Lopes top Lobos in midweek tilt

Tuesday, March 14

Phoenix, Ariz.

2 p.m.

Grand Canyon

12-4

New Mexico

11-5

New Mexico

Grand Canyon

3/14/2023 5:47:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

GCU, New Mexico combine for 17 runs in 1st 4 innings of Lopes' victory

By: Josh Hauser

Grand Canyon used crooked innings in the third and fourth to outscore New Mexico and win its fifth straight game at GCU Ballpark on Tuesday afternoon.

The Lopes (12-4) and Lobos (11-5) combined to score 17 runs in the game's first four innings before both teams' bullpens settled things down. GCU took the lead in the fourth inning with a three-run spot and held on through a relatively quiet final five innings to secure the win.

"We got the win," GCU head coach Gregg Wallis said. "We were resilient. That's a really good team over there. They've got great wins against Oregon State and UC Santa Barbara, so we knew that they were going to be really good. They popped us pretty good in the first with four, but we never flinched. We stayed in it. We know our offense can also score. The huge thing was that our pitchers stepped forward after that and we only gave up four the rest of the game."

New Mexico entered Tuesday's contest as the nation's offensive leader in both batting average (.368) and runs per game (11.5). While the Lopes ultimately held the Lobos under both of those averages, New Mexico jumped on the board quickly with a four-run first inning on three straight singles capped off by a grand slam.

"We know we're going to score runs either way," Lopes junior right fielder Cade Verdusco said. "Going down by a couple runs doesn't really bother us because we're such an experienced and veteran lineup that we just know we're going to bang the ball around the yard and do our own kind of damage when we need it. Being able to go up there knowing that you have a lineup full of depth and you can just keep hitting around, you can never stop going. The game's always going to keep playing on."

GCU quickly got on the board with a run in the first. Junior shortstop Jacob Wilson doubled and was driven in by freshman first baseman Zach Yorke.

The Lobos got a single run back in the second, but the Lopes exploded for six runs in the second to erase their early deficit.

With two outs in the inning, GCU had six consecutive batters reach base. Yorke and Verdusco each had RBI knocks before junior designated hitter Tyler Wilson singled in a pair and senior catcher Josh Buckley doubled in two more.

The see-saw affair continued with New Mexico tying the game on a two-run fourth.

But the Lopes tacked on three more runs in the fourth to take the lead for good. Verdusco hit a two-out, line-drive home run to left field to stake GCU to a 10-7 lead.

After GCU allowed seven New Mexico runs in the first four innings, the bullpen limited the Lobos to one run in the final five frames. Freshman Grant Richardson tossed 2 2/3 innings of one-run ball, striking out six. Junior Shawn Triplett pitched the final 2 1/3 innings scoreless and earned his first save.

Richardson has made three appearances out of GCU's bullpen in the last 10 days and has impressed with his results.

"He was really really good, impressive," Wallis said. "He wasn't getting the ball very much early in the year. He stayed with himself. He got an opportunity in a runaway game, in a 10-0 game (on March 5 vs. Texas State), because he had been putting the work in the weight room, been putting the work in in practice. He showed us what he could do in sim games, and he got an opportunity in a real game. He's been a huge bright spot for us out of the bullpen, very impressed."

Richardson's mid-90s fastball is a new step in the Cave Creek, Arizona, native's development.

"Coming into GCU I was throwing upper 80s, hit 90 every once in a while," said Richardson, who has struck out 10 batters in 4 2/3 innings this season. "This spring, my velo has jumped so I've just been pounding fastball. If they can't hit it, I'll keep on throwing it, that's for sure. My goal isn't to strike out people, I just try to get ahead."

Richardson faced the minimum in his first two innings of work — striking out five of the six batters he faced — but allowed a run and three hits in the seventh.

GCU turned to Triplett with the tying runs in scoring position and two outs. Triplett ended the seventh-inning threat with a strikeout and then faced the minimum in the eighth and ninth innings to close out the win.

"He's come in in some really sticky situations the last two games," Wallis said. "On Sunday, he came in with bases loaded with two outs and got the job done. And today, in a 10-8 ballgame, he came in with second and third and two outs. He's shown his grit and his toughness. You feel really good about handing the ball to Shawn Triplett because he does everything right, that's on and off the field. He's a team guy. He works as hard as anyone. You fell good giving the ball to him because you know he's going to get after it and he's going to be all about his team."

The Lopes posted their sixth game of 14 or more hits this season. Jacob Wilson and Verdusco each had three-hit days while Verdusco added four RBIs. Yorke, Tyler Wilson and Homer Bush Jr. also had multiple hits.

GCU's 16-game season-opening stretch in the Phoenix metro area has concluded, and the Lopes will play their first true road games of 2023 when conference play resumes in Sacramento on Friday night.