Upcoming Event: Baseball versus MLB Desert Invitational on February 13, 2026
Baseball
vs MLB Desert Invitational
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, March 16
Fullerton, Calif.
7 p.m.
Grand Canyon
at
Cal State Fullerton
Photo by: David Cohen
Lopes face test at Cal State Fullerton
3/16/2018 9:00:00 AM | Baseball
GCU faces second 2017 CWS participant
Fullerton, Calif. • Goodwin Field |
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| Grand Canyon Lopes (6-9, 0-0 WAC) GAME NOTES |
Cal State Fullerton Titans (4-10, 0-0 Big West) GAME NOTES |
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| GAME 1 • Friday, March 16 • 7 p.m. MST BigWest.tv • Live Stats RHP [JR] Jake Wong (2-0, 2.11) vs. RHP [JR] Colton Eastman (1-1, 3.33) |
| GAME 2 • Saturday, March 17 • 6 p.m. MST BigWest.tv • Live Stats RHP [R-SR] Mike Lundin (1-2, 4.76) vs. RHP [JR] Andrew Quezada (0-2, 6.00) |
| GAME 3 • Sunday, March 18 • 1 p.m. MST BigWest.tv • Live Stats LHP [SR] Jake Repavich (0-1, 8.78) vs. RHP [JR] Blake Workman (0-3, 5.11) |
FULLERTON, Calif. - Grand Canyon meets up with Cal State Fullerton for a three-game series, the second 2017 College World Series opponent that the Lopes have faced in 2018. The Lopes and Titans will meet for the first time since 1994. All three games are available via BigWest.tv.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
- BATTLING THE BIG WEST: This weekend's meeting with Cal State Fullerton marks GCU's fourth Big West opponent of the season, nearly matching up with half of the conference's nine teams. The Lopes have split in games vs. the Big West so far this season: defeating Cal Poly, splitting two games with CSUN, falling in 14 to UC Riverside. The Lopes are looking to notch a win against Cal State Fullerton, failing to do so in five previous tries although the teams haven't met since 1994.
- SWING-AND-MISS STUFF: In its past four contests, the GCU pitching staff has combined to strike out a total of 58 batters, an average of 14.5 per game. It all started with a 19-strikeout game in the weekend opener against Penn State, led by Jake Wong's career-best 10 strikeouts. The mark of 19 was the most since GCU's return to Division I in 2014. The Lopes struck out 10 and 11 Nittany Lions in Games 2 and 3, respectively. In mid-week action, GCU again posted impressive strikeout numbers, fanning 18 Highlanders.
- FOUR-HIT WONDER: In Wednesday's game at UC Riverside, Quin Cotton and Ian Evans each posted four-hit games. Cotton's performance was the first four-hit game of his career, and he coupled the hits with a career-best four RBIs. Evans' four-hit game was the second of his GCU career. It was the first time since March 8, 2014 that two Lopes had four hits in a game, when David Walker and Humberto Aranda did so against Omaha.
SCOUTING
- Coming off of a trip to Omaha, Cal State Fullerton began the season ranked in the top-25 by all major publications. A slow start has bumped the Titans out of the top 25, but 8 of Cal State Fullerton's 10 losses have come to 2017 Tournament participants.
The storied Cal State Fullerton program has made 39 NCAA Tournament appearances, 18 College World Series appearances, and won four national championships. The Titans recently lost a coaching legend as Augie Garrido, a winner of five National Championships and three at Fullerton, passed away Thursday at the age of 79.
Cal State Fullerton is coming off of a series loss at the hands of then-No. 2 Oregon State. The Titans opened the weekend by handing the Beavers their first loss of the 2018 season. Cal State Fullerton scored two in the ninth to sneak by with a 5-3 win. In Game 2, the Titans knotted the game up at four in the sixth inning, but Oregon State immediately responded with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to win 6-4. In the rubber match, Oregon State scored four runs in the first. Despite a comeback attempt by the Titans, the Beavers won 5-4 to claim the series.
Friday night starter Colton Eastman is considered the top 2018 MLB Draft prospect in the Big West Conference, per D1Baseball.com. Eastman returned late in the 2017 season to help propel Cal State Fullerton into the postseason. Most notably, the righty tossed 7.0 innings of one-hit baseball, allowing just one earned run, to lead the Titans to a win in Game 3 of the Long Beach Super Regional. Ruben Cardenas, a junior outfielder, returned from a back injury that kept him out most of last year. He's off to a hot start, hitting .302, and is ranked as a top-10 draft prospect in the conference.
LAST TIME OUT
- GCU and UC Riverside battled in a 14-inning marathon, but the Highlanders won 9-8.
- The Lopes are coming off of a weekend sweep over Penn State at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark.
WHAT'S NEXT
- Grand Canyon returns home for five games next weekend.
- First, it's a mid-week two-game series against Kansas on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Lopes and Jayhawks meet for the fifth consecutive season.
- Western Athletic Conference play begins over the weekend as the Lopes host Chicago State.
For more GCU baseball news, notes and numbers, click here to view the series notes and click here to view the media guide.
Players Mentioned
OF
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RHP
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LHP
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