GCU Classic finishes with split

Sunday, February 23

Phoenix, Ariz.

11 a.m.

Grand Canyon

4-3

CSUN

7-0

CSUN

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Elizabeth Tinajero

2/23/2020 6:30:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery

Lopes fall to CSUN, top Fordham

By: Josh Hauser

The Grand Canyon baseball team split a Sunday doubleheader, dropping the morning game to CSU Northridge 6-2 before recovering to take down Fordham 4-3 at GCU Ballpark.

"You want to win the weekend," Lopes head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "We took a split, but that's not quite what you're looking for. CSUN has done a really good job. Fordham is good too. They'll be right in the middle of it."

GCU capped its season-opening eight-game homestand with a 5-3 mark.

Game 1

Junior left fielder Juan Colato began the day in style, homering to right field to grant GCU a 1-0 lead over CSUN in the first inning. The Lopes threatened further with two more hits in the inning but stranded a pair of runners in scoring position.

The Matadors quickly grabbed a lead with two runs in the second inning. Sophomore outfielder Denzel Clarke hit a two-out, two-run home run to put CSUN in front.

After a three-hit first inning for the Lopes, GCU only had three hits for the remainder of the game. The Lopes scratched across their final run in the seventh inning when junior catcher David Avitia reached on a lead-off error and scored on a single by junior shortstop Channy Ortiz.

CSUN gradually added to its lead with single tallies in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings en route to a 6-2 victory and a 7-0 record on the young season.

Game 2

Of the seven runs scored in the nightcap between GCU and Fordham, six came in the first inning.

The Rams used three drawn walks and a passed ball to take a 2-0 lead.

GCU quickly responded with four runs to take a first-inning lead that held through the final out.

The first seven Lopes reached to open the game — three via base hits and four via walks. Junior center fielder Brock Burton singled to right field to score two runs, junior outfielder Dominic Grissom drove in a run on a single, and sophomore first baseman Nick Hansen drew a bases-loaded walk.

GCU was held without a hit for the remainder of the game, but a masterful pitching performance kept the Lopes' lead intact.

"We have to get more stingy with our at bats," Stankiewicz said. "They spotted us because the guy couldn't throw strikes early in the game. We have to be better after that. We tell the guys all the time, 'Don't think that because it's a nine-inning game that what happens in the first and second is not going to matter.' Every at bat has to have a sense of urgency to it. All those have to be important. You never know how the game is going to swing. We have to try to get as many runs as we can there, have to be greedy for good at bats and runs."

GCU junior pitcher Jack Schneider tossed six innings and gave up two earned runs on the way to his first win of the season. Freshman Cal Lambert tossed a scoreless inning, and sophomore Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis pitched two innings with three strikeouts for his first career save.

"Schneider settled in," Stankiewicz said. "He got off to a slow start with his command. He finally found his way and got a little rhythm. Lambert is a freshman who's not afraid. Goes in there and attacks that strike zone. The job that Brodie did — that was huge. We're trying to see what role that young man can fill for us, and he certainly looked like he was comfortable in that spot there."

The Lopes get the week off from midweek action and will travel to Stanford for a three-game series beginning on Friday.

"It'll be exciting," Stankiewicz said. "Our program has not been to Stanford. We like to get on the road with some of the bigger programs in the country. They're always good and are going to pitch. It's going to be a challenge for sure. But I think this group has a little bit of grit to it from what I've seen so far. They'll be excited for the challenge."