GCU detours to Fullerton

Tuesday, May 7

Fullerton, Calif. / Goodwin Field

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Cal State Fullerton

Photo by: David Cohen

5/6/2019 10:13:00 PM | Baseball

GCU Game Notes 2019 Media Guide

Winners of 11 of 12 travel to face storied program

By: Josh Hauser

May 7 \| Goodwin Field \| Fullerton, Calif.

	GRAND CANYON LOPES (28-19)	at	CAL STATE FULLERTON TITANS (19-24)

PITCHING PROBABLES

Tuesday, May 7 • 6 p.m. MST
Live Stats • Live Audio
TBA vs. TBA

Winners of 11 of the last 12, Grand Canyon presses pause on conference action to play its second-to-last nonconference game. GCU pays a visit to Cal State Fullerton for the second consecutive season with a Tuesday night first pitch set for 6 p.m.

The Lopes have won eight of their last 10 nonconference games. At 28-19 on the season, GCU is at its highest point over .500 at nine games.

Goodwin Field, the site of Tuesday's matchup, played host to a highly contested super regional series last season between Cal State Fullerton and Washington with the Huskies advancing to the College World Series with a one-run win in 10 innings of the rubber match. This season, the Titans are decidedly outside of the playoff picture with the Big West not holding a conference tournament. Cal State Fullerton could miss the postseason for the first time since 1991.

As a makeup for the canceled UNLV game on April 16, Tuesday's game at Cal State Fullerton was added just last week.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

POWER PLAY: The Lopes continue their power display in 2019, hitting four more home runs over the weekend. GCU has hit 46 this season, the most since 2003 (46). Sophomore Cuba Bess hit his 10th and 11th, tying Chad De La Guerra for the most by a Lope since GCU's return to Division I in 2014. The Lopes rank fourth in the nation with 112 doubles while also ranking in the top 40 in slugging percentage (.453), the highest mark since the 2007 season (.463).
PERSISTENT PAVLICA: Senior outfielder Preston Pavlica has reached base in 21 consecutive games. It's the longest streak for a GCU player since Pavlica reached safely in 26 straight games (24 to end 2018, two to start 2019). Moving Pavlica to the ninth spot in the batting order has helped GCU lengthen its lineup, as the Lopes are 10-1 with him there. The senior is hitting .333 since March 29.
POSTSEASON PICTURE: While Tuesday's nonconference game has no impact on WAC standings, the hotly contested conference remains notable. Including GCU, five teams have the regular season conference title within their grasp. New Mexico State, Sacramento State and UT Rio Grande Valley are atop the WAC in a three-way tie for first, while GCU and California Baptist have pulled within one game of joining the tie. An exciting two weekends of conference action lie ahead.

SCOUTING

Cal State Fullerton was one win away from a trip to the College World Series last year, losing 6-5 in 10 innings to Washington in the rubber match of the Fullerton Super Regional. The Titans have 11 regular season games remaining, needing to go at least 8-3 to avoid finishing under .500 for the first time ever. Fullerton's streak of 27 consecutive postseason trips is in jeopardy.

Senior outfielder Mitchell Berryhill ranks fourth in the nation with his .426 batting average. Cal State Fullerton has the nation's second-best fielding percentage at .983, committing just 28 errors in 43 games. GCU makes the lone WAC opponent on Cal State Fullerton's 2019 schedule. Like the Lopes, the Titans have faced USC, New Mexico, TCU and Stanford.

Last weekend, Cal State Fullerton lost two of three games to UC Davis at Goodwin Field over the weekend. It was the first ever series victory for the Aggies over the Titans.

The teams met last season as Grand Canyon was swept by Cal State Fullerton in a three-game series at Goodwin Field from March 16-18. GCU lost by scores of 7-3, 10-2 and 2-0. The Lopes bounced back to win 11 of their next 13 games.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Lopes finish off the home schedule by hosting Northern Colorado for a three-game conference series. Sunday's home finale will be Mother's Day and Senior Day.

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