Recap: Hamilton, Yamaguchi Lead @NCBearsBaseball Over Grand Canyon

Saturday, March 31

Greeley, Colo.

12 p.m.

University of Northern Colorado

17-12, 2-4

Grand Canyon University

12-14, 5-1

Grand Canyon

Northern Colorado

3/31/2018 5:35:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Aaron Hamilton and Tyler Yamaguchi played big parts in UNC's win over Grand Canyon Saturday afternoon

By: By Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado rode the big right arm of Aaron Hamilton and a pair of home runs from Tyler Yamaguchi to pick up the series finale win over Grand Canyon 7-4 Saturday afternoon. Hamilton went 6.2 innings allowing no runs striking out five.

How It Happened
Northern Colorado wasted no time scoring four runs in the first inning, all with two outs. Cole Maltese and Matt Burkart reached base with one out on a single and walk. Maltese scored on an Evan Johnson seeing-eye single through the right side. Tyler Yamaguchi then brought home the remaining three runs crushing a three-run home run to left.

Hamilton kept the GCU bats quiet, including a stretch of retiring nine straight. It was not just Hamilton who settled into the game on the bump, but the Lopes' pitchers Ethan Evanko and Mike Lundin. The three pitchers put up zeros from the second through the sixth inning.

It was another two-out rally for UNC in the seventh that score three key insurance runs. The first of the three came on a Jack Pauley solo shot to left field making it 5-0. Evan Johnson once again extended the inning with a seeing-eye single. Yamaguchi again followed it up with a home run, this one of the two-run variety.

Those three runs became very important as GCU scored three in the eighth on a Pikai Winchester three-run home run and another one later on in the inning to make it 7-4. Connor Leedholm came in and recorded the final five outs to secure the win.

Game Changer
Northern Colorado big arm Aaron Hamilton had a strong outing going 6.2 innings not allowing a run and just six hits. Hamilton struck out five Lopes and walked none. His strong outing was key as Grand Canyon's pitchers and he traded zeros on the scoreboard.

Stat to Know
Northern Colorado made Grand Canyon earn its way out of every inning, going 8-for-16 with two outs on the board. Evan Johnson was an impressive 3-for-4 in those situations to extend innings.

Game Notes
- Tyler Yamaguchi had a big day at the plate going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and driving in five of the team's seven runs.
- While Yamaguchi was cleaning up the table, Evan Johnson was helping set it with a 3-for-4 day scoring twice and driving home one run.
- The win by UNC over GCU is the first by a WAC team over the Lopes this season.

What's Ahead?
Northern Colorado will host Regis for another mid-week game on Tuesday afternoon at 2 pm. Last week, when the two teams UNC scored 35 runs, the second most in program history.

To stay up to date on all things UNC baseball, visit UNCBears.com and Follow the team on Twitter at @NCBearsBaseball.