Benavides leads Lopes to strong start before falling late

Wednesday, April 26

Phoenix, Ariz.

1:00 p.m.

Grand Canyon

19-21

Kansas

21-20

Kansas

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Rhett Hutchins

Benavides leads Lopes to strong start before falling late

4/26/2017 4:43:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

By: Jake Hernandez

PHOENIX – The Grand Canyon baseball team dropped Game 2 to Kansas 7-3 on Wednesday afternoon. In the second game of mid-week series, the Lopes' relief pitchers gave a six-run inning to give the Jayhawks the series sweep.

Gabe Benavides (0-1), a sophomore from Wilcox, Ariz., tossed a career-high 5.0 innings in his third career start. On the bump, Benavides allowed one earned run on four hits, tying a career-high three strikeouts.

"Gabe did an outstanding job," assistant coach Gregg Wallis said. "He went five innings and really gave us a chance to win the game."

Preston Pavlica powered the Lopes' offense after going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBIs. The sophomore from Las Vegas, Nev., hit his second home run of the week in the bottom of the third to put the Lopes up 3-1 early in the contest.

The Jayhawks got off to the early 1-0 lead when a hit batter and double put two runners in scoring position. Kansas took advantage of runners in scoring position when James Cosentino singled to right field to score the first run of the game in the top of the third.

The Lopes would quickly respond in the bottom frame. Back-to-back walks put two on the bases for Pavlica's three-run homer, putting the Lopes up 3-1 over the Jayhawks. In just his 13th game on the season, Pavlica recorded his second home run of the season to give the Lopes the early lead.

"Pavlica got a big hit early, that big three-run homer to jump us out in front," Wallis said. "It got away from us there in the sixth. Too many free passes and Kansas capitalized on it."

In the top of the sixth after a single and back-to-back walks loaded the bases for the Jayhawks with only one out, the Lopes hit two consecutive batters to tie the game at 3-3. The Jayhawks would continue to pour on the runs after four consecutive singles, including two infield hits, scored an additional four runs to give Kansas a 7-3 lead.

The Lopes had trouble scoring runs as they eventually fell 7-3 to the Jayhawks. Grand Canyon's pitching staff recorded five hit batters and four walks in the contest.

KU's James Cosentino went a perfect 4-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored. The Jayhawks used seven pitchers to strikeout 11 Lopes and hold GCU to no runs after the third inning.

Next up, the Lopes will hit the road for a three-game series against New Mexico State Aggies. The series will begin Friday, April 28 at 5 p.m. MST and conclude game three on Sunday, April 30 at 11 a.m. MST.