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BCV impresses, earns WAC honor
3/16/2020 9:49:00 AM | Baseball
Lopes sophomore tosses 5 innings at Arkansas
Grand Canyon sophomore pitcher Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis was named WAC Pitcher of the Week after an impressive relief performance at Arkansas on Tuesday.
In the Lopes' battle with No. 14 Arkansas, Cooper-Vassalakis spun five innings of two-hit baseball in relief. The right-hander limited one of the nation's top offenses to one run over five innings, striking out seven Razorbacks.
In the Lopes' battle with No. 14 Arkansas, Cooper-Vassalakis spun five innings of two-hit baseball in relief. The right-hander limited one of the nation's top offenses to one run over five innings, striking out seven Razorbacks.
"It was a great opportunity to pitch in front of such a big crowd and, of course, against a team at the caliber of Arkansas," Cooper-Vassalakis said. "Nothing needed to change from previous outings. It was simple: keep the ball down, throw off-speed for strikes and just to stay where our feet are not getting ahead of situations and pitches."
It was the first WAC weekly honor claimed by a GCU player so far this season.
"He's done that since Day 1," GCU head coach Andy Stankiewicz said of Cooper-Vassalakis. "With an outing like that, he's telling us he wants the ball more often. I'm certainly encouraged by what he did. He attacked the strike zone with his fastball. His slider was working down in the zone. That's a good-hitting ballclub. They are batting over .300 as a team and you see why. They have a nice approach at the plate. For Brodie to come in and do that type of a job against that type of ballclub is encouraging."
The Canberra, Australia, native entered in the fourth inning with a pair of runners on base. After a fielding error loaded the bases, Cooper-Vassalakis escaped the inning by retiring the next three batters, including two via the strikeout.
An inning-ending double play in the fifth inning started a stretch when Cooper-Vassalakis retired seven of eight Razorbacks. He ended the outing with a pair of eighth-inning strikeouts, dropping his season ERA to 1.23.
"It was definitely one of my best outings at GCU," Cooper-Vassalakis said. "But just like we've practiced all year with Coach (Blake) Hawksworth, enjoy or dwell on it until midnight then get prepared for the next."
With the unanticipated suspension of athletic events, Cooper-Vassalakis will take the momentum of his latest outing into his next appearance on the mound — whenever it may be.
Players Mentioned
RHP
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