Grand Canyon returns to Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark after five consecutive road games. The Lopes host their first ever Mountain West series, welcoming in San Diego State for a series that starts on Friday at 6 p.m.

All three games will stream on Mountain West Network and be televised on Arizona’s Family Sports.

 

3 THINGS TO KNOW


MOUNTAIN WEST MILESTONE: GCU is making program history on Friday as it hosts its first ever Mountain West series. The Lopes played the program’s first MW series at Washington State last weekend but now gets a chance to open at Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark.


TURN IT: GCU has turned 23 double plays on the season, a mark that ranks 17th nationally and leads the Mountain West.


SCHMIDT GOES BACK TO BACK: Junior designated hitter Trevor Schmidt has homered in consecutive games. On Sunday at Washington State, Schmidt hit a late game-tying homer, his first of the season. On Tuesday at Arizona, Schmidt homered again to pull the Lopes within a run late.

 

SCOUTING SAN DIEGO STATE

San Diego State enters the weekend at 13-13 overall and 2-1 in Mountain West play, coming off its first conference series win after taking two of three against Washington State two weeks ago. The Aztecs have been tested throughout nonconference play, highlighted by a road win at then-No. 1 UCLA and a series victory at Washington. The Aztecs lead the conference in ERA (5.59), WHIP (1.45) and fielding percentage (.977), while also ranking near the top in strikeouts per nine innings. Offensively, they are hitting .274 as a team and scoring 6.0 runs per game, ranking in the middle of the conference in batting average, scoring and slugging percentage (.405).

San Diego State is in the first year of a new era under head coach Kevin Vance, who was hired in June after helping lead Arizona to a College World Series appearance as an assistant. Historically, San Diego State has been one of the Mountain West’s more established programs, with multiple conference titles and 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, including as recently as 2018. The program has also produced a strong lineage of professional talent, highlighted by Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn and World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg.

 

WHAT’S NEXT?
GCU gets a brief break from midweek action and will play a Thursday-Friday-Saturday series at Fresno State.
 
For more GCU baseball news, notes and numbers, click here to view game notes.
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