PHOENIX, Ariz. - The Pacific baseball team (8-8) salvaged the series against Grand Canyon (9-7) on Sunday afternoon, blanking the Lopes 8-0 behind a dominant performance on the mound by junior Hayden Pearce.
 

Providing six shutout innings, Pearce guided the Tigers to the victory and used the strength of two home runs to race past GCU in the finale.
 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• With neither team doing any damage in the opening frame, UOP notched their first hit of the afternoon on an infield single by junior Alex LeForestier in the top of the second.

• Striking first, the Tigers got on the board when junior James McClenaghan doubled home senior Luke Price with one out in the top of the third. Just one batter later, junior Charles Middleton drilled his third home run of the year to left field, scoring McClenaghan and extending the Pacific lead to 3-0.

• Finding his groove on the mound, Pearce retired the Lopes without much pain, not allowing them to score through four innings of play.

• Although the Tigers could not add to their lead in the following innings, Pearce was relieved by junior Landon Curtis after six impressive innings on the rubber.

• In the top of the seventh, UOP stretched their lead to give as sophomore Jeremy Lea delivered a long ball of his own, keeping Pacific out in front, 5-0.

• With the bullpen doing its job, the Tigers tacked on three more runs in the top of the ninth on RBI hits from LeForestier and freshman Thomas Gavello.

• Locking down the shutout victory, Curtis picked up his second save of the year as Pacific stole the series finale from GCU, 8-0.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Shutting down the opposing lineup all afternoon, Pearce was named the City of Stockton Human Resources Hardworking Player of the game after finishing with a final line of 6.0 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 3 SO and 1 BB. With the win, he now improves to 2-0 on the young season while also lowering his ERA to a team-best 2.28.

• Doing what they do best, the 2-3-4 combination of Lea, Middleton and LeForestier combined to go 9-for-14 from the plate, with each player driving in two RBI for the Tigers.

• With his RBI single in the top of the ninth, Gavello picked up his first collegiate run batted in.

• Overall, the Tigers tallied six extra-base hits to the Lopes one.

UP NEXT:

Closing out their nine game road stretch, Pacific will play one final road game at Fresno State this upcoming Tuesday, Mar.10 before returning home for a weekend series against Saint Mary's. First pitch against the Bulldogs is scheduled for 6:00. Video and live stats will be available via pacifictigers.com.

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