California Baptist University
14-8, 0-1
Grand Canyon
11-10, 1-0
CBU Takes on WAC Preseason Favorite
3/22/2019 9:29:00 PM | Baseball
The Lancers hung right with the Lopes but were a couple big hits away from taking out GCU in a 3-0 loss on Friday night. CBU got 4.2 shutout innings from its bullpen and big doubles from Nick Plaia and Harrison Spohn in the loss.
Nick Plaia has the big hit of the game for CBU, as he led off the top of the fifth with this double. He's 3-for-7 with two doubles and three runs batted in over the last two games in Phoenix.#LanceUp pic.twitter.com/08SdIgZSW2
— CBU Baseball (@CBUbaseball) March 23, 2019
It brings CBU's record to 14-8, 0-1 in the WAC, while GCU opens up at 11-10, 1-0. The Lopes, who also boast a win over No. 18 TCU, have won three of the last four conference titles, and have also won 17 consecutive WAC series, with a 40-9 record in the conference the last two seasons.
Game two is scheduled for a 6 p.m. first pitch on Saturday at Brazell Field, as CBU looks to even the series, which wraps up Sunday at noon.
Travis Booth got CBU off to a great start on Friday and held the Lopes scoreless through the first two innings. An error led to two GCU runs in the bottom of the third, with the inning coming to a close when Chad Castillo gunned down a Lope at the plate for the third out.
Spohn made several great plays at shortstop, and came close to getting CBU on the board in the eighth. The sophomore crushed a 1-2 pitch to dead center and nearly sent it out of the park, but it just bounced off the wall to keep him to a double.
Grand Canyon broke a scoreless tie with two runs in the bottom of the third and another in the fourth. Harrison Spohn helps keep the Lopes of the scoreboard in the fifth with this great diving play at shortstop.#LanceUp pic.twitter.com/hWAmiZaniU
— CBU Baseball (@CBUbaseball) March 23, 2019
💣💣 away
— CBU Baseball (@CBUbaseball) March 23, 2019
After several nice plays in the field, Harrison Spohn nearly drives this ball out of the park in dead center. The sophomore collects a one-out double but is stranded at second, as Grand Canyon takes a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the eighth.#LanceUp pic.twitter.com/tqiAybkMF3
The Lopes added another run in the third before Seth Kaneen, Amrhein and Mason McGarvey combined to shutout GCU over the final 14 outs. Amrhein threw four shutout innings in which he allowed just two hits, two walks and struck out five.
🇰
— CBU Baseball (@CBUbaseball) March 23, 2019
Matt Amrhein keeps it a 3-0 deficit with a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth. Harrison Spohn made two more nice plays at shortstop in the inning before Amrhein had this nasty strikeout.
CBU has John Glenn, Nick Plaia and Rory Smith coming to bat in the seventh. #LanceUp pic.twitter.com/p6wNterOzJ
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mechals, Kade (5-1)
L: Booth, Travis (2-2)
S: Ohanian, Nick (3)
Batting:
2B: Plaia, Nick 1 ; Spohn, Harrison 1
Batting:
2B: Cotton, Quin 1 ; Bull, Austin 1 ; Avitia, David 1
RBI: Cotton, Quin 1 ; Bull, Austin 2
SH: Mumper, Marc 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bess, Cuba 1 ; Quiggle, Kona 1 ; Avitia, David 1
