Lopes visit Trojans for 3

Friday, March 1

Los Angeles, Calif. / Dedeaux Field

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

USC

Photo by: Ron Jenkins

2/28/2019 8:00:00 AM | Baseball

GCU Notes USC Notes 2019 Media Guide

GCU, USC coming off 2-1 series losses to top-25 opponents

By: Josh Hauser

Friday, March 1 - Sunday, March 3 \| Dedeaux Field \| Los Angeles

	GRAND CANYON LOPES (3-5)	at	USC TROJANS (3-4)

PITCHING PROBABLES

GAME 1 • Friday, March 1 • 7 p.m. MST
Live Stats • P ac-12 Live Stream
RHP [JR] Kade Mechals (2-0, 0.73) vs. RHP [SO] Kyle Hurt (0-1, 6.30)

GAME 2 • Saturday, March 2 • 3 p.m. MST
Live Stats • P ac-12 Live Stream
RHP [FR] Pierson Ohl (1-1, 8.31) vs. LHP [SO] John Beller (1-0, 0.75)

GAME 3 • Sunday, March 3 • 2 p.m. MST
Live Stats • P ac-12 Live Stream
RHP [SO] Frankie Scalzo (0-2, 12.46) vs. TBA

Grand Canyon heads back onto the road for a three-game series with an opponent full of recent parallels.

Both teams lost weekend series 2-1 against top-25 opponents. For GCU, it was at No. 18 TCU while USC hosted No. 16 Arkansas.

Both teams lost tight mid-week home games on Tuesday. For GCU, it was a 5-3 loss to UC Riverside while USC fell to UC Santa Barbara.

With both clubs carrying a 1-3 mark in their past four games, this weekend's series offers a chance for the Lopes or Trojans to right the ship. For GCU, it's a chance to make a statement with a series win over a Pac-12 opponent and college baseball's most successful program.

All three games in the series will be streamed on Pac-12.com.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

FRIDAY ACE: Junior Kade Mechals' first two Division I appearances came in front of crowds in excess of 3,500 fans and against two highly successful programs. All the McMinnville, Ore., native did was post two victories and allow one combined run. The right-hander is on an exclusive list of 18 pitchers who are 2-0, have an ERA under 1.00 and have at least 15 strikeouts.
FLASHING THE POWER: A GCU program that prides itself in solid defense, line-drive singles and sacrifice bunts has added a bit of power to the mix in 2019. The Lopes have slugged eight homers through eight games, a pace that projects to their highest total since 2001 when the team hit 50 homers in 49 games. Six GCU players have hit home runs, led by senior Pikai Winchester and sophomore Cuba Bess with two each.
PAC-12 PLAY: USC marks the second of four Pac-12 opponents on GCU's schedule with a matchup against Stanford in the rearview mirror and games against Utah and Arizona on the horizon. The Lopes are looking to snap a seven-game skid against the conference with the last win coming against Arizona in Tucson on March 18, 2014.

SCOUTING

The Trojans have won 12 national championships, double the nearest competing schools in LSU and Texas. USC is looking for its first top-half finish in the Pac-12 standings since 2015. The Trojans have only qualified for the NCAA Tournament once in the past 13 seasons (2015). USC was picked to finish ninth in the conference's preseason poll.

The Trojans have yet to play away from Dedeaux Field with, in sum, their first 13 games taking place at home. The first game away from Dedeaux is a neutral-site matchup with UCLA on March 10 at Dodger Stadium.

USC dropped a midweek pitcher's duel to UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday. The Trojans were held scoreless until the eighth but only plated one run. Last weekend, the Trojans dropped two of three games to No. 16 Arkansas at home.

GCU played its second-to-last regular-season game against USC on May 29, 2014, in the team's last meeting. The Lopes allowed three two-run innings from the Trojans despite outhitting USC 7-6. GCU's new volunteer assistant coach, Paul Panaccione, was 1 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI.

WHAT'S NEXT

After playing 7 of the first 11 games away from Brazell Field, GCU's schedule is about to turn homey. The Lopes open up a 12-game homestand on Wednesday that encapsulates three weekend series, two mid-week games and the opening of conference play.

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