Completed Event: Baseball versus Cal State Fullerton on November 8, 2025 ,
Baseball
vs Cal State Fullerton
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Friday, April 27
Phoenix, Ariz.
6 p.m.
Grand Canyon
24-18, 0
13
vs
3
New Mexico State
27-15, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
R
H
E
New Mexico State
0
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
3
9
3
Grand Canyon
2
2
1
0
1
3
0
4
13
12
1
GCU drubs NMSU, stays atop WAC
4/27/2018 10:32:00 PM | Baseball, Paul Coro
Cotton keys 13-3 win with 3 extra-base hits
In an ideal scenario, Grand Canyon would open a critical conference series with New Mexico State by getting strong starting pitching, timely hitting and clean defense.
The Lopes did better than that Friday night at GCU Ballpark.
GCU stayed atop the Western Athletic Conference by handing NMSU its worst WAC loss in three years with a 13-3 victory that ended on the 10-run rule in the eighth inning.
Junior ace Jake Wong tamed the nation's No. 2 hitting and scoring offense and sophomore rightfielder Quin Cotton homered, tripled and doubled amid a steady GCU offensive performance. The Lopes have won four consecutive games against the Aggies, outscoring NMSU 29-5 over the past three meetings.
GCU has won 17 of its past 22 games and is 11-2 in WAC play to maintain a one-game lead over Sacramento State (10-3) and extend its lead on NMSU (11-5).
"It's huge," Cotton said. "We were all prepared. We took care of business tonight but we've got to come out and give a series win tomorrow and really leave no doubt that we're the best team in the conference."
Cotton left little doubt in his at bats, starting with pulling a breaking ball to the top of the left-field wall for a first-inning triple that started a two-run rally against NMSU ace Kyle Bradish. In the second inning, Cotton smashed a fastball to the opposite field for a 363-foot home run and a 4-2 Lopes lead that they never surrendered.
"Quin's a guy who can go line to line," GCU head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "It's good to see him using the whole field. He's got some really good hands and some strength."
Cotton never had a multi-extra base hit game until Friday, when he tagged three and nearly had a fourth on a hard-hit line-out. It was his third three-hit game in the past six games, raising his batting average to .354.
"It felt good," Cotton said. "It was a big game and a bit situation. The whole team was ready to go. Everybody was locked in."
NMSU entered Friday with wins in 11 of its past 12 games, including a Wednesday victory at Arizona State. The Aggies offense was averaging 9.2 runs per game until Wong kept it to two runs over six innings.
Wong allowed a two-out, two-run double in an arduous second inning but mixed up his pitches more to shut out NMSU for the next four innings. That included escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning with a strikeout of Marcus Still.
"Early in the game, I had to fight through a couple tough innings," Wong said. "I had to find a way to execute some pitches and get some outs. Credit to Griff (catcher Griffin Barnes) working with me and credit to the defense. At that point, it's minimizing and doing what you can to get outs."
"They're all pretty good hitters and they're athletic. There's no pitch off. There's no break in the lineup. You really have to bring your A game and execute your pitches."
GCU has won Wong's past six starts and he moved to 7-1 on the season with a 2.26 earned run average.
"He did a good job of getting us out of a jam with some big pitches," Stankiewicz said. "That's kind of growing up and it's his maturity. He did a really good job of taking a deep breath and weathering the storm and doing his best to minimize."
The Lopes scored in six of eight innings, including four runs with one out to end the game in the eighth inning. Senior first baseman Ian Evans had three hits, making him 12 for 17 during the four-game winning streak against NMSU. Junior third baseman Zach Malis also homered for a 5-2 lead in the third inning, giving GCU its first multi-home run game since March 9.
The patient hitting approach provided the Lopes' best run production since an 18-1 win March 29 at Northern Colorado.
"The guys did a nice job of putting good at bats together and using the middle of the field," Stankiewicz said. "We didn't get greedy trying to pull the ball. We just hit the middle of the diamond and that's typically how you have success offensively."
GCU and NMSU return to GCU Ballpark for the second game of the series at 2 p.m. Saturday. The finale will be at noon Sunday.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
The Lopes did better than that Friday night at GCU Ballpark.
GCU stayed atop the Western Athletic Conference by handing NMSU its worst WAC loss in three years with a 13-3 victory that ended on the 10-run rule in the eighth inning.
Junior ace Jake Wong tamed the nation's No. 2 hitting and scoring offense and sophomore rightfielder Quin Cotton homered, tripled and doubled amid a steady GCU offensive performance. The Lopes have won four consecutive games against the Aggies, outscoring NMSU 29-5 over the past three meetings.
GCU has won 17 of its past 22 games and is 11-2 in WAC play to maintain a one-game lead over Sacramento State (10-3) and extend its lead on NMSU (11-5).
"It's huge," Cotton said. "We were all prepared. We took care of business tonight but we've got to come out and give a series win tomorrow and really leave no doubt that we're the best team in the conference."
Cotton left little doubt in his at bats, starting with pulling a breaking ball to the top of the left-field wall for a first-inning triple that started a two-run rally against NMSU ace Kyle Bradish. In the second inning, Cotton smashed a fastball to the opposite field for a 363-foot home run and a 4-2 Lopes lead that they never surrendered.
"Quin's a guy who can go line to line," GCU head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "It's good to see him using the whole field. He's got some really good hands and some strength."
Cotton never had a multi-extra base hit game until Friday, when he tagged three and nearly had a fourth on a hard-hit line-out. It was his third three-hit game in the past six games, raising his batting average to .354.
"It felt good," Cotton said. "It was a big game and a bit situation. The whole team was ready to go. Everybody was locked in."
NMSU entered Friday with wins in 11 of its past 12 games, including a Wednesday victory at Arizona State. The Aggies offense was averaging 9.2 runs per game until Wong kept it to two runs over six innings.
Wong allowed a two-out, two-run double in an arduous second inning but mixed up his pitches more to shut out NMSU for the next four innings. That included escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning with a strikeout of Marcus Still.
"Early in the game, I had to fight through a couple tough innings," Wong said. "I had to find a way to execute some pitches and get some outs. Credit to Griff (catcher Griffin Barnes) working with me and credit to the defense. At that point, it's minimizing and doing what you can to get outs."
"They're all pretty good hitters and they're athletic. There's no pitch off. There's no break in the lineup. You really have to bring your A game and execute your pitches."
GCU has won Wong's past six starts and he moved to 7-1 on the season with a 2.26 earned run average.
"He did a good job of getting us out of a jam with some big pitches," Stankiewicz said. "That's kind of growing up and it's his maturity. He did a really good job of taking a deep breath and weathering the storm and doing his best to minimize."
The Lopes scored in six of eight innings, including four runs with one out to end the game in the eighth inning. Senior first baseman Ian Evans had three hits, making him 12 for 17 during the four-game winning streak against NMSU. Junior third baseman Zach Malis also homered for a 5-2 lead in the third inning, giving GCU its first multi-home run game since March 9.
The patient hitting approach provided the Lopes' best run production since an 18-1 win March 29 at Northern Colorado.
"The guys did a nice job of putting good at bats together and using the middle of the field," Stankiewicz said. "We didn't get greedy trying to pull the ball. We just hit the middle of the diamond and that's typically how you have success offensively."
GCU and NMSU return to GCU Ballpark for the second game of the series at 2 p.m. Saturday. The finale will be at noon Sunday.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wong, Jake (7-1)
L: Bradish, Kyle (5-3)
Batting:
2B: Gonzales, Nick 1
3B: Ehnes, Logan 1 ; Carranza, Tristen 1
RBI: Carranza, Tristen 1 ; Still, Marcus 1 ; Gonzales, Nick 1
SF: Still, Marcus 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ehnes, Logan 2 ; Fishback, Mason 1
HBP: Still, Marcus 1
Batting:
2B: Cotton, Quin 1
3B: Cotton, Quin 1
HR: Cotton, Quin 1 ; Malis, Zach 1
RBI: Bull, Austin 1 ; Cotton, Quin 3 ; Winchester, Pikai 3 ; Evans, Ian 2 ; Malis, Zach 1 ; Wyatt, Tyler 1
SH: Mumper, Marc 1
SF: Bull, Austin 1 ; Winchester, Pikai 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bull, Austin 1 ; Cotton, Quin 3 ; Winchester, Pikai 2 ; Evans, Ian 1 ; Malis, Zach 1 ; Barnes, Griffin 1 ; Pavlica, Preston 2 ; Mumper, Marc 2
SB: Pavlica, Preston 1
CS: Malis, Zach 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
3
H
3
RBI
3
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
C
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballINF
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