Lopes take to road for first time in conference play

Friday, April 7

Sacramento, Calif.

6:00 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Sacramento State

Photo by: Rhett Hutchins

4/6/2017 5:15:00 PM | Baseball

GCU Series Release Sacramento State Game Notes Media Guide

By: Josh Hauser

FRIDAY, APRIL 7 - SUNDAY, APRIL 9
GRAND CANYON LOPES 12-16 (6-0 WAC) SERIES RELEASE	vs.	SACRAMENTO STATE HORNETS 14-14 (2-4 WAC) SERIES RELEASE

GAME ONE	GAME TWO	GAME THREE
Friday, 6 p.m. MST	Saturday, 6 p.m. MST	Sunday, 12 p.m. MST
RHP Justin Dillon (3-2, 1.98) vs.	RHP Parker Brahms (3-3, 3.73) vs.	RHP Max Karnos (0-3, 5.60) vs.
RHP Jake Wong (3-1, 1.36)	LHP Jake Repavich (3-2, 3.89)	LHP Jack Schneider (2-0, 3.60)
Stats \| None \| Opponent	Stats \| None \| Opponent	Stats \| None \| Opponent

After a brief mid-week series at No. 15 Arkansas, the Grand Canyon baseball team returns to Western Athletic Conference play, taking to the road for the first time. The Lopes pair up with Sacramento State for a three-game series beginning on Friday evening. Friday and Saturday's first pitches are set for 6 p.m. MST with Sunday's finale taking place at 12 p.m. MST.

Friday night should prove to be a marquee matchup, pinning the WAC's top two ERA leaders against one another. Grand Canyon's Jake Wong (3-1, 1.36) will face Justin Dillon (3-2, 1.98). Dillion threw a no-hitter against Northern Kentucky in the season's second week.

For GCU, Wong is the reigning WAC Pitcher of the Week. The sophomore right-hander threw 7.1 innings -- the longest he's gone into a start in his career. In that stretch, he allowed just two base hits while holding the visiting Northern Colorado Bears scoreless. AJ Franks came on to finish the outing and complete the shutout, with the Lopes winning 7-0.

That seven-run defeat in the opening game of the series was as close as Northern Colorado would come to winning a game. The Lopes took the second two games of the series by scores of 12-3 and 12-2 with the latter coming in seven-inning, mercy-rule fashion. It was certainly the best offensive series of the season for Grand Canyon, putting up a combined 31 runs on 40 hits on the series and posting a .400 batting average.

With back-to-back sweeps to open conference play, Grand Canyon is off to a 6-0 start in WAC play, the best start to a conference schedule since 1999. In that season, GCU began the year 7-0 in California Collegiate Athletic Conference play as a member of the Division II ranks.

The Lopes dropped a pair to No. 15 Arkansas in the mid-week series. The Lopes and Razorbacks battled stormy conditions, forcing the two squads to play a de facto doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon. In Game 1, Grand Canyon walked eight batters in an 11-2 loss. In Game 2, the Lopes held Arkansas to six runs and out-hit the home team 11-9 but struggled with strikeouts in the loss.

The mid-week series was just the latest edition in a story of tough opponents for GCU. With games against Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Long Beach State, Arizona, Saint Mary's and more, Grand Canyon's schedule peaked at 12th nationally last week and now sits at No. 23 overall. The Lopes are 2-2 against top-25 opponents this year, with another game against No. 8 Arizona coming next week.

Last time GCU made the trip to Sacramento State, it was quite the finish to the series. Winning two of three games, Grand Canyon clinched the 2015 WAC Regular Season Championship.

Sacramento State is off to a 2-4 start in WAC play, although the Hornets did claim last weekend's road series with Utah Valley. The Hornets were swept in Greeley, Colo. by Northern Colorado in the conference's opening weekend. While their offense is hitting just .271 on the year, the Hornets boast the WAC's top pitching staff in terms of ERA, a 3.99 on the season.

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