UNC Baseball drops weekend series to Grand Canyon

Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
UNC Baseball drops weekend series to Grand Canyon

By Adam Ide

Bear News Sportswriter

            The University of Northern Colorado baseball team lost its series to Grand Canyon University this weekend, two games to one.

            The Lopes took game one on Thursday with an 18-1 shellacking of the Bears. Jake Wong earned the victory for GCU, while Issac Bracken was charged with the loss.

It was a poor pitching performance all around for Northern Colorado. Bracken was charged with five runs (three earned) in two innings of work, but the bullpen didn’t fare much better. Caden Maher was charged with seven earned in three innings, and Jacob Bogacz gave up six more in an inning of work.

Grand Canyon scored early and often, taking the lead 1-0 in the top of the first on Quinn Cotton’s RBI double.

The Lopes added four more the next inning, with three runs coming in on RBI singles by Kona Quiggle, Marc Mumper and Cotton.

GCU kept pouring it on with four more in the third. Austin Bull got an RBI on a fielder’s choice and Cotton added his third RBI of the day with another single. Pikai Winchester drove in two with a single to center, pushing the lead to 9-0.

Grand Canyon added three more in the fifth, scoring two on fielder’s choice RBIs by Winchester and Ian Evans. Evans later scored on a wild pitch, pushing the Lopes’ lead to 12-0.

GCU wasn’t done, adding six in the sixth for good measure. Evans added his second and third RBIs with a double, and Grand Canyon held a commanding 18-0 lead.

The Bears finally got on the board in the seventh on Tyler Yamaguchi’s RBI single, but that’s all UNC would get.

Northern Colorado looked to bounce back in game two on Friday, but a late three-run homer by Grand Canyon’s Ian Evans propelled the Lopes to a 9-6 victory. Jeramy Smith earned the win for the Lopes, while Justin Mulvaney took the loss.

Gavin Gorrell started for UNC but struggled through four innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits.

GCU took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, but the Bears answered with two in the bottom half to take a 2-1 lead. Dean Lawson drove in Brett Minnick with a double and later scored on Matt Burkart’s sacrifice fly.

The Lopes tied the game in the third on Winchester’s RBI single and took the lead the next inning on Griffin Barnes’ RBI double. Grand Canyon led 3-2 after four.

Northern Colorado quickly regained the lead the next half inning. After Cole Maltese tied the game with an RBI groundout, Matt Burkart launched a two-run home run to left field and gave the Bears a 5-3 lead.

That lead would be short-lived, as GCU tied the game in the fifth on a sac fly by Evans and an RBI groundout by Tyler Wyatt.

Evans delivered the big blow in the seventh, crushing a three-run shot to center field. That gave the Lopes an 8-5 lead, and they eventually won 9-6.

The Bears looked to salvage the final game of the series with a win Saturday. Aaron Hamilton delivered the pitching performance the team needed and the offense had the long ball working, as the Bears avoided the sweep with a 7-4 victory.

Hamilton earned the victory, pitching 6.2 shutout innings. Ethan Evanko took the loss for Grand Canyon.

UNC jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first and never looked back. Evan Johnson got Northern Colorado on the board with an RBI single and Yamaguchi crushed a three-run shot to left, giving the Bears a 4-0 lead.

Evanko and the rest of the Lopes pitchers held UNC scoreless for the next five innings. But, the Bears’ bats woke up again in the seventh. Jack Pauley went oppo for a solo shot and Yamaguchi added his second big fly of the day, giving Northern Colorado a 7-0 lead.

The Lopes made it a game in the eighth, scoring four and cutting the deficit to three. Winchester tagged Austin Bergdahl with a three-run home run, which brought in Connor Leedholm. The righty closed the door for the Bears, giving them a 7-4 victory.

With the series loss, UNC falls to 17-12 on the season. Northern Colorado will have to improve in WAC play, as their record now sits at 2-4.

The Bears host Regis on Tuesday at 2 p.m.