Lopes fall 4-1 to Chico State; play elimination game tonight

The Grand Canyon baseball team lost its first game in the NCAA Division II West Regional, 4-1 to sixth-seeded Chico State on Saturday.

The Lopes fall to 36-17 on the season, while the Wildcats improve to 37-16. Chico State needs one more win to earn a berth in the Division II College World Series.

Grand Canyon will play the winner of No. 1 seed Cal State Monterey and No. 2 seed Sonoma State, who are currently playing in an elimination matchup.

The game will take place tonight at 6 p.m. Arizona time. The winner of that game will have to beat Chico State twice in order to advance to the Division II College World Series.

Lopes starter Coley Bruns pitched 7 2/3 innings and gave up four runs on seven hits. He also walked three and struck out six. It was Bruns second longest outing of the season.

Derek Mendoza went 3-for-4, while Charles Wagner drove in the Lopes only run in the game.