Lopes end road stretch at New Mexico

TUESDAY, MARCH 21 - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22
GRAND CANYON LOPES 5-12 (0-0 WAC) SERIES RELEASE	vs.	NEW MEXICO LOBOS 11-8 (6-0 MWC) SERIES RELEASE

GAME ONE	GAME TWO
Tuesday, 5:30 p.m. MST	Wednesday, 12 p.m. MST
RHP James Harrington (0-0, 7.30) vs.	LHP Austin Isenhart (2-1, 6.92) vs.
LHP Jack Schneider (0-0, 6.75)	RHP Bobby Milacki (0-1, 10.50)
Stats \| M ountain West Network	Stats \| M ountain West Network

The Grand Canyon baseball team ends a stretch of seven consecutive road games with a two-game mid-week series at New Mexico on Tuesday and Wednesday. Both teams are looking to snap losing streaks, GCU's at four games and New Mexico's at five. The two-game series marks the second consecutive mid-week series against a Mountain West opponent. First pitch on Tuesday is set for 5:30 p.m. MST with the series wrapping up at 12 p.m. MST on Wednesday.

The Lopes are coming off of a rough weekend in Malibu, Calif. against a pair of storied baseball programs in Pepperdine and Long Beach State. In the series opener, Grand Canyon racked up 10 hits but couldn't scratch across a run, falling to the Waves 1-0 in 12 innings. GCU's hot offense stalled in Games 2 and 3 as the Lopes fell to Long Beach State and in a rematch against Pepperdine.

New Mexico, on the other hand, comes in as losers of five straight, also coming against talented opponents. In a mid-week series last week, the Lobos failed to score a run in two games against Oklahoma State, losing to the Cowboys by a combined score of 16-0. New Mexico then was off to Fullerton, Calif. for a three-game weekend series against the No. 7 Titans, with the Lobos losing all three. Oklahoma State represents the only common opponent between New Mexico and GCU thus far, with the Lopes taking two of three from OSU to open the season.

Despite the rough go of late, the Lobos boast one of the nation's most potent offenses. New Mexico enters the series batting .308, a top-30 batting average nationally. The Lobos also rank 23rd in home runs per game at 1.11 per contest. Lobos' outfielder Luis Gonzalez has a top-10 batting average nationally, hitting .447 with 15 extra-base hits.

A pair of new faces will take the mound for the Lopes in the series. Freshman lefty Jack Schneider (0-0, 6.75) will climb the hill in Game 1, making his first collegiate start and second appearance overall. Right-hander Bobby Milacki (0-1, 10.50) -- a transfer from Hutchinson Community College -- will make his seventh appearance with GCU but first start.

The two-game series continues a busy stretch for GCU which sees the Lopes participate in at least one mid-week game for five consecutive weeks. All in all, Grand Canyon will play a game on 18 of the next 26 days.

Grand Canyon and New Mexico met in Phoenix for a two-game series last season with the Lobos emerging victorious in both encounters. In the opener, UNM jumped out to a 6-0 lead early before the Lopes stormed back on an Austin Bull triple. However, the Lobos scored a few late runs and ran away with a 10-6 win. In the finale, the Lobos again claimed an early lead and hung on late for a 6-5 victory.

While ranking third in the WAC in batting average (.272), the Lopes are struggling to convert hits into runs as they rank eighth in the conference in runs scored (77).

Following the two games in Albuquerque, the Lopes will return home to Brazell Stadium and open up WAC play. GCU will host CSU Bakersfield beginning at 7 p.m. MST on Friday night.

For more news and notes, click here for the 2017 GCU Baseball Media Guide and click here for the series release.

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Players Mentioned

Austin Bull

Bobby Milacki

Jack Schneider

Grand Canyon University Athletics