WAC-leading Seattle U on April 10.

The Fighting Hawks have struggled both from the plate and the batter's box, ranking 8th in the WAC in average (.245) and 7th in ERA (5.37). North Dakota's pitching staff does, however, hold opponents to a .284 batting average, which is 4th in the WAC.

Miles Lewis paces UND with a .349 batting average (8th in WAC) and has 13 stolen bases (t-3rd in WAC).

The University of North Dakota announced last week that it will no longer sponsor baseball as an official school sport beginning next academic year due to budget concerns.

ON THE HORIZON
Grand Canyon will close out the eight-game road trip with matchups against two Big-12 opponents. The Lopes will take on Kansas on Tuesday at 4 p.m. MST (ESPN3) before traveling down the road to face Kanas State on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. MST (Fox College Sports Pacific).

For more news and notes on Grand Canyon Baseball, click on the 'GCU Game Notes' document above.

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Players Mentioned

Cameron Brendel

Zach Malis

Jake Repavich

Brandon Smith

Tyler Wyatt

Grand Canyon University Athletics