Purple Cobras claim regular-season title in 3-team intrasquad fall league
By: Josh Hauser
The Grand Canyon baseball program's fall regimen kicked into high gear on Sep. 23 as the Camp Canyon League — a month of intrasquad action between three teams — got underway in front of over 20 masked scouts at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark.
The Men in Black picked up the first win of Camp Canyon. Pitcher Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis set the tone with two scoreless innings, and the Men in Black posted two four-run innings en route to a season-opening victory.
Thursday, Sep. 24 | PC 2, GD 1
Tayler Aguilar hit a late home run for the Purple Cobras to force a 1-1 tie. With runners placed on first and second in extra innings, the Cobras pushed across a run on a sac fly and held serve in the home half to bounce back with a win.
Saturday, Sep. 26 | GD 8, MIB 4
Ryland Zaborowski hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the fifth as the Gray Dolphins made a late-game rally to double up Men in Black and force a league-wide tie through three games.
Burton led the league with a .857 average, going 6 for 7 for the Men in Black. The outfielder logged four extra-base hits including a home run while racking up three RBIs and scoring four runs.
Reilly tossed two scoreless innings in a win for the Purple Cobras. He entered a tie game in the fifth and tossed a pair of scoreless innings, including a sixth inning with inherited runners due to tiebreaker rules.
Other nominees: Eli Ankeney (perfect inning of relief and Saturday winning pitcher); Connor Markl (two scoreless innings with four strikeouts).
Week 2 (Sep. 29-Oct.5)
Tuesday, Sep. 29 | GD 5, MIB 4
Nick Hansen hit a walk-off single to complete yet another late-game rally for the Gray Dolphins, who trailed 4-2 entering the fifth inning.
Thursday, Oct. 1 | PC 12, GD 4
Zach Barnes tossed three scoreless frames and racked up six strikeouts for the Cobras, who struck for a seven-run inning early and sealed the victory with late-game homers by Jonny Weaver and Josh Buckley.
Saturday, Oct. 3 | PC 5, MIB 3
The Purple Cobras struck for five runs in the first third of the ballgame and didn't look back, jumping out to a full-game lead in the standings.
Hansen led the Gray Dolphins to a Tuesday win on a walk-off single and later had a three-run homer. The infielder hit .500 for the week with four RBIs and three runs scored.
Other nominees: Juan Colato went 5 for 7 (.714) on the week with a double and two stolen bases.
Barnes posted a three-inning scoreless start in a Purple Cobras victory, racking up six strikeouts in the process.
Other nominees: Keaton Glover picked up both a win and a hold after tossing a pair of one-inning scoreless outings.
Week 3 (Oct. 6-12)
Tuesday, Oct. 6 | MIB 4, PC 2
A 2-2 tie through six innings was broken by Men in Black who took advantage of placed runners on first and second in the seventh to plate a pair of runs. Coen Wynne got the win for Men in Black in relief as the Camp Canyon League standings tightened.
Thursday, Oct. 8 | PC 4, GD 2
Saturday, Oct. 10 | GD 6, MIB 4
The Dolphins and Men in Black matched each other punch for punch in the early goings, with identical three-run first innings and one-run third innings. The Dolphins took advantage of a pair of placed runners late in the game, while Coen Wynne and the Dolphins didn't allow Men in Black to score.
Wynne twice entered the game with inherited runners due to tiebreaker rules. He held the opposition scoreless on both occasions, picking up the victory on Tuesday and the save on Saturday.
Other nominees: Keaton Glover and Nick Hull each tossed two scoreless innings in relief.
Hull compiled four innings of hitless and scoreless relief work with five strikeouts.
Other nominees: Sasha Sneider threw two scoreless and hitless innings. Eli Ankeney threw three innings of scoreless and hitless ball with three strikeouts.
The Men in Black outfielder hit .400 on the season with a league-leading .725 slugging percentage partially thanks to three home runs. His 15 RBIs also paced the CCL.
Barnes put together an impressive fall for the regular-season champion Purple Cobras. In 17 innings of work, the righty allowed only two earned runs for a 1.06 ERA. Opponents batted .197 off of Barnes, and he collected 17 strikeouts.
The freshman hit an even .500 on the season for Men in Black, pacing Camp Canyon hitters. With five doubles, his .647 slugging percentage was behind only Burton. In 37 plate appearances, Wilson struck out only once — tied for the fewest in the league among CCL regulars.