GCU pitching lifts Lopes over No. 22 Cowboys

Monday, February 20

Phoenix, Ariz.

1:00 p.m.

Grand Canyon

2-1

Oklahoma State

1-2

Oklahoma State

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Theon Carrier

2/20/2017 3:42:00 PM | Baseball

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By: Jake Hernandez

PHOENIX – The Grand Canyon baseball team took the series in Monday's rubber match against No. 22 Oklahoma State, 4-0. The Lopes improve to 2-1 as Grand Canyon pitching set the tone early in the season.

"We could not have asked for more from those three guys (Jake Wong, Degan Harte and Jake Repavich), taking the ball, controlling the strike zone and going deep to win a ball game," head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "That is all you can ask for."

Repavich and the GCU defense behind them escaped multiple jams in the first few innings, stranding five baserunners in the first two frames.

"Jake does a nice job of just controlling his motion; he knows who he is," Stankiewicz said. "He doesn't try to do too much. A lot of guys try to be too aggressive but he knows who is. He doesn't try to be too tricky, and he knows that if he is down in the zone and keeps the batters off balance, he has a chance. That is exactly what he did and he had big innings."

In his first start of the season, Repavich (1-0, 0.00) tossed six scoreless innings off four hits and six strikeouts. In the series opener, GCU starting pitching (Wong, Harte and Repavich) combined to allow two runs off nine hits in 18.0 innings. The trio also combined for 20 strikeouts against the Cowboys.

"Today I just wanted to establish throwing the fastball in to get them off my other stuff," Repavich commented. "I knew that late in the game my slider and change-up needed to play a part in it so I really tried to pound in and produce some ground balls. Especially in the jams it was big to throw my fastball in there."

Greg Saenz went 1-for-2 with his fourth career homerun and Ian Evans was 1-for-4 with a homer of his own. Griffin Barnes went a perfect 2-for-2 with a double, RBI and run scored.

Batting righty, Saenz launched his fourth career homerun over left field to give the Lopes an early 1-0 lead over the Cowboys.

The Lopes busted open the game in the home half of the fifth. To get things started for GCU, Preston Pavlica doubled to deep right field before Barnes followed with his own double to score the first run of the inning. A throwing error by the Cowboys would send another Lopes' run across to give GCU a 3-0 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Evans sent his first home run in a GCU uniform over the right field wall to extend the Lopes' lead to 4-0.

Using three pitchers, Grand Canyon pitching escaped multiple jams to keep the Cowboys off the board through nine innings, recording the first shutout of the young season.

New to the squad, Evans went 4-for-12 with a double, home run and six RBIs in his first three games with the Lopes. Freshman, Kona Quiggle, was 4-for-11 with a double, an RBI and run scored on the weekend.

Up next, GCU will head to Salt River Field in Scottsdale, Ariz. for a friendly exhibition match against the Arizona Diamondbacks. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. MST and can be heard on KYFI 2 1230 AM. Following the exhibition, GCU will resume regular competition with a three-game set at Wichita State beginning Friday.