Lopes aim for 5th straight win vs. Arizona

Tuesday, April 15 \| Hi Corbett Field \| Tucson, Ariz.

	#22 ARIZONA WILDCATS (25-10, 10-5 Big 12)	vs.	GRAND CANYON LOPES (22-13, 9-3 WAC)

PITCHING PROBABLES

Tuesday, April 15 • 6 p.m.
Live Stats • Watch
RHP Raul Garayzar (0-0, 2.77) vs. LHP Chance Key (1-3, 6.10)

Grand Canyon journeys south to Tucson for the second of three games in the season series with Arizona. The No. 22 Wildcats host a 6 p.m. first pitch at Hi Corbett Field on Tuesday night.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

BARRERAS BACK: After missing 17 games due to injury, junior shortstop Emilio Barreras returned to the field for last weekend's series against Utah Valley. Barreras — who has reached base in all 18 games he's appeared in this season — loudly announced his return with a three-run home run in Sunday's win over the Wolverines. The Preseason All-WAC selection is second on the team with a .394 batting average.
SERIES VS. WILDCATS: GCU's success against Arizona has been well documented. The Lopes have won four consecutively against the Wildcats. In GCU's last regular-season trip to Tucson, the Lopes dominated the Wildcats 24-8 in a contest shortened by mercy rule. GCU returned to Hi Corbett Field for the Tucson Regional, upsetting the Wildcats in the opening round. The Lopes backed up their recent success by defeating Arizona at GCU Ballpark two weeks ago.
KEYING THE LOPES: Junior lefty Chance Key makes the move from GCU's weekend rotation into a midweek start for the first time this season. Junior righty Elijah Higginbottom helped lead GCU to a Sunday victory, a spot which Key had typically held in the Lopes' rotation. Key had solid starts against Texas State, Texas Tech, Oregon State and Abilene Christian in the month of March.

SCOUTING ARIZONA

Arizona has emerged as a contender in its first Big 12 season, entering mid-April with a 25-10 record and ranked No. 22 nationally. The Wildcats are particularly dominant at home, boasting an 18-3 mark at Hi Corbett Field. Their offense is anchored by junior outfielder Aaron Walton (.352 AVG, 42 runs), while the team leads the nation with 24 triples.

On the mound, Arizona sports a 4.27 team ERA and — like GCU — excels at limiting free passes, ranking in the top 10 nationally in both walks per nine innings and strikeout-to-walk ratio. After briefly dropping out of the top 25, the Wildcats have posted conference series wins against Arizona State and Oklahoma State to climb back to No. 22.

WHAT'S NEXT?

GCU has a quick turnaround for a Thursday-Friday-Saturday WAC weekend at Utah Tech ahead of an off Sunday due to Easter.

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

Tuesday, April 15 | Hi Corbett Field | Tucson, Ariz.

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PITCHING PROBABLES

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

SCOUTING ARIZONA

WHAT'S NEXT?

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Emilio Barreras

Elijah Higginbottom

Chance Key

Grand Canyon University Athletics