GCU comes from behind to tie, falls in 9th

Tuesday, February 20

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

1-3

Washington State

2-3

Washington State

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Michael Rincon

2/20/2018 10:02:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Lopes allow leadoff triple in ninth inning that leads to go-ahead run

By: Josh Hauser

PHOENIX - Grand Canyon rallied from a 4-1 deficit to tie the game in the sixth but surrendered a ninth-inning run to Washington State and fell to the Cougars 5-4 on Tuesday night.

With GCU starting pitcher Jake Repavich making a rehab start of sorts, tossing just two innings, the Lopes bullpen was thrust into action. GCU used six pitchers to navigate the ballgame.

"I thought they did a nice job," head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "We never gave up a big inning. We talk about that a lot: minimizing. I thought we did a nice job of that. I thought the pitching staff did a really nice job here tonight to keep making big pitches to keep us in the game."

Washington State got off to a hot start, scoring four runs in the first three innings. The Cougars used four hits to scratch across two runs in the first, a two-hit second to score one run, and a one-hit frame to tack on another run in the third.

But the Lopes came storming back with a run in the fifth and two more to tie in the sixth.

GCU scored without recording a hit into the fifth. David Avitia patiently drew a walk on a full count, moved to second when Marc Mumper was hit by a pitch, took third on a wild pitch and scored on the ensuing bad throw down to third base.

The sixth inning got off to a strong start when Ian Evans tripled. He scored when Cuba Bess grounded out. To tie the game at four, the Lopes were able to manufacture a run. Kona Quiggle struck out for the second out of the inning, and Tyler Wyatt was hung up between first and second base. But Wyatt evaded the tag of the fielder long enough for Quin Cotton to sneak home and tie the score.

The Lopes had a good shot to take a lead in the eighth with back-to-back one-out singles, but a pair of fly balls promptly ended the threat.

Washington State took advantage of a leadoff triple in the ninth inning. Nick Ohanian nearly wiggled his way out of the sticky situation, recording the first two outs without the runner advancing. But a clutch, two-out RBI single put the Cougars in front for good.

"It's frustrating, but it's baseball," Stankiewicz said. "We just have to flush it and get back to work tomorrow."

Repavich tossed 2.0 full innings, dealing with a small strike zone to begin the game. He allowed six hits and three runs, but Stankiewicz noted the main objective of the outing was to get him out healthy.

"Rep hasn't pitched all that much," Stankiewicz said. "It was important to get him back on the mound and get his feet wet again and help him get ready. The important thing is that, maybe his stuff wasn't quite there, but he feels fine. That's the more important thing that he feels healthy and strong."

Cotton headlined the GCU offense with a 3-for-3 night, his second career three-hit game.

Tuesday's result puts a wrap on the season-opening four-game homestand at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark. The Lopes will head off to San Diego to participate in the Tony Gwynn Classic which will pair them up against Cal Poly, San Diego and San Diego State. First up is Cal Poly and San Diego in a doubleheader on Saturday with first pitch times set for 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. MST.