East Carolina University desperately wanted Gordon Wend to get his memory back.
 
The one that told him he'd already thrown 11 1/3 innings and nearly 150 pitches in less than a week. The one that said his arm was exhausted, that he couldn't come back on two days rest… again. The one that told him the tournament's No. 1 seed couldn't be beaten twice in two days when they'd only lost two other games all season.
 
Wend's 'amnesia' continued for another nine innings Wednesday night in Alton, Illinois - just enough for the junior righthander to lead his 7^th-seeded Grand Canyon University Club Baseball team back to the championship game of the National Club Baseball Association Division 1 World Series for the second time in five years. Wend and the Lopes stymied the ECU offense for the second straight day to the tune of a dominant 7-2 victory that eliminated the top-seeded Pirates (28-4 overall, 13-2 Mid Atlantic South) from the eight-team tournament. The win also set a revenge match for the Lopes against the only team to beat them so far in the tournament, 6^th-seeded Penn State University, Thursday night in the title game.
 
For the second straight day, the Lopes' offense did their job early, staking Wend to a comfy lead thanks to a 3^rd-inning onslaught. Like the Lopes, the Pirates' pitching staff's live arms were wearing thin, and their hopes rested on Braeden Collins, who was only making his 2^nd start of the year. The Lopes never let Collins find a rhythm, and the main culprit was Lopes' 1^st baseman Koa Manintin. A Santiago Zuniga walk to lead off the game was cashed in on a Manintin double to right center field, then Manintin helped turn Collins' night really sour in the 3^rd inning. That's when the first five Lopes to face him reached base, and a Manintin single followed by a Sam Ott double plated three runs and sent Collins to the dugout. The Lopes weren't done, since Collins' replacement, reliever Will Eaton, gave up a Caden Rogers double and Brady Steenson single in the inning to stake the Lopes to a 7-0 edge, and the rout was on.
 
Now the burning question in everyone's mind was, "How long can he last?" Wend had a rocky 1^st inning, committing an error, hitting a batter and throwing a wild pitch, but a double play ball got him out of it unscathed. Wend worked out of jams again in the 2^nd and 3^rd, and assured Lopes' Head Coach Rich Warnol he was fine.
 
He was.
 
"We were just going to ride on Gordon's shoulders until he proved he couldn't get guys out," said Warnol. "We talked to him after every inning because he didn't necessarily have the same energy that he had in Thursday's (tournament-opening) win (over Iowa State University), but each time, he said he was fine, so there was no reason to not trust him, since he kept doing his job and not walking anyone."
 
Yes, Wend gave up three straight hits to start the ECU 6^th – including a Zach Nicholson two-run homer – but then extinguished Pirates' fans' hopes of more by mowing down three straight to end the inning. Yes, Wend showed signs of wear from the week's events, hitting three batters and throwing a trio of wild pitches, but he also struck out 10 Pirates' hitters while issuing a single walk, and finished off the game with nine straight outs to complete the five-hitter and pick up his third win of the series. The Lopes (23-13 overall, 12-3 SoPac South) backed his performance with 10 hits – including a 3-for-4 night from Manintin, scoring a run and knocking in a pair.
 
Standing in the way of the Lopes' first-ever NCBA Division 1 World Series crown is none other than the defending national champs from Penn State (21-5 overall, 11-1 North Atlantic West), who outlasted the Lopes, 16-13, in easily the longest (over seven hours due to weather) and wildest (29 runs, 27 hits, nine errors) game of the tournament Sunday night. Under NCBA rules, the double-elimination format of the previous rounds of the tournament goes away in the championship round, so tomorrow night's game is a 'winner-take-all' matchup that is set for a 5PM Arizona time first pitch. Fans can stream the game live for a fee or follow the tournament's live stat feed for free.