Stretch run begins with CSUB

May 3-5 \| Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark \| Phoenix, Ariz.

	CSU BAKERSFIELD ROADRUNNERS (19-28, 7-11 WAC)	at	GRAND CANYON LOPES (25-19, 11-7 WAC)

PITCHING PROBABLES

Friday, May 3 • 6:30 p.m.
Live Stats • GCU.tv

RHP [JR] Darius Vines (4-3, 4.01) vs. RHP [FR] Pierson Ohl (5-4, 3.94)

Saturday, May 4 • 6 p.m.
Live Stats • GCU.tv

LHP [JR] Edgar Barclay (5-2, 2.69) vs. RHP [JR] Kade Mechals (9-1, 2.22)

Sunday, May 5 • 12 p.m.
Live Stats • GCU.tv

TBA vs. LHP [R-SO] Jack Schneider (1-1, 2.68)

Just three conference series remain for the Grand Canyon baseball team with the next two weekends taking place at GCU Ballpark. First up, CSU Bakersfield comes to Phoenix for a three-game series beginning on Friday night.

The Lopes have won eight of their past nine games and six conference games in a row. GCU produced series sweeps of Seattle U and Chicago State in the past two weeks.

All three games will stream live on GCU.tv.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

LOPES HIT 2K: GCU reached a program milestone on Wednesday when it defeated New Mexico 9-7 to win the 2,000th game in the history of the program. The milestone came in the program's 67th season. Head coach Andy Stankiewicz has produced the most recent 241 victories.
WEEKEND ROTATION: A revamped pitching staff is hitting its stride. After losing 72 percent of its innings pitched from last year, the Lopes feature a 4.59 staff ERA that is the program's third-best mark in its 14 Division I seasons. The Lopes' weekend rotation of Kade Mechals, Pierson Ohl and Jack Schneider is 15-6 with a 2.96 ERA. The staff raised the bar even further in a three-game series at Chicago State last week. The Lopes limited the Cougars to one run in the three-game series, featuring a staff ERA of 0.33 on the weekend.
POWER PUSH: With 11 regular-season games to play, GCU already hit the 40-homer mark for the first time since 2003 (46). Sophomore Cuba Bess leads the team with 10, the most since Chad De La Guerra's 11 in 2015.

SCOUTING

CSU Bakersfield started the season 13-10, but the Roadrunners have lost 18 of their last 24 games. The Roadrunners defeated Seattle U, Northern Colorado and Utah Valley in conference play while losing series to New Mexico State, Sacramento State and California Baptist. CSUB ranks seventh in the WAC in batting average (.254) and sixth in team ERA (4.85). The 'Runners have laid down 35 sacrifice bunts, 14th most in the nation.

In recent action, CSUB held a 4-1 lead as late as the eighth inning before falling to No. 8 UC Santa Barbara in Tuesday action. Over the weekend, the Roadrunners lost the opener of a three-game home series against Utah Valley but recovered to win Games 2 and 3 to take the series. Game 2 featured an especially dramatic finish with CSUB scoring five runs in the bottom of the ninth to turn a 6-4 deficit into a 9-6 win.

Last year, GCU took two of three games at CSU Bakersfield from May 1-3. In the opener, the Lopes scored nine runs in the first three frames to take control. Quin Cotton was one hit shy of the cycle for the third time in four games. Game 2 was a forgettable one for GCU with the Lopes coughing up a 7-2 lead in the eighth. CSUB scored seven times in the eighth inning to win 9-7. Zach Malis willed the Lopes to a series win, thanks to the three-home run game by a Lope since 2007. His go-ahead homer in the 10th inning helped GCU win 8-5.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Lopes travel to Cal State Fullerton for a Tuesday game before returning to Phoenix next weekend for the final series of the home schedule against Northern Colorado.

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

May 3-5 | Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark | Phoenix, Ariz.

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PITCHING PROBABLES

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

SCOUTING

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cuba Bess

Quin Cotton

Zach Malis

Kade Mechals

Pierson Ohl

Jack Schneider

Grand Canyon University Athletics