Didn't look easy at first, but then…
After relying on their pitching and defense to keep their first-round opponents scoreless for the last six innings of the game, the top-seeded
Grand Canyon University Club Baseball Division 2 team dominated the remainder of the 2023 National Club Baseball Association Pacific Region Tournament, grabbing its second straight region crown with an 8-2 victory over 2
nd-seeded California Miramar University-Los Angeles Sunday afternoon in Henderson, Nevada. The win gives the Lopes –
the 2022 champions of the NCBA D2 World Series – the tickets to defend their national title in two weeks in Alton, Illinois.
1st Round: #1 GCU 3, #4 Cal-State Northridge 2
Those reaching their seats at Heritage Park 20 minutes after the first pitch had to settle in for a pitcher's duel, since all of the game's scoring happened in the first inning. It took six Cal-State Northridge hitters for Lopes' starting pitcher Kyle Weaver to resemble the form that earned him the 2022 NCBA World Series Most Valuable Player award. The first five CSUN hitters all reached base via three straight walks, a Frank Contreras RBI single and a hit batter to force in a second run. Weaver went to a full count with the Matadors' next hitter, Juan Romero, before striking him out looking for the first out, then a fly ball became an inning-ending double play when Lopes' catcher Mike Walsh gunned down the runner trying to tag and advance to 3
rd base. The bottom of the inning started uneventfully with two of the first three Lopes' hitters being retired, but a CSUN fielding error kept the inning alive long enough for Lopes' center fielder Chris Walsh to score on a passed ball, and Thomas Blakney to give the Lopes the lead with a two-run triple. Those three unearned runs were all Weaver needed from there, giving up a hit in each of the next three innings, but never allowing a Matadors' runner to get past 2
nd base, and eventually locking in to retire the final 12 Matadors' hitters to face him. Weaver pitched a complete-game four-hitter to send the Lopes to the semifinals, while Chris Walsh netted two of the Lopes' four hits.
Semifinals: #1 GCU 11, #2 Cal-Miramar LA 1 (F/5)
24 hours later, the Lopes' offense looked like a totally different animal, and a much more ferocious one. Blakney got the start on the hill and gave up a run on a pair of CMULA singles in the first frame. That was all the suspense the game offered, since the Lopes' bats exploded for runs in each of the last four innings. The Lopes used five singles and a double for a four-run 2
nd inning to take the lead for good, then five more 3
rd-inning hits produced three more runs, and the rout was on. The Lopes invoked the 10-run mercy rule in the fifth with two singles and a hit batter to load the bases, scoring two of those on a Fightin' Falcons' fielding error, then making that hurt on the next play by scoring the final run on a double play that would've otherwise ended the inning. Blakney scattered six CMULA hits while striking out four in going the five-inning distance, while at the plate, Chris Walsh, Jordan McDonald and Harrison Fleek all had three hits each.
Championship: #1 GCU 8, #2 Cal-Miramar LA 2
The Fightin' Falcons staved off elimination with a win Saturday afternoon, which sent them to the championship round needing two wins to knock off the rested Lopes. It took little time to figure out that wouldn't happen, since the Lopes never trailed, using a single, back-to-back hit batters, an error and a botched pickoff attempt to score three in the bottom of the 1
st. While CMULA came back with two runs in the top half of the 2
nd, that was the closest to an upset they'd get, since the Lopes put things out of reach with five runs over the next three innings. While the Lopes couldn't mercy-rule the Fightin' Falcons this time, CMULA still had no answer for Lopes' pitching, managing just one hit over the final four innings against the combination of starter Sam Mueller (six innings, three hits allowed) and reliever Justin Garrido, who gave up a single in the 7
th, but got Fightin' Falcons' designed hitter Maximiliano Torres to fly out to GCU left fielder Justin Alexander to end the game and hand the Lopes the trophy for the second straight season. The Lopes (20-2 overall, 17-1 Pacific Region South) balanced their nine-hit attack, with three hitters – Nathan Fernandez, Aaron Martinez and Zach Barnao (who also homered on the first pitch of the 5
th inning) – leading the way with two hits each.
After winning it all in Pennsylvania last season, the Lopes now head to Lloyd Hopkins Field in Alton, Illinois (just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri) to begin defense of their title at 2 PM (Arizona time) on Friday, May 19 against 7
th-seeded Temple University. Surprisingly, despite holding the #1 spot in the NCBA D2 Poll ever since winning the title last year, the Lopes are seeded 2
nd (behind Ohio State University) entering the eight-team, double-elimination tournament.
