Lopes go cold in middle innings, fall to Spartans

Tuesday, May 9

Phoenix, Ariz.

7:00 p.m.

Grand Canyon

24-23

San Jose State

16-30-1

San Jose State

Grand Canyon

5/9/2017 11:15:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

By: Josh Hauser

PHOENIX - After jumping out to an early 5-0 lead, the Grand Canyon baseball team allowed nine unanswered runs and fell one run shy in a late comeback attempt to San José State on Tuesday evening. The Lopes left nine runners on base including the tying run at third base in the eighth.

"San José pitched well when they had to," head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "I'm more concerned with the inability to minimize (big innings). If that four is a three or if one of those twos is just a one, it's a tie ballgame. Let's shut this thing down and get back in the dugout."

The Lopes got off to a hot start, plating five runs in the second inning. Grand Canyon sent all nine batters to the plate in the frame. Preston Pavlica and Greg Saenz reached on free passes to open the inning. After some sloppy pitching advanced the two runners, Griffin Barnes plated the first run of the contest on an RBI single.

To make it 2-0, Marc Mumper recorded a sacrifice fly. Austin Bull doubled in another run before a hit batsmen loaded up the bases and forced San José State to turn to its bullpen. Ian Evans capped off the damage with a two-run double to give GCU its largest lead of the night at 5-0.

The Spartans took the momentum from that point and ran with it, scoring the next nine runs of the ballgame unanswered. San José State did much of its damage in a four-run fourth inning, using two walks and three hits to pull within a run.

Further runs came across for the visitors in a one-run fifth, a two-run sixth and a two-run eighth to jump out to a 9-5 lead.

GCU broke its scoring drought in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Lopes used pinch hitters for the first three batters of the inning with the first two reaching on walks. Bull recorded his second RBI of the contest on an RBI groundout. Tom Lerouge singled off of the pitcher to bring in another run, pulling within two runs. After a dropped fly ball extended the inning, Garrison Schwartz reached on an infield single to pull GCU within a run through eight.

Unfortunately for the Lopes, they were retired in order in the ninth.

Lerouge and Evans finished with multi-hit efforts, as Evans ran his RBI count to 43 on the year, one shy of team-leading Schwartz. Bull also picked up a pair of RBIs.

Also worth mentioning was the play behind the plate of catchers Barnes and Josh Meyer who combined to throw out three of the four attempting base-stealers of the Spartans. In the running game for GCU, Pavlica picked up a pair of stolen bases.

Grand Canyon and San José State will cap off the brief two-game series on Wednesday afternoon. It's the home finale for the Lopes with GCU set to honor its lone senior, AJ Franks. It will also mark the final game at Brazell Stadium before a complete renovation in the offseason. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. MST.