Malis powers GCU to series win

Sunday, May 6

Bakersfield, Calif.

12 p.m.

Grand Canyon

27-19, 0

CSU Bakersfield

17-29, 0

Grand Canyon

CSU Bakersfield

5/6/2018 3:50:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Junior records Lopes' first three-home run game since 2007

By: Josh Hauser

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Junior Zach Malis hit three home runs -- including a go-ahead homer in the 10th inning -- as Grand Canyon claimed its 15th consecutive conference series with an 8-5 win over CSU Bakersfield on Sunday afternoon. Malis hit home runs in the first, third and 10th innings.

"I've never even hit two home runs in a game before, so this is new territory for me," Malis said. "I was ready for the fastball, and I saw a couple up and just tried to put a good swing on it."

Malis entered the game with three home runs on the season and ended up doubling that total in one game.

"The first one I wasn't sure about. The second and third ones felt pretty good," Malis said. "It's good to keep the momentum going. That's a big series. It's good to get another win under our belts."

Malis' first of the day came in the opening inning, giving GCU an early 2-0 lead. It came on the heels of a Pikai Winchester single. His second came with two outs in the third inning on a 3-1 count to give GCU a 3-2 lead. The third baseman capped off the day with a go-ahead solo homer to lead off the 10th inning on what proved to be the game-winning hit for GCU.

"That was a great offensive performance by him," head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "He's doing a really good job of being disciplined and being aggressive to his pitch. He took three good swings. I'm excited for him and excited for us. That was a big win today."

It was the first three-homer day by a GCU batter since Matt Henne did so against UC San Diego on Feb. 9, 2007. Malis was the first WAC player to do it since April 21, 2015. It had been over two years since GCU hit three homers as a team, also coming at CSU Bakersfield on April 1, 2016.

Grand Canyon (27-20, 14-4 WAC) won a rubber match to take a series for the fourth straight weekend with the win over CSUB (17-29, 7-11 WAC).

Mick Vorhof was the winning pitcher for GCU, tossing scoreless ninth and 10th innings. The senior faced just one over the minimum after turning a line drive into a double play.

Ethan Evanko went six innings on the hill for the Lopes, limiting CSUB to three runs.

A back-and-forth game was tied three times at 2-2, 3-3 and 5-5 before the Lopes went up for good in the 10th.

Austin Bull had two hits on the day in his return to the starting lineup. Quin Cotton came up with two big RBIs in the 10th to cushion GCU's lead.

For the fourth straight weekend, GCU passed the test of playing in a series finale rubber game.

"We've got some resiliency. Guys understand that," Stankiewicz said. "You have to have a short memory, let the previous day go whether it was a good day or a bad day. That's what we've been able to do on these Sundays. That's a tough team, they're fighters."

The Lopes return to the state of Arizona for a mid-week matchup with the Wildcats on Tuesday night. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.