Evans delivers walk-off single in finale

Sunday, March 12

Phoenix, Ariz.

1:00 p.m.

Grand Canyon

4-8

San Francisco

10-6

San Francisco

Grand Canyon

3/12/2017 4:44:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Josh Hauser

PHOENIX - After Grand Canyon gave up its one-run lead in the top of the ninth inning, Ian Evans came through with a walk-off single in the home-half to win the game for the Lopes, 5-4, in the series finale at Brazell Stadium on Sunday. Unlike previous games in the series, GCU was able to limit the damage in the top of the ninth to ensure the game would be no worse than tied. Evans' second hit and second RBI of the day proved to do the trick as the Lopes recovered to take the win.

"That was big. Obviously it's deflating when they tie it up late, but it's great to see the guys stick with it and have a game plan," head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "That's key in the development of our team. You have to punch right back."

In the game-winning ninth frame, a pinch-hitting Tom Lerouge doubled to left-center field to put Grand Canyon in great position going forward. Lerouge was the man to score the winning run after a fielder's choice gone wrong and an intentional walk loaded the bases for Evans.

"Tommy had the big-time pinch-hit double," Stankiewicz said. "That got the ball rolling on a great at bat by him. We miss Tommy being healthy. There's an element of speed there that we miss."

Jake Repavich had one of the better outings for a Grand Canyon starting pitcher this season. The left-hander went 7.1 innings -- the most for a GCU pitcher this season. He allowed three runs, struck out six and walked just one. Repavich was in line for the win, but the Dons' late comeback left him with the no decision.

"Both Jake Repavich and Jake Wong are so steady, they're just consistent," Stankiewicz said. "On any given night, they're going to be solid. They give us good performances and let us get deep in the ballgame. That's what we need out of our starting pitching. They don't have to be guys who necessarily give you wins on their own, but give you six or seven innings of strong work."

Outside of Evan's ninth-inning walk-off, the biggest hit of the game came off the bat of Marc Mumper, making his third start of the season. In a key, two-out situation in the fourth inning, Mumper singled right up the middle, driving in Kona Quiggle and Jared McDonald and extending the Lopes' lead from 1-0 to 3-0.

Other scoring included a pair of one-run innings by the Lopes. For the third straight game, Bull led off the first inning with a base hit and later came in to score GCU's first run. Greg Saenz gave the Lopes their fourth run of the game in the fifth, hitting a lead-off home run to left field for his second long ball of the season.

Grand Canyon's red-hot offense posted double-digit hits for the sixth consecutive game, consisting of all three games in last weekend's Saint Mary's series and this weekend's San Francisco series. It's the first time a GCU team has posted that many consecutive double-digit hitting performances since April 2015 by a squad who ranked seventh in the nation in batting average.

Multi-hit days came from Mumper, Evans and Quin Cotton. For Mumper and Cotton, it was their first career multi-hit game.

A busy stretch of baseball continues for Grand Canyon who heads out on the road for the next seven games. The upcoming road trip includes trips to UNLV, Pepperdine and New Mexico. First, the Lopes will meet UNLV in Las Vegas for their first mid-week series of the season, a two-game slate set to begin on Tuesday.