Fall season wraps with SoCal split

GCU takes on USC and Cal State Fullerton in fall ball action.

Photo by: Josh Hauser

11/15/2021 4:00:00 PM | Baseball

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Lopes beat USC, fall to Cal State Fullerton in 11-inning road exhibitions

By: Josh Hauser

The Grand Canyon baseball team wrapped up its fall season with a split of 11-inning games in Southern California. The Lopes defeated USC 10-6 at Dedeaux Field on Saturday before dropping a Sunday game at Cal State Fullerton 6-0.

GCU used 15 pitchers over the two games with no one throwing more than two innings. Seventeen Lopes batters got a plate appearance.

Sophomore shortstop Jacob Wilson led the way for GCU hitters, going 5 for 10 (.500) on the weekend. Freshman infielder Jaxson Wall (3 for 6) and senior utilityman Juan Colato (2 for 4) also hit .500 with multiple hits.

On the pitching side, eight Lopes hurlers posted scoreless outings, each of which spanned one or two innings. Two-inning scoreless efforts came from sophomore Carter Young, graduate Nick Hull, freshman Daniel Avitia and junior Hunter Omlid. Young led the way with four strikeouts.

Lopes open weekend with USC win

In the weekend opener at USC, the Lopes wasted no time ramping up the offense. Colato and Wilson logged one-out singles in the first inning. The duo came into score on back-to-back, two-out singles from sophomore catcher Tyler Wilson and junior right fielder Tayler Aguilar.

The lead extended from 2-0 to 7-0 with an impressive five-run, six-hit second inning. After sophomore outfielder Cade Verdusco walked, GCU strung together five consecutive hits off the bats of Colato, Jacob Wilson, sophomore infielder Elijah Buries, Tyler Wilson and Aguilar. Buries' hit was a two-run double to left field.

GCU took advantage of sloppy pitching in the fourth inning to plate three more runs and lead 10-0. Four straight batters reached on free passes (a hit batsman and three walks), paving the way for junior outfielder Adrian Torres and senior second baseman Jonny Weaver to drive in runs on sacrifice flies.

USC scored the game's final six runs to make the game tighter at 10-6, but the Lopes' early lead held through the extended 11-inning affair. The Trojans scored in four consecutive innings from the fourth through the seventh, but GCU pitching slowed USC late. Freshman R.J. Elmore, juniors Vince Reilly and Blake Reilly and sophomore Carson Ohl held USC to one run over the game's final four innings to wrap up the victory.

GCU comes up with hits, not runs on Sunday

The Lopes made the trip inland for a Sunday afternoon contest at Cal State Fullerton. GCU was missing a pair of middle-of-the-order bats, Colato and Buries, because of minor injuries from Saturday's game but still managed to outhit the Titans 10-8. Fullerton, however, took better advantage of scoring opportunities in a 6-0 win.

GCU's offense was rolling early once again. The Lopes put runners in scoring position with only one out in each of the first three innings but couldn't push across any runs. Graduate designated hitter Sy Snedeker and Wall combined for back-to-back one-out singles in the second but a pair of strikeouts ended the threat. Torres and Jacob Wilson strung together base hits to begin the third. The Titans turned a double play as well as an obscure 3-4-1 ground out to keep the Lopes scoreless.

The Lopes' early-game pitching excelled. Hull, Omlid and Avitia each threw two innings to combine for a six-inning no-hitter with no walks surrendered. Junior left-hander Taisei Yahiro gave up Fullerton's first hit of the day in the seventh inning but still managed to throw a scoreless frame. The Titans broke through late in the game with a run in the eighth, four in the 10th and one in the 11th.

Upon wrapping up the competitive fall season, GCU turns its eyes toward preparation for the 2022 campaign, which is set to get underway in February.