Lopes aim for 9th straight WAC series win

Thursday, March 28

Phoenix, Ariz.

6 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Sacramento State

Tickets

Photo by: Rachel Sollazzo

3/27/2024 8:00:00 PM | Baseball

GCU Notes Sac State Notes

GCU welcomes in Sacramento State for 3-game set starting Thursday

By: Josh Hauser

Thursday-Saturday, March 28-30 \| Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark \| Phoenix, Ariz.

	SACRAMENTO STATE HORNETS (10-15, 4-5 WAC)	vs.	GRAND CANYON LOPES (13-10, 7-2 WAC)

PITCHING PROBABLES

Thursday, March 28 • 6 p.m.
Live Stats • Watch on ESPN+
RHP Evan Gibbons (0-3, 7.11) vs. RHP Carter Young (3-1, 4.76)

Friday, March 29 • 6 p.m.
Live Stats • Watch on ESPN+
RHP Tyler Stewart (2-1, 4.06) vs. RHP Connor Mattison (3-1, 3.67)

Saturday, March 30 • 12 p.m.
Live Stats • Watch on ESPN+
TBA vs. RHP Isaac Lyon (2-0, 4.43)

Grand Canyon wraps up the month of March with a three-game series at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark. Sacramento State pays a visit in a series that gets underway on Thursday at 6 p.m. and finishes by Saturday to observe Easter.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

ALL KNOTTED UP: The all-time series between GCU and Sacramento State dates back to 1991 and, in 44 meetings, the programs are all knotted up at 22 wins apiece. The series features two of the WAC's most successful programs, with the Hornets winning the 2014, 2017 and 2019 conference tournaments, and the Lopes going to the NCAA tournament in 2021 and 2022. Sac State won the first six games of the all-time series, but the Lopes have stormed back in recent years by winning 10 of the last 14 meetings. The programs share some personnel history too, with current Sac State pitching coach Jon Wente serving in the same role at GCU for the Lopes' 2021 and 2022 NCAA regional teams.
HITS, HITS, HITS: GCU leads the WAC with a .302 batting average, well ahead of second-place Utah Valley (.287). The Lopes have three batters who entered 2024 with career averages under .250 but are hitting over .315 in 2024: senior Dustin Crenshaw (.354), redshirt junior Eli Paton (.333) and junior Beau Ankeney (.317).
CLEAN DEFENSE: GCU has been error-free in 14 of its 23 games. The Lopes boast one of the nation's top-25 fielding percentages (.979). GCU is 12-2 in games where it does not make an error.

SCOUTING

Sacramento State has been one of the WAC's models of consistency. The Hornets have compiled 11 straight seasons of 30 or more wins, the only Division I program in California to hold that distinction. The architect of the consistency is 14th-year head coach Reggie Christiansen.

The Hornets are in unfamiliar territory, however. Last season, Sac State went under .500 in WAC play for the first time since 2011 and missed the eight-team WAC Tournament. This season, the Hornets opened WAC play with a series win over Utah Valley but have since dropped series to Utah Tech and Abilene Christian.

While Sac State ranks ninth of the 11 WAC teams in batting average (.250), its slugging percentage (.398) sits fourth in the conference. The Hornets have long been known for their pitching, and they again rank in the top half of the conference in ERA (fifth, 5.34) and opponent batting average (fourth, .272). Sophomore infielder JP Smith leads the WAC in home runs (13) and slugging percentage (.698).

WHAT'S NEXT?

GCU heads to Phoenix Municipal Stadium for the first of two in the season series against Arizona State. The game is scheduled for Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

For more GCU baseball news, notes and numbers, click here to view game notes.