Cotton hits first career homer in loss

Saturday, February 17

Phoenix, Ariz.

2 p.m.

Grand Canyon

0-2

TCU

2-0

TCU

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Josh Hauser

2/17/2018 5:16:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Consistent TCU offensive attack tops Lopes

By: Josh Hauser

PHOENIX - A solo homer in the fifth inning by Quin Cotton ignited a spark into the Grand Canyon offense, but a 14-run, 15-hit day by No. 7 TCU proved too much to overcome in front of 2,212 fans on Saturday afternoon. Cotton's first career long ball was the start of a six-run spurt for GCU starting in the fifth inning. The Horned Frogs, however, clinched the series with a 14-6 victory.

A number of newcomers made their presence known in the game. Most notably, freshman catcher David Avitia picked up his first two career RBIs on a two-out, two-run single in the eighth inning. On the day, Avitia was 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

With GCU's starting pitching staff a little banged up for opening weekend, the Lopes relied heavily on their bullpen. Of the seven pitchers the Lopes utilized, six of them were pitching for the first time in a GCU uniform.

"The last four innings we threw only freshmen," pitching coach Rich Dorman said. "We had 13 walks and 10 of those came in the first three innings. We were able to minimize with our freshmen and get their feet wet, and that's promising for our future. We're not real crisp right now. We've got a lot of guys who threw their first innings as a Lope today."

Mike Lundin, Dalton Chapman, Coen Wynne, Ben Kirke, Hayden Udall and Drew Zmuda each made their GCU debuts. For Wynne, Kirke, Udall and Zmuda, it was their collegiate debut. The four freshmen combined for 4.0 innings of work where, collectively, they struck out four and walked just two.

"If this was late May, I'd be more worried," Dorman said. "But it's still early, and guys are going to start making adjustments and we'll be alright."

The lone returner to pitch for GCU was senior Jeramy Smith who recorded four outs without surrendering a run.

Pinch-hitters Nico Burgarello and Channy Ortiz also saw their first collegiate action.

TCU jumped out to a modest 4-0 lead through three frames, but a five-run fourth inning took the wind out of GCU's sails.

Staring down a 9-0 deficit, GCU did its best to crawl back. Following Cotton's fifth-inning homer, Cuba Bess and Avitia each picked up hits to put two runners on for Marc Mumper. The GCU shortstop came up with the clutch, two-out single to score two runs and make it 9-3.

In the sixth, Pikai Winchester led off the frame with a base hit and came into score on a pinch-hitting groundout from Kona Quiggle.

After fighting to get within striking distance, TCU sealed the game with a four-run seventh. The Lopes scratched across a couple of runs in the eighth on Avitia's two-run hit, but GCU fell 14-6.

Saturday's game -- which racked up 18 combined walks -- was a sharp pivot from an opening night pitcher's duel that featured just five total walks.

GCU has one last opportunity at an upset over the Horned Frogs when the teams play a Sunday series finale back at Brazell Field. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. MST with a pitching matchup between GCU freshman RHP Nick Hull and TCU junior RHP Sean Wymer.