Lopes wrap up non-conference

Tuesday, May 15

Los Angeles, Calif.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Loyola Marymount

5/15/2018 8:30:00 AM | Baseball

GCU and Loyola Marymount meet for first time since 2015

By: Josh Hauser

Los Angeles, Calif. • Paige Stadium
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Grand Canyon Lopes (29-22, 16-5 WAC) GAME NOTES		Loyola Marymount Lions (21-27, 12-12 WCC) GAME NOTES

GAME 1 • Tuesday, May 15 • 6 p.m. MST
Live Stats • TheW.tv
RHP [R-SR] Mike Lundin (1-4, 5.35) vs. LHP [FR] Holden Christian (1-2, 6.03)

Grand Canyon plays its final non-conference game of the regular season, taking on Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles. The teams match up for the ninth time in program history and first since 2015. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. MST.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

30-WIN MARK: With its next win, GCU will reach the 30-win plateau for the first time since 2015. The Lopes won 32 games in 2015 and 30 games in 2014.
BRING ON THE K's: The Lopes have combined to strike out 444 batters so far in 2018. It's already the highest mark among GCU's 13 Division I seasons and the highest total for a GCU team since striking out 483 in 1990 when the team played 70 games. GCU's strikeout-per-nine ratio is at its highest (8.8) since 1966 when GCU fanned 351 batters in 303.0 innings (10.4).
HOMER HEAVY: After not hitting three home runs in a game all season, the Lopes have done so twice in the last five games. On May 6 at CSU Bakersfield, Zach Malis took it upon himself to hit all three. It was a more balanced attack on May 12, when Ian Evans, Malis and Pikai Winchester all hit homers.

SCOUTING

The Lions specialize in "small ball", ranking 12th in the country in sacrifice bunts at 45 successful bunts. Nick Sogard is among the top individuals nationally with 11 bunts. Loyola Marymount is 2-0 against the WAC this season with both wins coming over CSU Bakersfield. The Lions and Lopes share common opponents in UNLV, Valparaiso, San Diego and CSU Bakersfield. LMU is 6-3 against that group of teams while the Lopes are 4-4.

LMU was swept in a three-game WCC series at Santa Clara over the weekend.

Nick Sogard is the lone Lion hitting over .300 on the year, sitting at .333. Jamey Smart leads LMU with 39 RBIs.

GCU was blanked by Loyola Marymount 1-0 when the teams last met on March 31, 2015 at Brazell Stadium. Then freshmen, Jake Repavich and Mick Vorhof pitched in the mid-week loss for GCU.

LAST TIME OUT

GCU took two of three from Sacramento State to remain in first place in the WAC.
Sac State took the opener before the Lopes stormed back to take the final two games. GCU hit three homers in a Game 2 win, while Ethan Evanko was solid in Game 3.

WHAT'S NEXT

GCU plays its final regular season series of the year, heading to Seattle U for three games with the Redhawks beginning on Thursday.
The Lopes have qualified for the WAC Tournament which will begin on Wednesday, May 23 at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz.

For more GCU baseball news, notes and numbers, click here to view the series notes and click here to view the media guide.