13 runs on 13 hits. Not enough for a Sunday.
 
Two runs on six hits. A perfect fit on Memorial Day.
 
Just hours after allowing 16 runs in a wild 16-13 loss to Penn State University that ended shortly before midnight local time, the Grand Canyon University Club Baseball team used the one-two punch of pitchers Sam Ott and Gordon Wend to stay alive at the National Club Baseball Association Division 1 World Series, topping 3^rd-seeded University of Michigan, 2-0, Monday afternoon in Alton, Illinois. The shutout win sends the Lopes (21-13 overall, 12-3 SoPac South) to Tuesday's semifinal round against top-seeded East Carolina University and eliminates the Wolverines from the double-elimination tournament.
 
After being forced to use six pitchers in the weather-driven, seven-hour marathon Sunday night, Lopes' Head Coach Rich Warnol had limited options for who would take the hill Monday. Ott had shown a penchant for endurance during the Lopes' run to the regional title, so despite starting Sunday and throwing 40 pitches against PSU, Warnol handed his junior pitcher the ball. Ott rewarded Warnol's trust, economizing his pitches by not walking a batter, retiring the side in order twice and throwing strikes to let his fielders do the work. The Lopes' defense responded by committing just one error, turning a double play in the 4^th inning, and limiting the Wolverines to just four runners in scoring position all day. The problem? Michigan starting pitcher Max Arta was just as stingy, allowing the Lopes just three hits through seven innings of a 0-0 tie.
 
Ott finally tired in the 7^th inning -leaving with runners on 1^st and 3^rd base with two out – and Warnol decided to replace one ironman with another. Despite going the nine-inning distance in GCU's tournament-opening 5-2 win on Friday, Wend promptly came in and forced a ground out to shortstop to end the threat^.  
 
Artz lasted just one more hitter as GCU's Santiago Zuniga led off the 8^th with a single, then sprinted all the way to 3^rd one pitch later after Artz's pickoff attempt went wide of 1^st base. Kyo Ohsato then lifted the first pitch from Artz's replacement, Cal Forde, to right field for a fly out, but deep enough for Zuniga to skate home from 3^rd base to break the scoreless tie. Zuniga gave the Lopes some insurance in the 9^th when he singled home Rhys Davis with two out. That was more than enough for Wend, who struck out the side in the 9^th as part of 2 1/3 innings of hitless relief to pick up his 2^nd win of the tournament. Zuniga accounted for half of the Lopes' six hits on the day, while Davis went 2-for-4 with a double.
 
The win kept the Lopes' streak alive of at least reaching the semifinal round in each of their three NCBA D1 World Series appearances. To get back to the championship round for the first time since 2019, they'll need to beat the top-seeded and undefeated Pirates (19-4 overall, 14-1 Great Lakes North) twice in the semis – the same round that the two teams faced each other during the 2018 NCBA World Series. Game 1's first pitch is scheduled for 12:45PM Arizona time Tuesday afternoon, and a Lopes' win will force the second 'win or go home' game between the two teams on Wednesday. The tournament championship will be played on Thursday, May 30.