GCU seals series vs. top-25 OSU

Sunday, February 16

Phoenix, Ariz.

1 p.m.

Grand Canyon

2-1

Oklahoma State

1-2

Oklahoma State

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Mathew McGraw

2/16/2020 6:23:00 PM | Baseball, Paul Coro

Box Score

More stellar Lopes pitching backed by new hitters

By: Paul Coro

Grand Canyon baseball has been knocking at the Division I baseball door of national notoriety for years.

It turned to a pounding this weekend when GCU opened its season by winning a series against top-25 Oklahoma State with Sunday's 9-3 victory in the rubber match at GCU Ballpark.

The Lopes pitching staff projected to be a strength and backed it up with a 3.00 team ERA, including junior college transfer Dawson McCarville picking up the Sunday win in his Division I starting debut. But with GCU's most heralded hitter, junior Cuba Bess, limited to one at bat this weekend for a hamstring issue, a Lopes lineup with seven new starters scored 23 runs against a touted Cowboys rotation.

It was a repeat of 2017, when GCU also opened the season by winning a home series against then-ranked Oklahoma State, an esteemed program with 20 College World Series appearances. This time, the two Lopes wins were lopsided against a Cowboys team that entered the season ranked 16th by Baseball America and 22nd by D1baseball.com.

GCU and CSU Fullerton were the only unranked teams to win a series against a top-25 team on opening weekend.

"It was a great win for the program to put us on the map," said junior second baseman Drew Smith, a Nebraska junior college transfer who made his Division I debut by going 7 for 14 with 11 RBI (one of five in the nation to do so and the only one against a ranked opponent). "People know who we are now.

"It tells us that we can win with anyone, no matter what the name is on their jersey. We're GCU and we're here to stay. It's a great start to the season but we've got a lot to go."

McCarville, a right-handed Phoenix native who transferred from Glendale Community College, began his Division I career by shutting out Oklahoma State for the first four innings on one hit. He pitched into the sixth inning to give new Lopes pitching coach Blake Hawksworth's staff another quality start.

"Coach Hawk did a great job of seeing that he's a big, strong guy who sometimes wants to force in the ball," GCU head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "Dawson needed to throw the ball down in the zone and let the sinker work. Every since Hawk and him started putting that game plan together, he's been lights out."

McCarville was in a fifth-inning predicament when he put two runners on with no out but GCU junior catcher David Avitia caught a pitch out of the dirt and shot an arrow to second base to pick off Oklahoma State's Max Hewitt.

The Lopes defense delivered another rally-killing gem in the eighth inning, when junior center fielder Brock Burton made an inning-ending catch with two Cowboys on base in junior reliever Frankie Scalzo's two shutout innings.

GCU's scoring began in the second inning when Burton drew a leadoff walk and junior designated hitter Dominic Grissom belted a high 0-1 fastball over the left-field wall.

"It felt really nice to see that one go out," said Grissom, a Phoenix College transfer. "There's nothing better. It's incredible. Here in the stadium, hearing the crowd roar, there's nothing better than that."

A two-run third inning started with a single on a 10-pitch at bat by junior shortstop Channy Ortiz, followed by singles from junior left fielder Juan Colato (7 for 14 on the weekend) and Smith.

After Ortiz singled and Colato reached on a two-base error in the sixth, Smith drove them with a single up the middle on a 1-2 pitch for an 8-2 lead.

Ortiz went 3 for 4, adding a lead-off single in the eighth to later score on a Burton single. Ortiz began with GCU in 2017 before starting at Yavapai College last season to develop into a stronger player for the Lopes starting shortstop role this season.

"It's amazing," said Ortiz, who played at nearby Glendale Apollo High School. "I tried to take every second in and it felt good.

"We've talked about it ever since the fall: we don't want to be underdogs any more. Great program over there with some good players but it's our time to start beating up on these guys and competing."

The beauty of this season's pitching depth is that GCU has one of last season's weekend starters, junior left-hander Jack Schneider, available to start Tuesday for a 1 p.m. game against Oregon at GCU Ballpark, where 6,190 fans attended this weekend.

"You never really know what you're going to get but the team has really been about the team since Day 1," Stankiewicz said. "We've got some good leadership here: Jack Schneider, Dane my son, Brock Burton, guys who have been here. They just want to have success. They don't care about who gets the accolades. They really root for each other. With this group of young men, it's about the team."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.