Winning pretty is nice, but a little ugly is sometimes necessary.
 
Having already locked up its their fourth consecutive National Club Baseball Association Southern Pacific South Conference title two weeks ago, the Grand Canyon University Club Baseball team spent much of its final regular season series of the season battling from behind before completing an arduous three-game sweep of the University of Arizona at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark Sunday afternoon. The Lopes spotted the Wildcats a six-run lead in Saturday's opener before storming back to mercy-rule Arizona, 19-9, in seven innings; then needed a walkoff homer in Game 1 of Sunday's doubleheader and a Wildcats' fielding error to end Game 2 to win, 6-4 and 6-5. The comebacks locked up a perfect 15-0 record in Southern Pacific South Conference play – the first time that the Lopes have ever achieved an unblemished mark for a single season. The Lopes also upped their overall mark to 21-6, signaling their fourth consecutive non-COVID season of 20 or more wins.
 
Game 1 (Saturday): GCU 19, Arizona 9 (F/7)
 
Hoping to keep their No. 2 national ranking intact, the Lopes didn't do themselves any favors to begin the weekend, allowing the Wildcats to send ten men to the plate in the 1^st inning of Game 1 and staking themselves to a 6-0 lead. Unflustered, the Lopes' offense methodically began their way back, scoring a run in the 2^nd, four in the 3^rd and – after UA added a run in the top of the 4^th – another in the bottom half of the frame. From there, the Wildcats' pitching staff came apart in the 5^th inning as the Lopes chased Arizona starter Chase Dempsey and peppered reliever Jacob Brown to the tune of 10 runs on seven hits, two Wildcats' errors, three walks and a wild pitch. The 'Cats tried to stave off the 10-run mercy rule with a pair of runs in the 6^th, but more shaky Arizona pitching and defense in the 7^th put the Lopes over the top with a Bryce Arana triple, a Wildcats' throwing error to cash him in, then a hit batter and four straight walks to close it out. Rhys Davis and Nathan Kaszynski, the No. 7 and 8 hitters in the lineup, were the main offensive catalysts as Kaszynski went 3-for-5 with a double, three stolen bases, three runs scored and a pair of runs batted in; while Davis came a homer short of hitting for the cycle with a double in the 2^nd, an RBI single in the 3^rd and an RBI triple in the 5^th, scoring three times while knocking in three. Arana, Santiago Zuniga and Sam Ott each had two hits apiece.
 
Game 2 (Sunday): GCU 6, Arizona 4
 
Warnol had been anticipating two things about this game for several days: 1) he and the team honored seniors Arana, Ty Magin and Jonah Zembik prior to the first pitch; and 2) the Wildcats giving their lone lefthanded starting pitcher, Derek Kropp, the start on the mound. The team found out why after that, since while GCU's offense used an opening error and ensuing Brady Steenson triple to take a 2-0 lead after one inning, they had to scratch and claw for offensive opportunities against Kropp the rest of the way. The Wildcats wiped out a three-run deficit with a four-run 4^th inning off Ott, the Lopes' starting pitcher, before Ott righted the ship, blanking UA the rest of the way in going the distance. That still meant GCU's bats had to solve Kropp's riddle. Kropp helped the Lopes' cause in the 6^th, allowing Braeden Coloma, who singled to lead off the inning, to get to 3^rd base on a passed ball and a balk before Davis's sacrifice fly to center field cashed him in to tie the game going to the final inning. After Ott sent the 'Cats down in order in the top half, Steenson drew a leadoff walk, and Arana guessed correctly on Kropp's next pitch (his 124^th pitch of the game), blasting it over the left field wall for a walkoff homer.
 
Game 3 (Sunday):  GCU 6, Arizona 5
 
In the nightcap, getting runners aboard wasn't a problem for the Lopes, but cashing them in was, since they stranded runners in scoring position in six of the seven innings. Coloma was left at 3^rd base twice, but that was due to his prowess at the plate all game. Coloma scored the Lopes' first run in the 2^nd, getting on base by a pair of Arizona fielding errors and a scoring sacrifice fly by Kyo Ohsato, then came up with two out in the 3^rd and promptly gave the Lopes a 3-2 lead with two-run triple. After the Wildcats again used a big middle inning – a three-run 5^th this time – to take a 5-3 lead, Coloma stepped to the plate in the bottom of the frame and whacked a double off the right centerfield wall to tie the game at 5-5. That set the stage for more 7^th-inning drama when – after Coloma hit another double off the wall with one out, then moved to 3^rd on a ground ball to 2^nd base – Ohsato hit a dribbler to the glove of Wildcats' 1^st baseman Aaron Nuanez, but the ball caromed away from Nuanez, allowing Coloma to cross the plate and end it. Both Coloma (two runs scored, 4 RBI) and Steenson had three hits apiece to lead the way, while Magin – the Lopes' fourth pitcher of the game – used his 90-plus-mile-per-hour fastball to pitch a hitless 7^th inning to get the win.
 
"We got an idea going into regionals what each of our guys can do, and it was good to see Ty come in the last couple of days and shut the door on them for us," said Lopes' Head Coach Rich Warnol. "We're excited to have that opportunity to go back to regionals, and we did something this year that we've never done before by going undefeated, which is pretty special."
 
With the regular season finished for both sides of the NCBA program, the Lopes' Division 1 and Division 2 squads will have high expectations as they head to regionals. The defending D2 national champion team will head to the Pacific Region Tournament as the top seed next weekend in Henderson, Nevada, while the D1 squad seeks its 3^rd trip to the NCBA D1 World Series since 2018 as they also expect to be the No. 1 seed when the four-team Southern Pacific Regional Tournament commences May 12 in San Luis Obispo, California.