GCU mounts rally, falls in extras

Wednesday, March 14

Riverside, Calif.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

6-9

UC Riverside

9-8

Grand Canyon

UC Riverside

Photo by: David Cohen

3/14/2018 11:30:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Lopes recover from 5-0 deficit but fall in 14th

By: Josh Hauser

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The Grand Canyon baseball team successfully fought off a 5-0 deficit to tie the game and force extras, but in the 14th inning, UC Riverside loaded the bases and hit a walk-off single to come away with a 9-8 victory on Wednesday night.

After an auspicious start, GCU's offense caught fire as the Lopes racked up 20 hits on the night. It was the most hits in a game for the Lopes since recording 22 against Seattle U on May 3, 2015. Contributions came from up and down the lineup card with six batters posting multi-hit efforts and nine players recording a hit.

The Lopes took contributions from everyone on the mound as well, using 10 pitchers to work their way through the 14-inning affair.

UC Riverside came out swinging in the first inning, plating five runs on four hits off of Lopes' starter Nick Hull.

GCU quickly began chipping away at the deficit, scoring two runs in the third and fifth innings, one run in the sixth, and two more runs to tie things up in the eighth.

Griffin Barnes and Austin Bull each singled in the third, setting the stage for a Quin Cotton hit to plate GCU's first two runs.

In the fifth, Pikai Winchester hit an RBI single and Ian Evans scored on a wild pitch to cut the deficit further.

To pull GCU within a run in the sixth, Bull drew a walk and came around to score on another RBI single by Cotton.

The Lopes really got things going in the eighth inning with three extra-base hits. Barnes hit a leadoff double, Brock Burton scored him on an RBI triple, and Cotton pushed across the tying run on an RBI double. GCU had fully erased UC Riverside's early 5-0 lead by tying the score at eight apiece.

GCU briefly held the lead when it scored a run in the 12th. Zach Malis led off the frame with a single and scored on a Barnes' single. The Lopes ran themselves out of the inning though, having two outs recorded on the base paths.

The Lopes were one out away from coming away with the victory, but a wild pitch scored the tying run in the 12th.

GCU threw out the winning run at the plate for the third out of the 13th inning, sending the game to the 14th. But the Highlanders finally scratched across a run in the 14th after a leadoff double, a wild pitch, and a walk-off single scored one.

The heart of the Lopes' order -- Cotton and Evans -- got the job done with four hits each. For Cotton, it was his first career four-hit performance; for Evans, his second. Burton picked up his first triple and first multi-hit game.

GCU heads to Cal State Fullerton for a three-game series with the Titans beginning on Friday night.