@NCBearsBaseball Drops opening game of the series

Friday, March 31

Phoenix, Ariz.

8:00 pm

University of Northern Colorado

11-13, 0

Grand Canyon

10-14, 0

Northern Colorado

Grand Canyon

4/1/2017 12:32:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Northern Colorado was shut out 7-0 by Grand Canyon in the first game of the weekend.

By: UNCBears.com

PHOENIX – UNC lost its first WAC road game of the season after Grand Canyon University shutout the Bears 7-0 on Friday night. Northern Colorado's hitters were held in check and their pitchers could not control the Antelopes offense.

How it Happened

Aaron Hamilton struggles began early after allowing two hits and three walks in the first three innings. However, Hamilton was able work his way out of those jams and prevent any runs from scoring. Grand Canyon broke through in the fourth when Austin Bull delivered a two-out single that scored two runs. Another two-out hit from Tom Lerouge scored Bull and Grand Canyon stretched their lead to 3-0 after four.

The fourth inning would be the last for Hamilton, who was relived by Jacob Howard to begin the fifth.

Grand Canyon's hitters continued to be effective even after the pitching change. The Antelopes would score a run in the next four innings, with three of them coming off of sacrifice flies. Howard would pitch three innings, but gave up runs in each inning, although only two were earned. Justin Mulvaney replaced Howard in the eighth, but he also could not keep Grand Canyon off the scoreboard.

At the same time, the Bears offense struggled to get any base runners against Grand Canyon's starter Jake Wong. The first hit for UNC did not come until a Jack Pauley double in the top of the fourth. Pauley's double would be one of only two hits Wong surrendered on the night. Wong retired 12 consecutive Bears following Pauley's double and was pulled in the eighth following a Matt Burkart single.

It did not get any easier for the Bears after Wong exited as AJ Franks gave up only one hit and closed out the win for Grand Canyon over the final two innings of the game.

Game Changer

Jake Wong pitching performance left little room for error from the UNC's pitching staff. Wong went 7.1 innings and only allowed only two hits and one walk, while striking out five. The three-run fourth inning broke the game open for the Antelopes and their offense continued to add insurance runs to support Wong's strong start. Wong's ERA lowered from 1.62 to 1.36 after the game.

Notes

- Jack Pauley had a solid night the plate with two doubles, giving him 10 on the season. This marks Pauley's team-leading 11th multi-hit game of the season and fourth consecutive.

- Aaron Hamilton did not have his best start of the season, but still showed poise to navigate through some tough early innings. Hamilton had 89 pitches in his four innings.

- The Bears defense struggled in the game, committing three errors.

- UNC posted a season-low three hits for the game.

- Grand Canyon had three players with multi-hit games.

What's Next?

The Bears play two more games against Grand Canyon, starting at 3 P.M. on Saturday and 1 P.M. on Sunday.