Lopes thwart late rallies for road series win

Sunday, March 27

Sacramento, Calif.

12 p.m.

Grand Canyon

16-9, 8-1

Sacramento State

11-12, 3-6

Grand Canyon

Sacramento State

3/27/2022 3:17:00 PM | Baseball

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GCU holds Sac State scoreless for final 6 innings, strands winning run

By: Josh Hauser

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The outcome was in question until the final strike, but Grand Canyon repeatedly worked out of late-game trouble at Sacramento State for a 3-2 Sunday win that clinched a series victory.

"Any time you go on the road and you get a series win, it's a real good thing, especially against a program like Sac State who does it so well," Lopes head coach Andy Stankiewicz said. "When you lose on a Friday night, we came back on back-to-back days and just figured out a way.

"It wasn't real pretty. (The Hornets) pitch it well. They've always pitched. To scrap out a couple and get out of here with a series, it's good."

All three GCU runs came from productive outs. The game's only multi-run inning came for the Lopes in the fifth, when graduate catcher Sy Snedeker grounded to the right side to score a runner from third, and sophomore center fielder Cade Verdusco hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2-2. The Lopes scored the decisive third run an inning later on a sacrifice fly by freshman left fielder Jaxson Wall, who had started the fifth-inning rally with a leadoff single.

"Their starter was doing a great job," Stankiewicz said of the Hornets' Colin Hunter. "We couldn't really see him well, a lot of lazy fly balls. To be able to get back with two there, that was huge. And it all started with a freshman just trying to hit a nice line drive somewhere and get the ball moving. Credit to him."

After four combined hits in the first inning, the teams combined for only eight hits the rest of the way.

Sacramento State (11-12, 3-6 WAC) grabbed a 2-0 lead and was cruising behind Hunter, a freshman right-hander. After a pair of first-inning singles, Hunter retired 10 of the next 11 batters he faced.

Wall put an end to that streak, opening the fifth inning with a single to right field. GCU used a sacrifice bunt, a sacrifice fly and two Hornets errors to tie the game.

"Jaxson Wall got an opportunity," Stankiewicz said of the San Jose, California, product. "We got two runs that inning because on 2-0, he wasn't greedy and took a nice little base hit the other way and then we executed really well with team offense. We got guys over. We got guys in. We put the ball in play. We put some pressure on them. Next thing you know, we have a 2-2 game and we got a new game."

GCU sophomores Jacob Wilson and Elijah Buries opened the sixth inning with back-to-back hits, paving the way for Wall's two-strike fly ball to score Wilson from third.

The Hornets applied constant pressure down the stretch, but the Lopes continually worked out of jams. Threatening to regain a lead in the fifth, Lopes sophomore starting pitcher Connor Markl drew a bases-loaded double play to keep a run off the board. Another double play in the sixth inning erased a leadoff runner.

In relief, GCU junior right-hander Hunter Omlid drew two straight ground balls to strand a runner in scoring position in the seventh. Junior left-hander Eli Ankeney worked around a walk and stolen base to strand a runner in scoring position with an inning-ending foul out.

Lopes junior closer Vince Reilly had the toughest escape, entering with runners on first and second and only one out in the ninth. Despite both Sac State batters reaching three-ball counts, Reilly drew an outfield popup and struck out the final batter to secure the win.

"I'm excited about what Vince did on back-to-back days after not pitching particularly well on Friday night," Stankiewicz said. "He's learning. He's growing. He's understanding his role. That was a big strikeout on 3-2 with the runners in motion. That was a really good college hitter who knows how to hit and a big strikeout versus him."

The Lopes wrapped up a series in which they limited Sac State to .195 hitting and seven runs. GCU played its first three-game series of error-free baseball since April 2019.

GCU returns home for a season-long six-game homestand, featuring matchups against Arizona, New Mexico State and Texas Tech. The Lopes and the Wildcats meet on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. at GCU Ballpark.