Lopes clinch title share in high-stakes series

Friday, May 21

Phoenix, Ariz.

2 p.m.

Grand Canyon

35-18-1, 28-6

California Baptist

36-14, 28-6

California Baptist

Grand Canyon

5/21/2021 4:19:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

McCarville's arm leads 2-1 win, sets up Sunday bid at outright championship

By: Paul Coro

The numbers on the GCU Ballpark left-field wall earned the right to add numbers to the right-field wall.

The victorious 2-1 final on the left-field scoreboard Friday night meant GCU can add "2021" to the list of WAC championship years on the right-field wall. By beating California Baptist for the second time in three games, the Lopes claimed at least a share of the regular-season title for the third time in the past four WAC seasons.

The satisfaction came without celebration because GCU and CBU will end the regular season at 1 p.m. Saturday, when the Lopes (36-18-1, 29-6 WAC) can win the title outright or the Lancers (36-15, 28-7 WAC) can claim a co-championship.

"Our goal is always to win the conference," GCU head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "That's the No. 1 goal and we've got an opportunity to do that. We've got to come out here with great energy and a great team attitude and get excited about getting a chance to clinch it outright. They're going to come out here with hair on fire as well."

The Lopes are getting an early taste of postseason baseball with the stakes involved in each game of this CBU series. After a GCU rally fell short for a 5-3 loss in the first game of the doubleheader, the Lopes bounced back with early runs and stellar pitching and defense to retake the conference lead and tie the program's Division I-era record for wins with 2019.

"You can feel it," Stankiewicz said. "The guys have energy. It's got a feel it in the dugout like this is an important game and an important series. They don't want to give anything away."

GCU starting pitcher Dawson McCarville, a senior right-hander, set the tone by retiring CBU in order in the first two innings. He put the Lopes in position to win with a three-pitch mix and a dominant fastball that kept the Lancers to one run over 5 2/3 innings.

Since McCarville was inserted into the rotation on April 10, GCU is 6-0 in his starts as his ERA has dropped to 2.95. His massive season turnaround was born at Tulane in late March, when he started a string of 32 consecutive shutout innings. His 1.36 ERA in conference play far outshines the 2.02 mark of his nearest challenger.

GCU senior reliever Nick Hull kept a shutout streak going on Friday. He threw 2 1/3 innings, giving him nine consecutive shutout relief appearances that cover 19 1/3 innings.

"I think Dawson McCarville did a great job, a fantastic effort out of him and then Nick Hull came in and gave us big innings before Frankie obviously closed it out," Stankiewicz said in reference to Scalzo's 10th save, the most by a Lopes pitcher since Craig Bauer in 1990.

The pitching was fortified by web gems, including a diving, third-inning catch by sophomore Tayler Aguilar that saved two or three runs.

With the bases loaded and one out, CBU first baseman John Glenn hit a line drive to right in front of a charging, diving Aguilar. Coming up with a sno-cone catch, Aguilar turned it into an inning-ending double play by throwing to first base for the runner who assumed a hit.

"It was 100% for a dive, for sure," Aguilar said. "I needed to lay out because there was one out and I knew that they were going on contact. It was a pretty hard-hit ball so I knew it was below my cap and I had a chance at diving on it."

With GCU's lead staying at 2-1 since the fourth inning, CBU made an eighth-inning threat with a hit and a walk that were wiped out by freshman first baseman Elijah Buries chasing down an errant pickoff to throw out the runner at second and two flashy plays from freshman third baseman Jacob Wilson, who snagged one slow dribble with his bare hand to make the throw to first in time.

"They're pretty difficult but Coach Stankie has taught me a lot," Wilson said. "We work on those every day during defense so props to him for teaching me everything."

Wilson also scored both of GCU's runs after hits that ran his season average to .311. He singled and scored on an error in the first inning and doubled to right field and moved around on junior left fielder Juan Colato's single and a Buries' grounder.

"He's impressive," Stankiewicz said. "He's got great bat-to-ball skills. He's not always in the greatest position, but his hand-eye coordination is fantastic. He's able to barrel up balls that maybe his body isn't in the best spot to do it, but somehow, someway, he sneaks a ground ball or a live drive somewhere."

Senior Zach Barnes will start Saturday's 1 p.m. home finale in search of the Lopes' fourth outright WAC baseball title in six years.

"We're really excited about that," Wilson said. "We're going to come out. We're going to be banging. We're going to feel good and come out hot and we're going to win the WAC series."

Rally fall short in 1st game

Friday's doubleheader opened with GCU needing to overcome a 5-0 deficit to CBU and nearly pulled it off at GCU Ballpark.

The Lopes (35-18-1, 28-6 WAC) ended a nine-game winning streak when they ran out of chances in the seven-inning game of the doubleheader. They scored three runs in the sixth inning and put the tying run at the plate in the seventh before CBU (36-14, 28-6 WAC) won to re-establish the teams' tie atop the WAC standings.

GCU freshman Carter Young suffered his first loss of the season after he surrendered five runs in 4 1/3 innings despite striking out five Lancers. The 5-0 hole remained into the sixth inning, when the Lopes collected five of their eight hits in the game.

Each sixth-inning rally hit was a single, starting with freshman pinch-hitter Dustin Crenshaw and continuing with consecutive one-out singles by senior shortstop Channy Ortiz, Wilson and Colato.

Wilson's single scored the first run and the Lopes added two more runs on a grounder from Buries that was followed by a throwing error.

GCU left-handed reliever Connor Markl, one of six freshmen to play, threw 2 1/3 shutout innings to give GCU a chance to pull out the game in the bottom of the seventh. The Lopes reached by error but were unable to add a hit as CBU's Jacob McCarvel picked up a save with 1 2/3 shutout innings.

Ortiz went 2 for 4 for GCU while Colato delivered a two-hit game for the second consecutive day.